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Rating: 
Summary: VERY INTERESTING
Review: Howdy,This book is very interesting indeed. Of course no one can say for sure if the book is correct or not but given that the Rajagopals knew Krishnamurti as well as anyone on earth I think there is grounds to give credibility to Mrs. Sloss' account. I've asked the Krishnamurti Foundation of America about the book. Their response wasn't "the book is a lie" but rather their response was "K's personality wasn't important, what he taught was important". They told me once K was asked "are you living the teachings yourself", K's response was "how would you know?"As a long time admirer of Krishnamurti I can say that these sorts of answers are unacceptable. Krishnamurti soooo many times would speak about the transcendent state of chastity and then say "these are not the problems of the speaker, these are your problems."Well, it seems like they were the problems of the speaker. If he had been honest about where he was in his grounded life with all of this I could be more accepting, but he wasn't. This, at least in part, makes Krishnamurti a hypocrit and makes me question everything else he has written. If K wasn't living his own teachings, is it any wonder he seemed to never find any of his "students" living them either.All "friends" of Krishnamurti owe it to themselves to read this book, in fact I consider it the most important book about Krishnamurti written because it dares to step outside of the carefully crafted Krishnamurti mystique. If the man can't walk the talk, how could he expect anyone else to. I don't judge him for his womanizing, I do feel that the "persona" he crafted over 60 years was, to be blunt, a partial lie. If his personality isn't important than neither are his insights about our personalities. No teacher's teaching is greater than the teacher's ability to actualize or "walk" the teaching.This has really burst my bubble about J. Krishnamurti, I always thought he was one of the ones carrying the flame, but alas his flame wasn't nearly as bright as we thought.Peace,John ( John-on-Maui@webv.net )
Rating: 
Summary: This will remove stars from eyes...
Review: I read this book many years ago and was quite shattered by it. It paints a vastly different picture of Krishnamurti the man than the one we are presented in the comparitively hagiographical accounts of Lutyens et al. However over time my view has changed. Krishnamurti never encouraged followers or worshippers of himself or anyone else. He never extolled chastity as an ideal and had a relatively liberal attitude to sexual relations. So I no longer feel that this account makes him a hypocrite. Also the author is plainly, clearly biased. She has an ax to grind and a score to settle. This, obviously, affects the entire account. Finally, however, the lesson is - don't project your ideal of perfection on ANYONE. It is reassuring for us to have a hero, someone we can tell ourselves has 'made it' and whose accomplishments we can hope to emulate. Well, don't! Krishnamurti himself always deprecated this. Much or even most of what he taught still stands. Just don't expect anything from it - which is a major part of the teaching. The hard part of modern spirituality is NOT to have beliefs WITHOUT falling into nihilism or materialism. This book is part of that hard teaching. There is the 'middle way' between the extremes of adulation, on one hand, and cynicism, on the other. This is what we must find. [If that sounds Buddhist, it is.]
Rating:
Summary: Forget about the man; contemplate the message
Review: I recently read this work by Mrs. Sloss. I've read many Krishnamurti works and willingly read this book as it presents a different opinion of the man. The conclusions as to Krishnamurti's motives, etc. are entirely imaginative in my humble opinion. It may have been a good sell had it not been so blatantly biased, basically the ramblings of a jilted lover filtered through her daughter who seeks to weave a very tall tale indeed. Shame, shame. While I would not recommend buying this book, if you must read it, borrow it instead!! In addition though, please read another book after that provides a most excellent response by Mary Lutyens called "Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals." Only then will you be able to determine for yourself what the real story is!...
Rating:
Summary: Reply to John-on-maui: Who could set us free?
Review: In 1929, Krishnamurti said, "Organizations cannot make you free. No man from outside can make you free; nor can organised worship, nor the immolation of yourselves for a cause, make you free; nor can forming yourselves into an organisation, nor throwing yourselves into work, make you free." As far as I could see, he was consistent with his theory through out his life.
