K wasn’t a god, a holy man, nor an authority. He was a full-fledged human being who lived an extraordinary life befitting a Netflix miniseries. After reading these biographies, written by women who loved him, I have no problem accepting the man he was. His message was simple–find out for yourself; have no beliefs and no authority.
Candles in the Sun by Lady Emily Lutyens
Lives in the Shadows with J. Krishnamurti by Radha Sloss
Would they have as wide a viewing audience? Can you imagine the boon for the foundations if Krishnamurti’s life story was on Netflix? There are always going to be people interested in the things K was made of, but very few these days have heard of him. It would be like a resurrection.
The biographies cover “the things K was made of” starting with being from the Brahmin caste, the loss of his mother at a young age, the strange ideas of the theosophists who (abducted) trained him, his years on the speaking tour before denouncing them, his secret life, and on and on. His life on Netflix could be a top series.
The series would have to have a thorough, fair, and evenhanded treatment of what is seen as Krishnamurti’s shadow side: The Shadow Side of Krishnamurti - Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Doing that demands the right kind of writers, producers, directors.
It could be a fair-minded documentary, but would Netflix be the place for it? Even if the average Netflix fan could be interested enough to sit through the whole thing, it would only reinforce the comforting notion that the most highly regarded individuals are as sordid and duplicitous as the rest of us.