Krishnamurti and the Ojai Valley

By Ellen Sklarz

“He traveled the world for sixty-five years and spoke to more people than anyone else in modern history. His name was J. Krishnmaurti.”
-From the 1989 documentary film, With a Silent Mind

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on May 12, 1895, in south India to middle-class Brahmin parents. For more than sixty-five years, until his death at age ninety, he traveled the world speaking to large audiences, not as an authority but as a lover of truth. He engaged in dialogues with religious leaders, scientists, teachers, authors, psychologists, students, celebrities and other interested people.

Many years ago, Krishnamurti told a friend, “If I had nowhere to go in the world, I would come to Ojai. I would sit under an orange tree; it would shade me from the sun, and I could live on the fruit.” He first came to the Ojai Valley in 1922 with his brother Nityananda, who had tuberculosis and needed to live in a warm, dry climate.

The Ojai Valley of the 1920s, 30s and 40s was quite different than it is today. The population was smaller, the roads were unpaved, no doors were locked, and there was no traffic. World War II hardly touched the valley, and its stillness and unspoiled splendor soothed most of the people who came here. Krishnamurti also loved the untouched beauty, the tranquility, and the climate of the valley. Ojai offered him relief from crowds of people who flocked to hear him speak in Europe, India, Australia and throughout the United States.

Krishnamurti’s life in the valley was quiet. Wearing a large Mexican hat to shade him while walking, he mingled and sang songs with the orange pickers working in the East End groves. He walked all through the hills and to the top of the Topa Topa ridge and Chief Peak. He went to the Ojai Theater, if a Disney movie, animal film, or American musical classic such as “Oklahoma,” ” Brigadoon,” or “Annie Get Your Gun” was playing.

Some have said that Krishnamurti indirectly established the intellectual and social climate of the Ojai Valley. From his earliest days here, he attracted people from all over the world who traveled here to interview him and attend his yearly talks in the Oak Grove in Meiners Oaks. Among those were Aldous Huxley and Dr. David Bohm, Jackson Pollack, Christopher Isherwood, and Ann Morrow Lindbergh. Hollywood stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Elsa Lanchester, Greta Garbo, and Charles Laughton also came to the valley to hear him, as his reputation grew worldwide.

Krishnamurti met with everyone – famous or unknown, intellectual or not – listening and asking questions about the deeper issues of life that are relevant to all people. Those thought-provoking discussions and talks were initially recorded as verbatim reports, and in later years on audio and video tapes. But most people have come to know of these teachings through books.

In 1969, Krishnamurti and a group of trustees formed the Krishnamurti Foundation of America (KFA). Today, the KFA is part of a group of Krishnamurti foundations in England, Latin America, Canada, and India, with committees of the foundations located throughout the world. These organizations had, and still have, the unambiguous purpose of preserving, protecting, and disseminating Krishnamurti’s teachings. He asked that this new foundation and the existing foundations do nothing to interpret or explain the teachings. The dialogues hosted by all the foundations offer a process of inquiry into issues of life and living.

Today, the KFA is still thriving, with many people coming to stay at the Krishnamurti Retreat, located in the East End. The turn-of-the-century California ranch house had been Krishnamurti’s home in the Ojai Valley for many years, and has recently been refurbished for visiting guests who come to explore the depth of the teachings or to simply be alone and quiet. Situated among eucalyptus, cypress and cedar trees, the house is next door to the Krishnamurti Archives building and the Krishnamurti Library.

In 1973, Krishnamurti articulated plans to open a school in Ojai similar to those he founded in India and England. He asked R.E. Mark Lee, the former principal of the Rishi Valley Junior School in south India, to come here with his wife, Asha, and their daughters. Lee would be the founding director of the new school and develop it on the 175 acres of virgin land on Lomita Avenue in Meiners Oaks.

In 1975, the Oak Grove School opened with three students and two teachers in Arya Vihara, the rambling ranch house on McAndrew Drive that had been Krishnamurti’s home from the 1920s. The school moved to the Meiners Oaks property in 1977. A warm family atmosphere prevailed, with everyone helping with the maintenance of the house and property. Asha Lee organized the kitchen and garden, and looked after the many guests who came from all over the world. Later, Alan Hooker of the Ranch House joined her. Michael Krohnen was trained as the school and foundation chef, later writing the renowned Kitchen Chronicles: 1001 Lunches with J. Krishnamurti.

Krishnamurti talked with the staff about the ancient gurukul educational concept in India in which students came to the home of a teacher to learn and participate in all activities of living. Currently present at Oak Grove School is this holistic learning concept, balancing high academic achievement with a nurturing atmosphere that helps children mature and flourish with affection and intelligence. A family setting still exists at the school, with students and parents working closely together to create one environment for children.

