Jiddu Krishnamurti was born to Narianiah and Sanjeevamma Jiddu, from an orthodox Telugu Brahmin family in Madanapalle, India, on May 12, 1895. As a teenager (in 1909), Jiddu was noticed by Mr CW Leadbeater on the Theosophical Society’s private beach attached to the local headquarters of the then Adyar, Madras (now Chennai, Tamilnadu), India. Both the leaders of the Theosophical Society, Ms Annie Besant and Mr CW Leadbeater were captivated by the charm, personality and potential of this young 14 year boy and took him under their tutelage. They believed him to be a "vehicle" for an expected "World Teacher" who would enact positive change in the global society for the betterment of the mankind.

In the late 1920s Besant traveled to the United States with her protégé and adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom she claimed was the new Messiah and incarnation of Buddha. However, Krishnamurti rejected all these claims in 1929 at the age of 34. He publicly renounced the fame and messiah status he had gained from being proclaimed the new incarnation of the ‘Maitreya Buddha’ by the Theosophical Society, and dissolved the world-wide organization (the Order of the Star) that was established to support it. He spent the rest of his life traveling the world as an individual (independent) speaker, speaking to large and small groups and also to the interested individuals on spiritualism and freedom from fear.

Krishnamurti settled down in the US soon get to be recognized to be a well-known writer and speaker on fundamental philosophical and spiritual subjects. He was the next to Paramhansa Yogananda to choose the US as the launching site for his mission and legacy he wanted to leave behind. His subject matter included (but was not limited to): the purpose of meditation, human relationships, and how to bring harmony in global society. He spent the rest of his life publishing regularly and holding public talks, mostly in South Asia, Europe and the United States and authored a number of books, among them "The First and Last Freedom", "The Only Revolution", and "Krishnamurti's Notebook". In addition, a large collection of his talks and discussions have been published.

At the age of 89, he addressed the United Nations on the subject of peace and awareness, and was awarded the 1984 UN Peace Medal. His last public talk was in January 1986 in Madras (now Chennai), India, just a month before his death. He passed away on February 17, 1986 at his home in Ojai, California, USA just a few weeks short of his ninety first birth day. This was a day of celebration for the merger of a great soul into the ultimate Universal Entity, The ‘Param Brahma’, described by the Hindus and Buddhists alike as 'Moksha or Nirvana’.

Though Jiddu Krishnamurty had left the worldly stage, his inspired supporters, working through various charitable trusts, founded several independent schools across the world-in India, England and the United States and transcribed many of his thousands of talks and published them as the most effective spiritual education tools and philosophical books.

His official biographer, Mary Lutyens wrote a book about Krishnamurti's early life in India, England, and finally in Ojai, California, entitled "Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening". She was a close associate of his from the Order of the Star, and knew him from the early days until the end of his life. This book contains many insights into this period of his life, about which he rarely spoke.

Lutyens wrote three additional volumes of his biography:
"The Years of Fulfillment" (1983),
"The Open Door" (1988), and
"Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals" (1996).

Additionally, she published an abridgement of the first three volumes,
"The Life and Death of Krishnamurti" (1991).

Other published biographies of Krishnamurti include:
"Krishnamurti, A Biography" (1986), by associate Pupul Jayakar and
"Star In the East: Krishnamurti", and
"The Invention of a Messiah" (2002), by Roland Vernon.