This is the biography of J. Krishnamurti, one of the great spiritual leaders of the 20th century. When he was just 14 in 1909, Krishnamurti was proclaimed the world teacher-to-be in which Maitreya, the Bodhisattva of compassion, would manifest. This proclamation was made by Annie Besant, the then president of the Theosophical Society, a movement that combined Western occult philosophy with Buddhist and Hindu teachings. But, despite undergoing 20 years of training, Krishnamurti rejected the Messianic role and set out alone on his spiritual quest. As a contemporary of Krishnamurti, the author, Pupul Jayakar, offers an insider's view of his life. She discusses Krishnamurti's thoughts and ideas on the mind, on meditation, on awareness and on religion, placing them in a historical context.