Today there are nine schools founded by Krishnamurti – seven throughout India, one in Brockwood Park, England, and the Oak Grove School in Ojai. In establishing these many schools, Krishnamurti envisioned that education should emphasize the integral cultivation of the mind and the heart, not mere academic intelligence. For those decades that he engaged in dialogues with teachers and students, he intended to bring home the understanding that it is only in the freedom from conditioning that true learning can take place.

In the last twenty years of Krishnamurti’s life, he would spend three or four months a year in the Ojai Valley as a respite from India, where he had a full schedule of talk and travels. He spent his days walking, gardening, resting, seeing friends, and conducting just a few interviews before the annual May talks in the Oak Grove. He was very involved with the KFA and Oak Grove School, and would often meet with staff and parents to discuss and explore those issues at the heart of the school’s work.

Ultimately, Jiddu Krishnamurti’s affection for the Ojai Valley was expressed in his wish at Madras in January of 1986, when his health was failing. Asking to get back to Ojai as quickly as possible, he arrived tired and weakened after traveling via Singapore and Tokyo to Los Angeles. Krishnamurti died at the age of ninety on February 17, 1986.

24 Replies to “Krishnamurti and the Ojai Valley”

  1. I met Krishnamurti in 1960 at a dinner with several staff members of Happy Valley School. I had come to Ojai with the notion that I could live “the simple life” and not seek financial rewards. He challenged me by explaining that he’d never found an “enlightened” person who had made the transition without first finding financial independence. It made perfect sense to me. I turned away from “the simple life” and returned to my career in insurance and “lived happily evermore”. It was a different message than the one that I had expected to hear from Krishnamurti, but the truth is sometimes different than one may be inclined to hear.

  2. @Dean…..I consider that he did me a great service. He was a realist about the need to keep one’s financial condition in order. He had personal experience of coming close to the shoals in life.

  3. Krishnamurti may have meant that a person living intelligently would not depend on others for his livelihood; an “enlightened” individual would figure out how to live with financial independence. K also talked about the need to live a simple life with an austere mind, not putting too much emphasis on material possessions. Certainly, Krishnamurti himself figured out how to live with both independence and freedom. On the other hand, Krishnamurti was not big on achieving financial security. On several occasions he observed that people with a “secure income” often begin to deteriorate psychologically; it is the daily challenge of living with the unknown that keeps the mind fresh and attentive.

  4. There’s a dirt road that runs along an irrigation ditch in Ojai. It’s fall and as the sun sets it is cool out. Nothing you’ve done prepared you for it. It just came uninvited as you walked alone down the lane. Words failed, you had no prior knowledge to recognize it so you can never explain it to another. The closest word you can come up with is love. Words so limiting. Word is not the thing-K. Changed forever in an instant by something undescribable. You’re truth that no one can take away…..

  5. He teaches me how to live and how can enjoy …
    Thank you krishna murti ji … you are my angel …

  6. I WAS OVERJOYED TO HEAR HIM J.K. speak on all aspects of life. He expanded my awareness into higher conscious level of thinking and living.

  7. I was a very troubled and perhaps overly sensitive teenager in a hostile environment., rife with gangs, drugs and deviancy.

    On one of the pointless, aimless nights I was stumbling home, higher than the sky and as my foot touched the curb of my block, my head involuntarily tilted back. There, in the sky, was a lone star, and the thought, clear as a bell, filled my empty chest; I knew there was more to life than this.

    In my early 20’s I came across Krishnamurti and was immediately struck by the authentic, real tone of his thoughts. Being from LA, we made the trek to Ojai. It was a relationship that never ended, and I consider myself very lucky to have listened to him many times in the Oak Grove. When I think of him I recall his handkerchief he used to wipe his eyes, and that he sometimes sat on his hands.

    More, “he” saved that poor, tortured young man. I owe him a ton.

    One time, after his talk, people were setting up for the lunch they’d always have afterwards. My friend and I decided instead to just take a walk through the oak grove. On our way back, lo and behold, Krishnamurti just “popped out”! Guess he needed a walk too. We didn’t fawn over him, number one, because real Angelenos who are used to seeing stars etc., we kind of don’t get star struck. Instead, we just stood there staring at each other. Then my friend stuck out his hand and said, “Thank you/” Krishnamurti nodded at us and then we were on our way.

    Later, I remarked to my friend about Krishnamurti’s eyes, how he seemed like he was on the verge of crying. And wouldn’t you know, this friend who I would later have a falling out with and never see again, uttered some of the most apropos words ever: “Krishnamurti may appear as if he’s on the verge of crying, but that look isn’t the result of crying a million tears; it comes from ***seeing***.”

    Like any story, there is much more, but one other thing that’s significant in my life is that I fell in love with Ojai. At base I’m still an Angeleno, but because of Krishnamurti and that healing time, part of my heart will forever be about 90 miles north of LA.

  8. K has changed what i am today , the whole look at world is different – myself changed and living to a higher state of consciousness. His teaching should be read by everyone.

    it will add meaning to life.

