Krishnamurti was born into a Telugu Brahmin family in what was then colonial India. In early adolescence, he had a chance encounter with a prominent occultist and high-ranking member of the Theosophical Society. He was subsequently raised under the tutelage of leaders of the Society at the time, who believed him to be the likely "vehicle" for an expected World Teacher. As a young man, he disavowed this idea and dissolved the worldwide organization (called the Order of the Star) established to support it. He declared allegiance to no nationality, caste, religion, or philosophy, and spent the rest of his life traveling the world as an individual speaker, speaking to large and small groups, as well as with interested individuals. He 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. His last public talk was in Madras, India, in January 1986, a month before his death at his home in Ojai, California.

His supporters, working through several non-profit foundations, oversee a number of independent schools centered on his views on education - in India, Great Britain and the United States - and continue to transcribe and distribute many of his thousands of talks, group and individual discussions, and other writings, publishing them in a variety of formats including print, audio, video and digital media as well as online, in many languages.