is a1991

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

by Radha Rajagopal Sloss (b.1931). It chronicles aspects of the long, intimate, and ultimately contentious relationship of the author's family with the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti.

About the work

The author's father Rajagopalacharya Desikacharya (commonly D. Rajagopal, 19001993), and mother Rosalind Rajagopal (19031996), were friends and associates of Jiddu Krishnamurti (18951986) for four decades; throughout this time they lived in close proximity with him in Ojai, California. While growing up, the author viewed the unconventional Indian philosopher, whom she affectionately called , as a member of her family. Eventually, the personal and business relationships of her parents and Krishnamurti soured permanently. The acrimony culminated in drawn-out legal actions that were fully settled only after Krishnamurti's death. Radha Rajagopal Sloss covers aspects of these relationships in some detail, but the book is best known for its descriptions of facets of Krishnamurti's private life, especially his long-term

extramarital affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

with the author's mother. Additionally, the book contains statements about Krishnamurti's character (and certain of his actions) that have generated controversy.

Author statement

Rajagopal Sloss stated the following regarding the work:

Publication history

The book was originally published in (5 years after Krishnamurti's death), by Bloomsbury Publishing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. A US edition was published by

Addison-Wesley Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles throu ...

in In Rajagopal Sloss re-released the work through iUniverse, a US self-publishing company .

Select editions

*Rajagopal Sloss, Radha (March 1993). ''Lives in the shadow with J. Krishnamurti'' ( hardcover) (1st US ed.).

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 census. History Settlement and American independence Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settle ...

. . * (September 2000). ''Lives in the shadow with J. Krishnamurti'' (

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

Self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

. via iUniverse.

Reception

The book has been favorably reviewed by

Tim Heald Tim Villiers Heald FRSL (28 January 1944 – 20 November 2016) was a British author, biographer, journalist and public speaker. Life and writings Heald was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, and Balliol ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (London), Patricia Beer ('' London Review of Books''), and Firdaus Kanga in the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' (London). The revelations regarding the extramarital affair were met with surprise and consternation by Krishnamurti adherents, and generated a measure of adverse publicity. A Krishnamurti biographer wrote that "history will not view Krishnamurti in quite the same light", yet the same author considered the long-term impact of the revelations doubtful. Several statements about Krishnamurti present in the work have been characterized as controversial, and provoked rebuttal publications by Krishnamurti associates and affiliated institutions. An independent source has described the book as "deliberately

iconoclastic Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

".Reid, David (1994) . "The Possessed". In Reid, David (ed.). ''Sex, Death, and God in L.A.'' (

) (1st paperback ed.).

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...

. . .

References

External links

"The Shadow Side of Krishnamurti"
Rajagopal Sloss interviewed in 1991 by

Helen Tworkov Helen Tworkov is founding editor of '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'', the first and only independent Buddhist magazine, and author of ''Zen in America: Profiles of Five Teachers'' (North Point Press, 1989; Kodansha, 1994). She first encountered ...

for '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'' magazine. {{Jiddu Krishnamurti 1991 non-fiction books Biographical books Bloomsbury Publishing books Jiddu Krishnamurti