My own finding about a great teacher is that after your emotional moment faded for him/her, the most valuable thing remains with you, and that valuable thing is the inspiration and the effect of his/her teachings. Once you realize the truth in the teaching, you are able to walk your own path independently. And that truth remains true regardless what perception you have toward your teacher.
This book is a good challenge to Krishnamurti's usual readers, which forces you to re-think K's teachings in many levels, and for that reason I gave it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: lots of food for thought
Review: In an attempt to burst the Krishnamurti bubble with this book, Radha Sloss doesn't sound very convincing and her insight on many things seems to be quite shallow. For example, when Krishnamurti mentions to her that Alduous Huxley's mind was like a dust bin, instead of seeing the truth of it, she represents this incident in a cynical manner. The way she judges Krishnamurti however casts a shadow on the other main issues as well i.e. his clandestine relationship with Rosalind. In many passages it seems that she deliberately tries to distort facts. An earlier reviewer mentions that Mary Lutyens knew about this relationship. Strange, she should have mentioned it in her books. (I haven't read her "Krishnamurti and the Rajgopals".) What the truth is one shall never know. But with this book, Mrs. Sloss has definitely taken the salt out of Krishnamurti believers, whether they admit it or not. They may rationalize, disagree or ignore the contents of the book but the seed of skepticism is well and truly sown. Perhaps Krishnamurti would have been happy with this posthumous publication as he always maintained that it is the teachings that matter and not the teacher. He despised any cult following after his death and this book would probably do just that.
Rating:
Summary: Reply to John-on-maui: Who could set us free?
Review: Radha Rajagopal Sloss's unique book is something of an unofficial biography of 20th century philosopher J. Krishnamurti and the events surrounding his career as a religious/philosophical teacher. The daughter of Rosalind Williams Rajagopal and husband D. Rajagopal, Radha Rajagopal Sloss's book is not a sordid expose, it is not graphic or insulting. It is simply a sincere account of her very real experiences growing up in amazing circumstances among amazing people. There is a lot of information here which isn't included in "official" biographies of philosopher J. Krishnamurti, which helps the reader get a better idea of the politics and humanness which even great men may be affected by. Author Sloss in fact, mentioned this tendancy of official biographies to ignore or excuse certain parts of Krishnamurti's life as a reason for penning this work. Some of the controversy this book generated is due to the fact that certain students and followers of Krishnamurti believe that he was a living example of a perfect human. This volume disspells that myth, indeed, he looks quite human throughout this writing. It was interesting to find how Krishnamurti dealt with some of his biggest stressors, including financial disagreements with friend D. Rajagopal, and the pregnancy (by him) of his dear lover Rosalind Williams Rajagopal. Radha describes her love of "Krinsh" (Krishnamurti), who was like a second father to her, and how his increasing unwillingness to deal with problems damaged many relationships and people. Included are numerous letters to and from Krishnamurti, D. Rajagopal and Rosaling Rajagopal, and numerous other individuals who were active on the Theosophical movement or Krishnamurti's teachings. A very worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in history, philosophy, or the full history of J. Krishnamurti.
Rating:
Summary: An Honest Historical Account of Fascinating People!
Review: Radha Rajagopal Sloss's unique book is something of an unofficial biography of 20th century philosopher J. Krishnamurti and the events surrounding his career as a religious/philosophical teacher. The daughter of Rosalind Williams Rajagopal and husband D. Rajagopal, Radha Rajagopal Sloss's book is not a sordid expose, it is not graphic or insulting. It is simply a sincere account of her very real experiences growing up in amazing circumstances among amazing people. There is a lot of information here which isn't included in "official" biographies of philosopher J. Krishnamurti, which helps the reader get a better idea of the politics and humanness which even great men may be affected by. Author Sloss in fact, mentioned this tendancy of official biographies to ignore or excuse certain parts of Krishnamurti's life as a reason for penning this work. Some of the controversy this book generated is due to the fact that certain students and followers of Krishnamurti believe that he was a living example of a perfect human. This volume disspells that myth, indeed, he looks quite human throughout this writing. It was interesting to find how Krishnamurti dealt with some of his biggest stressors, including financial disagreements with friend D. Rajagopal, and the pregnancy (by him) of his dear lover Rosalind Williams Rajagopal. Radha describes her love of "Krinsh" (Krishnamurti), who was like a second father to her, and how his increasing unwillingness to deal with problems damaged many relationships and people. Included are numerous letters to and from Krishnamurti, D. Rajagopal and Rosaling Rajagopal, and numerous other individuals who were active on the Theosophical movement or Krishnamurti's teachings. A very worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in history, philosophy, or the full history of J. Krishnamurti.
