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| Major Dakshinamurti & UG Krishnamurti |
This is an unpublished 35-year-old writeup about UG, penned by his close associate Major Dakshinamurti who lived and journeyed with the master during his annual visits to South India for nearly two decades.
In his eighties now, the former Major from the Army continues to live alone in the midst of nature in a farmhouse near Bangalore. Practically a society dropout, he is a standing example of 'self-reliance' living alone and all by himself.
(Scroll down to the bottom to watch the latest video of the Major sharing his 'spiritual odyssey' with UG).
MY MASTER UG KRISHNAMURTI
- A DYNAMIC PERSONALITY
By Major Sistla Dakshina Murti (Retd.) December 1990
In a country suffused with spiritual ambience like ours, one is confident of what to expect from a spiritual master - soft speaking calmness exuding balmy solace. Such conceptions are shattered to pieces when you are face to face with the great sage Sri Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti who prefers to be simply called UG.
With quick fluid movements and dynamic energy at the age of 72, one often sees him denouncing the gurus and godmen and one is even tempted to brush him aside as a maverick. However, if you exercise patience and probe into his lifestyle and teachings, you are in for many surprises. You find yourself face to face with a Jeevan Mukta, a liberated being who is one of the most profound embodiments of Advaita living today.
UG lives like King Janaka, one of India's greatest philosophers of ancient times. Being a Jnani, his teaching is exalted like that of Sri Gauda Pada. His non-dualistic view of life is like a clear crystal untainted by authoritarian, religious, scriptural, social or national beliefs and affiliations. His teaching is on the lines of Jnana Marga considered to be the highest in the Indian Philosophical tradition as different from Karma or Bhakti. Even in the Bhagavat Gita, the Lord likened the Jnani to none other than himself. UG is a person of unexcelled awakening and never comes down from his lofty spiritual heights. He never stoops down or dilutes his teaching for the mundane to understand him. One has to climb up to reach him.
He was born on the 9th of July, 1918 in the town of Gudivada in Andhra Pradesh and his mother, who died soon after his birth, predicted that her son would achieve great spiritual eminence. The boy was brought up by his grandfather who was a well-known Theosophist and was tutored in the best spiritual traditions of Hinduism surrounded by Sannyasins, Pandits and Theosophists. He learnt Yoga from Sri Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. He was initiated into Mantra Japa at a very early age and spent most of his time in spiritual practices, thus hardly finding anytime for his studies.
While studying BA Honours in Madras, UG was taken by a friend to Sri Ramana Maharishi at Tiruvannamalai. UG asked the Maharishi three questions - "Does a state called liberation exist?" The Maharishi answered, ''yes". The next question was "Are there any levels to it?" The reply was ''There are no levels, either you are in it or out of it". Then UG asked his last question "That state -liberation, can you give it to me?" Ramana Maharishi, looking the young man in the eye answered pointedly, "Yes I can give it, but can you take it?" UG was flabbergasted by this reply and was haunted by the thought ''What is it that I cannot take?'' The encounter with the Maharishi was a challenge to him which further strengthened his obsession to attain Moksha (liberation).
As time passed, he married and had children. He became actively interested in the Theosophical Society and started touring the world as a platform orator, first on behalf of the society and later as an independent speaker. He was very close to J.Krishnamurti (of the World Teacher fame) for many years but left him as the latter's teaching did not help. All the while UG was having many spiritual experiences but felt that the 'highest' evaded him. He had every kind of desirable experience the teachers and books described - Samadhi as well as Nirvikalpa Samadhi. But he said to himself, "Thought can create any experience you want - bliss, beatitude, ecstasy, melting away into nothingness - all these are thought created experiences. These are not what I want and brushed them aside as worthless. His was the classic Neti, Neti approach stretched to the limit.
From the age of 35, UG had many supernatural powers. The moment he saw a man, he could instantly know the past, present and future of that man. Whenever he uttered something, it used to happen. But he did not use these faculties as he was not interested in these powers at all.
By this time, UG lost his family and his considerable wealth. He started drifting in Europe, but his burning quest continued. He lived in London and Paris for some time and started feeling that his head was 'missing'. He lost his will and was like a leaf blown by the wind. He lost even his appetite and above all, lost all hope of enlightenment. He was in a totally hopeless state when he reached Switzerland. Here, a gracious lady, Valentine De Kerven in her late 60's understood his plight and provided him with money, food and shelter. His spiritual experiences continued. Once when he saw a girl dancing on the stage, he had no way of knowing whether it was he that was dancing or someone else. Even when he entered into the state of Buddha consciousness, there was the experience still leftover, so UG brushed it aside concluding that it was his past knowledge which had projected that state - it was Neti, Neti in action, at its best.