  9. Krishnamurti felt the stillness, beauty and consciousness of Ojai and added to this valley his own grace. (And I’m wondering if the Craig Walker, who posted above, is the same Craig Walker i knew years ago in Mt. Shasta.)

  10. Glad to see someone mention Happy Valley, as my 82 year-old mother speaks of her time there having given her some of the happiest experiences in her life. She’s still an avid student of Krishnamurti. I’m grateful for how his philosophy and teachings helped shape the person she became. She attended Happy Valley in the early 50’s.

  11. I have not been to visit Ojai in over 5 years. In the past as a Holistic Therapist & Educator I traveled to Ojai at least 2 times a month. The Krishnamurti Retreat & Library were common stop over’s. This man embodied wisdom – love – Insight & a deep connection to the Divine. Spending time at the Retreat always feels like coming Home – Soon time for another visit. http://Www.careforallwellnessandhealth.com

  12. I am 91.l visited Ojai a few years ago after hearing about Krishnamurti on a visit
    to Adyar in India and the Krishnamurti center there.
    Ojai made a great impression on me. It’s beautiful location and climate and association with Krishnamurti left me enthralled.
    Unfortunately l doubt being able to make any further visits to Ojai so l will have to treasure the memory of my earlier trip.

  13. I went to California to visit my sister and decided to visit Ojai to meet K. I stayed in the rooms at the retreat/school at Ojai. I met the director and his wife and was asked on occasion to watch their children who must be quite grown up by now. I applied to work there but was turned down. I enjoyed the delicious lunches and watched the chef prepare them in the kitchen. Anyway I met K at a talk in one of the rooms there. There may have been 20 people. I asked him why he never got married and he just said” won’t you have some refreshments.” It was such a wonderful time there. When I went back down to the outer towns I felt a tremendous shift of energy noticing the far less spiritual atmosphere of the surrounding towns. It was actually a shock to my mind . I have most of his books and pamphlets and understand more and more as I get older. I am 75 now. At the time I was in my thirties I believe. I am now what they call a “lightworker” . I wonder what he would have said about that .

  14. I’m 94, with a life writing on newspapers then owning a used book store. Quite early I happened upon the writings of Krishnamurti and his books still dominate my admiration and respect–quite a surprise that he’s the only person I really admire.

  15. Mr. Krishnamurti had a lasting impact, not only on Ojai valley, but on the world. Perhaps it was his presence there that gave Frank Capra the idea to choose Ojai as the location for the 1937 movie Lost Horizon. I came to Ojai first in the late 1970’s—a lost young man eager for insight—and met the great man, right after one of his spring talks at the Oak Grove. What a life-changing experience! A decade later I visited again several times a year for gatherings and meetings, over a period of nearly ten years. And then, for about a year, we moved to the area.
    I notice a palpable presence in valley, every time I walk from Oak View into the Ojai valley—as you turn the corner to where you first see the upper valley. I attribute this to Krishnamurti’s presence. But even years after he passed, I can still feel it whenever I visit there.

  16. So lovely to read all these posts, of all you lucky people who met and heard Krishnamurti in person. It is great to know that he still has a lasting impact to all and that his books are able to touch those of us who never met him. I would love to visit the Ojai Valley one day if life allows it.
    Melbourne, Australia

  17. I can’t believe the first post in this thread was in 2011 and the most recent one, merely a year ago! My encounter with Krishnamurti’s teaching started in the early eighties. I read his books, listen to his videos. It opened the ancient wisdom of India for me and the insight a gnani can share. Many years later I went to
    Chennai and admired the place where he used to lecture. I felt sadness. I had a feeling I had missed the opportunity to meet him. And yet his teachings are alive and fresh. … I am heading to Ojai Valley in a few days, I never expected this gift of visiting Ojai, but Grace is unforeseeable.

  18. Krishnamurti’s teachings changed my life. They are basic and simple, and yet, paradoxically, difficult to understand. Only by going deeper and deeper into observation of the sense of self does freedom become evident. It somehow becomes blatantly obvious that the seer is the seen. Something clicks and then it becomes clear that we are seeing ourselves in everything, because we are not actually the limited, conditioned self. Few are interested in finding this, because it takes a lot of work. Most are not ready or inclined to challenge that which has been too afraid to be challenged. I spent more than a decade before discovering that there is nothing to discover.

    Krishnamurti’s teachings are invaluable. He was a true sage, able to see and teach with great clarity. His words are clear and yet cannot be understood by the intellect in any way that is deeply helpful. One must abandon all belief and conditioning to see “what is;” and this “what is” is the totality that exists within a personless self.

  19. Bob, I tend to agree with the advice you received. Though I think awakening happens randomly I do not think it is likely to happen when your body is hungry or sleepy or is otherwise constrained.

    However a feature of being is contentment.

    The main thing is that each person’s journey is their own, but we will all end up in the same place: it is all an illusion.

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