Rating:
Summary: Hypocrisy and Ego Exposed
Review: This book brings a much needed balance to the legacy of Krishnamurti. I am amused by the reviews below that implore us to separate the man from his teachings, as if this would maintain the purity of the teachings. So much for wholeness and integrity then. What are we to make of teachings that even the teacher cannot be touched by? What are we to make of a teacher who near the end of his life says that no one has ever "got it" and that he alone understands the "truth"? Such people are called egotistical. Read this book and de-program yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed it but didn't take it seriously
Review: Well, I read this and enjoyed it. Of course, I kept in mind the woman who wrote it, and her mother, had an axe to grind. Krishnamurti was raised on money provided to him and two other people as future leaders of the theosophical society. The two other people were the parents of the woman who wrote this book. The three of them lived together, or at least in physical proximity, for decades. Krishnamurti never preached celibacy for others that I ever heard. Sometimes he seemed to imply he was celibate. But if you really listened to him he basically said it didn't seem to matter in his life whether he was or wasn't. Which clearly told me he was not celibate. I don't know why some people thought he was. So, it turns out he had an affair with this woman's mother for twenty years. He was monogamous to that relationship and they admit he was very attentive and considerate. There was nothing tawdry about it AT ALL. Later, they broke up and this is where the bad blood comes in Krishnamurti's life stayed bound up with these two people (sloss's mom and pop) through contractual ties, even after he broke up with his girlfriend (the mom). Too much familiarity breeds contempt and the people around krishnamurti in the sixties, seventies and eighties complained these two (sloss's parents) treated krishnamurti with contempt and were ultra bossy and overbearing to him. Some of these allegations about her parents were written in books (by Mary Lutyens). Finally he managed to sever all ties with them after a court battle and endless negotiations. It was the printed attacks on her parents that sloss is responding to in this book. She loved her parents, as rightly she should. However, she clearly twists some facts but can't completely quit being fond of krishnamurti as well.
Some things she says are darned strange. Krishna (please, I don't want to keep typing his whole name) had a full-blown kundalini process going most of his life. I saw him in person once (about a year before he died) and you'd have to be a real rhinoceros (thick skinned) not to feel the energy (prana/chi/shakti whatever you want to call it) radiating from him; yet at one point sloss and mommy dearest imply they thought it was fake. bizarre! If they're serious then they spent all that time living with him and got basically nothing out of it. Weird. Like living with Picasso for twenty years but never bothering to pay any attention to that painting stuff. Some of her attacks on him have merit. No one is perfect and he never claimed to be. If you want to know what they were, read the book. Anyway, I just read this for the second time and I can't help liking krishnamurti a lot. This would make him throw up (his whole philosophy was to live without role models) but i find him a really excellent role model for sane, peaceful living. He did hatha yoga (two hours worth!) every single morning, followed by a half hour of pranayama (yogic breathing), followed by meditation. (Kind of a shock to people who took his attacks on meditation too seriously). He also did "power walking" and was a strict vegetarian. What struck me most about the three people whose lives are chronicled here is this: they weren't physically related to one another (the woman was american, the two men Indian), they were all vegetarian from early on and...they all lived to be over ninety years old! I read this book and quit eating meat.
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