Reading UG

Since my school days, books and material about matters of religion and spirituality have always come my way.

When I was around 9 or 10 years old, R aunty who lived downstairs offered me a big pile of books. Used books - stuff she was looking to dispose I suppose. I hesitated to take the throwaway offer.

When I told my mum about it, she - surprisingly - said it was ok to take the books because the content wouldn't be secondhand for me!

I am glad she approved. Because those books introduced me to all the interesting stories in the Bible. All the books were designed to introduce the Bible to children. Oh, what wonderful stories and so riveting.

I also remember attending satsangs with my best buddy R in our colony - where verses from the Gita would be read out and interpreted by a serene lady in a white saree with a benign smile. We would sit through because the lady in white was R's aunt and it wasnt so bad either.

Then came a Chinmayananda group for children - I forget - what it was called. That ran for a while.

In between all this, I had folks in the colony giving me very many books to read - Herman Hesse, OSHO's teachings, books talking about Hindu mythology, Greek Mythology, books on Buddhism and so on.

Later, I also met friends who shared books about classical philosphy, evolution of western thought and so on.

At home, the ritualistic aspects of Hinduism were fairly toned down - but we celebrated all Hindu festivals with great enthusiasm - so mainstream simple Hindu practises were also a part of my upbringing.

But I digress.. I meant to tell you about UG.

I discovered UG when I came across Mahesh Bhatt's deeply personal biography on UG - U.G. Krishnamurti: A Life. An excellent write on the men - UG and Mahesh.

I remember feeling so much relief that a man like UG exists! :) I dont know how else to express. UG refuses to be described with any of the words we know.

So its best you read him and figure out for yourself!

Currently, I am reading Mukunda Rao's biography on UG: The Other Side of Belief: Interpreting U.G. Krishnamurti. It is by far the best work on UG I have read so far.

The book poignantly begins with Mukunda's young daughter's death and takes an indepth look at UG's life. And all through, the author spends time talking about various philosophies and religions, incidents and beliefs that shape human thought and create a continuous consciousness. And juxtaposes it quite well with UG and what UG stands for - or rather all that he breaks down for us.

A compelling read and personally, I think its best to read this book after reading Mahesh Bhat's biography on UG.