brother

Jiddu Nityananda

About: 

Nityananda (Nitya) was the younger brother of Krishnamurti, the Theosophist leader. He was 'discovered' along with his brother by C. W. Leadbeater in 1910 and brought to England in 1911 by Annie Besant for his education.

Nityananda passed the London Matriculation after WW1 and began to read for the Bar. He suffered from tuberculosis and died in 1925. Mary Lutyens, the daughter of Edwin and Emily, recalls her infatuation and crush on Nitya as a young girl.

Date of birth: 
01 Jan 1898
Connections: 

George Arundale (tutor), Harold Baillie-Weaver, Annie Besant, Esther Bright, Muriel de La Warr, C. R. Jinarajadasa (tutor), Jiddu Krishnamurti, C. W. Leadbeater, Edwin Lutyens, Emily Lutyens, Mary Lutyens, Rajagopal.

Precise DOB unknown: 
Y
Secondary works: 

Bright, Esther, Old Memories and Letters of Annie Besant (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1936)

Lutyens, Mary, To Be Young: Some Chapters of Autobiography (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1959)

Lutyens, Emily, Candles in the Sun (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957)

City of birth: 
Madanapalle
Country of birth: 
India
Other names: 

Nitya

Nitya Krishnamurti

Nityananda

Location

82 Drayton Gardens
South Kensington, London, SW10 9RT
United Kingdom
51° 29' 23.694" N, 0° 10' 56.4168" W
Date of death: 
01 Jan 1925
Precise date of death unknown: 
Y
Date of 1st arrival in Britain: 
01 Mar 1911
Precise 1st arrival date unknown: 
Y
Dates of time spent in Britain: 

Intermittently from 1911 until his death in 1925.

Location: 

On first arrival, lived with Annie Besant and the Brights at 82 Drayton Gardens, South Kensington.

Moved around a lot in London, staying at the homes of various Theosophists including Countess De La Warr's home, Old Lodge, in Ashdown Forest; a flat belonging to Muriel De La Warr at Robert Street, Adelphi; and the house of Mary Dodge on West Side Common.

Tags for Making Britain: 

Jiddu Krishnamurti

About: 

Jiddu Krishnamurti was 'discovered' by C. W. Leadbeater near Madras in 1910 and taken under the wing of Annie Besant and the Theosophical Society, along with his younger brother, Nityananda. Besant and Leadbeater undertook to educate the two boys, and were involved in a protracted legal battle with their father, Naraniah, over custody. Besant took the boys to England in 1911 where they were met by a crowd of Theosophists at Charing Cross.

Having come to England to be educated, Krishnamurti was looked after by a number of Theosophists, including Emily Lutyens who developed a deep 'devotion' for him. The two brothers shared a love of fashion and motorcycles. They were tutored at various stages by C. Jinarajadasa and George Arundale. Krishnamurti failed all his exams for London University in 1919 (for the third time) and was then sent to Paris to study languages in January 1920 and returned to India in 1921. He then took on a more involved role in the Theosophical Society.

Leadbeater had proclaimed Krishnamurti to be head of the Order of the Star in the East in 1911 to prepare for the 'coming' of the incarnation of Lord Maitreya. Various publications were produced in Krishnamurti's name regarding Theosophical teachings, although the role of Krishnamurti in writing these is in dispute (i.e. At the Feet of the Master (1910) and the journal, Herald of the Star). Although Annie Besant proclaimed that the 'coming' had taken place in 1927, Krishnamurti dissolved the Order of the Star in 1929 and drew away from the Theosophical ideology (resigning from the Society in 1930), lecturing on his own brand of philosophy. He spent most of his time in Ojai, California, and died there in 1986.

Date of birth: 
11 May 1895
Connections: 

George Arundale, Gertrude Baillie-Weaver, Harold Baillie-Weaver, Annie Besant, Esther Bright, Lady De La Warr, Charlotte Despard, Mary Dodge, Aldous Huxley, C Jinarajadasa, C. W. Leadbeater, Edwin Lutyens, Emily Lutyens, Mary Lutyens, Ratansji Moraji, Jiddu Nityananda, Rajagopal, Rama Rao.

Secondary works: 

Blau, Evelyne, Krishnamurti: 100 Years (New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1995)

Bright, Esther, Old Memories and Letters of Annie Besant (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1936)

Jayakar, Pupul, J. Krishnamurti: A Biography (1986)

Lutyens, Emily, Candles in the Sun (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957)

Lutyens, Mary, To Be Young: Some Chapters of Autobiography (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1959)

Lutyens, Mary, Krishnamurti, 3 vols. (1975–88)

Archive source: 

Theosophical Society Archive, Adyar, Chennai, India

Krishnamurti Foundation of America, Ojai, California

Krishnamurti Centre, Brockwood Park, Hampshire

City of birth: 
Madanapalle
Country of birth: 
India

Location

82 Drayton Gardens
London, SW10 9RT
United Kingdom
51° 29' 23.694" N, 0° 10' 56.4168" W
Date of death: 
17 Feb 1986
Location of death: 
Ojai, California, USA
Date of 1st arrival in Britain: 
01 Mar 1911
Precise 1st arrival date unknown: 
Y
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