Customer Reviews

The Light of Krishnamurti

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This text is a welcome contribution to the growing body of books about Krishnamurti, written by people who were close to him and whose lives were profoundly affected by his. It makes no bones about being autobiographical, but what gives the book its tenor and vigor is the constant braiding of the author's life with K's in terms of what she calls `The Light'. This is not an allegorical or literary device: rather, it is the thematic ground from which their lives (and, indeed, all lives) grow and in which alone they find substance and meaning. The word `light' appears, not only in the title, but in each of the ten chapters into which the book is divided. The locus and focus of the action is Ojai, where the author spent her formative years as one of the first students of The Happy Valley School, an experience mirrored over twenty years later, when her son Raj became Brockwood Park School's first student. It was obviously an inspirational time, with that sense of unbounded possibility which living with Krishnaji generated in people. Gabriele had a bent and a talent for music, which kept her in touch with what she terms her `sleepworld', a place of joy and sunlit innocence, to which she had access as a child. It comes as one of the epiphanies of the book, when the light she experiences in this state takes on the form of the actual Krishnamurti, telling her to attend next day's talk in the Oak Grove. From then on she no longer visits her `sleep-world', but a lifelong bond with K is sealed. The author goes through numerous changes, ...the integration of `The Light' with the work of clairvoyant healing for which she is noted heralds the onset of her mature years...Deftly, however, the author moves on to a clairvoyant description of a talk at Saanen and an account of K' death in similar vein.

The Light of Krishnamurti is not in this book. The author freely uses the name of Krishnamurti to promote a very boring autobiography. Mrs. Blackburn does not contribute in any form to advance the knowledge about this profound and spiritual leader.

Having read Gabriele Blackburns book on The Science and Art of Pendulum a number of years ago I was delighted to discover her autobiography: The Light of Krishnamurti and learn more about the author and her interesting life growing up in the Light of Krishnamurti. Thank you.

It's a book about 'the light', whatever that means. If you believe in spirits, magic, astral travel and all that mumbo jumbo, you will probably enjoy this book. Otherwise, skip it. It is not about Krishnamurti, there's not even one page dedicated to a discussion of his life or ideas. I don't know why Mrs Blackburn put Krishnamurti's name on the cover if all she wanted to do was to write about herself. Maybe she's well aware that with a more appropriate title, like "The Autobiography of Gabriele Blackburn", she wouldn't have found a publisher.

If you are in any way interested in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, do not waste your time with this book. It's a self-serving autobiography of a self-proclaimed 'healer' on an ego trip. Every page is filled with I's, Me's and We's and there are several pictures of the author and her husband. Apparently her parents knew Krishnamurti and this influenced her in a very peculiar way, so she decided to tell the world about it. The opening pages contain the following statement, which reflects the spirit of the entire book:

"(My parents) conciously asked for a third child. They wished for one who would be able to understand the inmensity of Krishnamurti's teachings, live them, and be a bearer of that Light of Truth. Apparently such a one was attracted to them, as I was conceived in Ommen that summer. I was born on May 10, 1930, a date so close to Krishnamurti's birth date that they took it as a sign."

There is also a story about what "really" happenned to Krishnamurti when he died, as the author claims to have seen it all while in some kind of out of body experience. Enough said.