On the 9th of July 1967, on his 49th birthday, UG was sitting under a wild chestnut tree overlooking one of the most beautiful spots in the world - the seven hills and seven valleys of Saanenland when the final awakening occurred. He suddenly felt that the experiencer in him disappeared along with the two philosophical questions which were smoldering with great intensity in him for long, namely - ' Who is the experiencer?' and 'How do I know that this is the state of liberation?'
UG says that there was a sudden explosion inside, blasting every cell, every nerve and every gland including the bone marrow in his body, destroying the illusion that there is continuity, that there is a centre, that there is an 'I' that is linking up the thoughts. He became conscious that the head had become very tight and any thoughts or vasanas could not enter the brain anymore. There were tremendous pains all over the body simulating a nuclear explosion with chain reactions wherein an alchemy of sorts occurred changing the entire chemistry of the body. UG calls this experience a 'Calamity' which hit him like an earthquake. From then on for him there were no (spiritual) planes, no levels. At no time does the thought that he is different from anyone else occur because there is no reference point or centre in him.
The next day UG noticed that his skin became soft like silk with a golden glow. On the second day he became aware that he was in a 'declutched' state. When Valentine brought him tomato soup, he looked at it and could not recognize it. He asked what it was and was told that it was tomato soup. He recognized and after taking a sip forgot its name. He had forgotten everything. On the third day, his sense of smell changed, and the best perfume or the cow dung started smelling the same to him. On the fourth day, he developed a kind of 'vista vision' with 360 degrees visibility and his eyes stopped blinking. He found that the men and cars on the road were either emanating from him or going through him. On the fifth day, his hearing changed and when he heard the bark of a dog or the mooing of a cow the sounds originated from within him. On the sixth day, when he was lying down suddenly his body disappeared. When he touched his limbs, only the part that he touched was there. Because seeing became independent of the sense of touch, it was not possible for him to create the image of his body. All these changes became permanent, and his senses function in a similar fashion even today. After some time, he found the Chakras - Moola Dhara to Ajna Chakra physically appearing on his body. His neck was swollen, and it appeared that his chin was resting on the hood of a cobra, with ash appearing all over the body. The movement of his wrists changed and even now his hands often make gestures described as Mudras in the scriptures. This was followed by physical death of his body which somehow recovered on its own.
UG can only be compared to the Pralaya Rudra, the Annihilator Supreme
UG remains in what he calls the 'natural state' where thoughts never trouble him and his senses function independently without any 'I' coordinating them. There is no image about himself. No 'self' telling him that he is a liberated or enlightened man. He remains in a state of not knowing, information being supplied whenever there is a need. One cannot find even a trace of the 'self' or 'ego' in him. He has all the extrasensory powers but does not usually exhibit them. He accepts no gifts and does not accept any disciples. He will not allow anyone to touch his feet, is very courteous to visitors, and leads a very pure and simple life. He is a world traveler hopping from one continent to another like a free bird. He is not detached to the conveniences of life, nor is attached to anything.
What UG tells the seekers is at once shocking - "Going to the church, temple or mosque is the same as going to the pub for a drink". "There is nothing but fear in you and God is the creation of frightened minds". "God, Atman, hell, heaven, immortality and rebirth are the non-existent figments of your rich and fertile imagination". "What is necessary for man is to free himself from the entire past of mankind, free himself from what every man before him has thought, felt or experienced". "There is no power outside of man. Whatever power is out there, it is inside man". Pointing to himself he says, '' This is going to liquidate what you call 'you', all of you, the higher self, the lower self, soul, atman, consciousness, subconscious, and all that".
If the old must be destroyed for the new to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, UG can only be compared to the Pralaya Rudra, the Annihilator Supreme, who is out to destroy in his cosmic fire all the accumulated tendencies or vasanas of those seekers who approach him. He says that he can give nothing but admits that he takes away all those vasanas and puts nothing in their place.
What UG Krishnamurti teaches is the highest philosophy and on meeting him one is left wondering is he Siva, the destroyer of the inner worlds (false mental accumulations) unleashed? But it would be a memorable experience for anyone to meet him and to try to climb to the dizzying heights of his teaching, as you would be meeting the very embodiment of the highest attainment in the spiritual field. For that reason alone, a visit is worth it.
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Major shares his journey with UG (video)
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