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