Louis Brawley was born in Ohio and lived and worked in New York, where he met UG Krishnamurti in 2002. Louis traveled in the USA, India, and Europe with UG for the following five years, acting as an informal caregiver as UG’s health deteriorated. Louis works as an artist, photographer and freelance art handler worldwide – occupations that fund his travels around the world writing and recording accounts and impressions from friends of the "Raging Sage."
UG from the book cover..."Goner will teach you the meaning of the phrase 'paradoxical truth'. UG Krishnamurti gave up everything for truth, but delighted in ridiculous fabrications: he was a teacher who refused to teach; a man who mocked do-gooders but was deeply kind; he was chaste but foul-mouthed, he was a man who decried the supernatural ... yet there were strange coincidences around him.
Louis Brawley doesn't use honeyed platitudes to tell the story of a sage and his devoted follower; instead, he tells an often unflattering story of his own struggles and shortcomings and the dynamic uncertainties of life with a man who "tore apart everything human beings have built up inside and out for centuries."
Books and links:
Goner: The Final Travels of UG Krishnamurti
A good book of UG’s talks: The Courage to Stand Alone: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti
Louis' Website
Louis' blog
Transcript of this interview
Interview recorded 5/25/2013
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Louis Brawley and U.G. Krishnamurti
00:05:16 - The Effect of Yuji's Words
00:10:12 - Meeting Yuji and the Influence of Jiddu Krishnamurti
00:14:29 - The Ordinary Language of Yuji
00:18:44 - Acknowledging Spontaneity and Naturalness
00:22:10 - Yuji's Encounter with Ramana Maharshi and the Central Question
00:26:01 - Yuji's Troubled Family Life
00:29:44 - Traveling through Eastern Bloc Countries
00:33:45 - The Pursuit and Loss of Yuji's Life
00:37:08 - The Question that Stopped
00:40:47 - The Body and Thought
00:44:35 - Awakening and Spiritual Practices
00:48:34 - Profound Shift and Continued Unfoldment
00:53:16 - Recognition of Oneness and Enlightenment
00:57:46 - The Influence of Gurus and Classic Hindu Scriptures
01:02:19 - The Evolutionary Force in the Universe
01:06:26 - Contradictions and Judgments
01:11:11 - Comparing Different Spiritual Teachers
01:15:23 - The Transformative Effect of Words
01:19:18 - Challenging Conventional Ideas
01:23:20 - Integration in the World and Inner Experience
01:28:00 - The Influence of UG Krishnamurti
01:31:43 - The Vatican and Obscene Wealth
01:35:05 - A Peculiar and Perfect Relationship
01:38:45 - The Impact of Recognition
01:41:31 - Parallels and Ironies
01:44:36 - Transformation and Disillusionment
01:47:48 - Reflections on a Life-changing Experience
01:50:42 - Explaining the Spiritual Journey
01:54:16 - The Enigma of Yuji Krishnamurti
01:56:52 - Conclusion and Next Steps