Krishnamurti had a reputation for being able to heal people with his hands, but he didn’t like it to be widely known. He didn’t advertise it in any way, and it was not the kind of thing that fell within the purview of his public talks. If people in his immediate circle were ailing, however, he might volunteer to see what he could do. My impression was that he was somewhat skeptical about it — maybe it worked, and maybe it didn’t. But he was willing to try it, and I know he got a lot of positive feedback from people who might have wanted to believe that he had healing powers.
I had an opportunity to observe his healing procedure after my wife had undergone a surgical procedure. Vivienne was going up and down the stairs outside our apartment rather gingerly, and Krishnamurti asked if she would like him to see if he could help. She said yes, and he told her to come up to his cottage at a certain time. She went there a couple of times, and one day he asked if I wanted to observe it. He probably could see that I was curious to know what exactly transpired.
So next time she went up to his cottage, I went with her. He told me to sit in a certain chair where I could see what was happening in the next room. He had Vivienne sit upright in a straight-backed chair and he stood behind her. He stood there quietly for a minute. Then he put his hands on her shoulders. He rested his hands there for about ten seconds. Then he held his hands at his sides and shook them like a dog shaking off water. That took a few seconds, and then he repeated the whole procedure. He probably went through eight or ten repetitions of this. Then he told her they were done.
In the days that followed, occasionally he asked her if she felt any better. It seemed clear that he really did not know whether it would have any benefit or not. Vivienne did not undergo any sudden or dramatic improvement. She was gradually getting better in any case, and it was hard to know to what to attribute any favorable results.
Krishnamurti clearly had some idea what he was doing. His actions were precise and deliberate. He must have been working at a systemic level because he never attempted to touch the area of her surgery, or anywhere near it. The image that his actions appear to suggest is one of drawing out some kind of negative energy or subtle pollution — something he could rid himself of by shaking his hands. But he didn’t offer any explanations, and I chose not to ask him about it. Somehow it seemed like an area into which it would be better not to inquire or intrude.
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