The Pepper Tree Meeting: When Joseph Campbell Met Krishnamurti
In the year 1924, aboard a steamship crossing the Atlantic from New York to London, a chance meeting occurred between the future mythologist Joseph Campbell, twenty years old, and the young Theosophist Philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, twenty-eight years old. No one knows what was said during that meeting.
It is nearly noon when they meet the Hindus. The steamship passed under a massive cloud system that had obscured the Sun for nearly two hours, and the railings of the great vessel were moist with condensation from the atmosphere and ocean spray. The kitchen staff was a flutter of activity preparing for lunch while the ship lurched.
Alice Campbell puts on a fuss face when the fingers of her glove grow soaked, running over the ship’s wet handrail. She verges on vomiting. The Atlantic Ocean is more treacherous today than when they left New York the day before. But now a dark brown hand is next to her wet white glove and a scratchy high voice asks, << Might I offer you assistance, Madam? Would you care to sit down and rest? >>
Alice whirls around to look at the man who owns such a dark, beautiful hand. Her brother Joe approaches nonchalantly, trying to look handsome and worldly with his new pencil fuzz mustache. Yesterday, he joked with her that he would shave it into a toothbrush like the European men in Bavaria are wearing on their faces.
But all his pretense is put aside when he sees his sister swoon and nearly falter. With the speed of Hermes, Joe rushes to her side, as he will always rush to his baby sister’s side, but this time, before he can reach her, she collapses into the handsome Hindu’s arms. This causes a stir amongst these passengers who have never seen a white woman embraced by a dark-skinned man on the First Class promenade.
The Hindu seems embarrassed by his part in this situation, and he gracefully and graciously offers Alice’s weight over to her brother, who easily assumes it with his muscular frame and tightly knotted muscles, carved over an intense championship season of track running at Columbia.
Together, they move Alice to a comfortable repose in the vacated wicker chair facing the other Hindus. A beautiful American woman inserts herself between Joe and Alice. She tends to his sister like a lifelong friend, wiping Alice’s forehead now with a cool, wet cloth she procured from nowhere like a magician. The woman turns up to look at Joe, smiling and squinting because, finally, the Sun has broken through the clouds and is now in her eyes as she looks up at what may as well be a statue carved in marble. << Hello. I’m Rosalind. >>
Joe stammers hello and looks away quickly at the Hindus smiling at him. Before he can speak, Rosalind says, << This is Krishnamurti. You may have heard of him. >>
Joe says he’s sorry, but he hasn’t. He walks over to the silent but observant young man, bows his head, and offers his hand. << I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir. We’re well met despite the circumstances. >> Joe nods at his sister.
Krishnamurti says, << It’s nice to meet you. I see your sister is recovering now. >>
Alice opens her eyes like a thunderclap and sits straight in the chair. The color has come back to her face. She’s embarrassed but the group rapidly puts her at ease, each expressing concern and support for her present comfort.
Joe doesn’t wait for Rosalind’s next introduction. He introduces himself to the other two Hindu men. They smile, nod, and shake his hand. The man on the left was the man who caught Alice, Krishnamurti’s brother, Nitya. Now that Joe sees him outside crisis, he looks unwell. The last man introduces himself as Rajagopal, Mr. Krishnamurti’s personal secretary.
Joe’s face betrays his reaction to the man’s title. He looks again at Krishnamurti and bows his head curtly. << Well, it’s very nice to meet you all. We’ll let you get back to your conversation. >> He turns and says to his sister, << Dear Alice, are you able to walk? >>
Alice starts to rise, but Krishnamurti’s voice cuts through the performance. <<No! Please sit with us, and let’s talk. Let your sister be calm and recover. >>
Joe acquiesces. He sits in the empty chair Rosalind has procured from another hiding place. He places his hand on his sister’s and pats it for comfort. Then he pulls his hand together with the other in a praying position between his knees, a pose he learned early in Catholic school. Joe says, << Alice’s constitution is affected by ocean waves. She’s been this way since we were children. >> He smiles at her, and the rest of the group also smiles. << It took miracles of persuasion and sometimes outright deception to get her out on the Hudson when we were little. >>
Alice finally speaks, << I was more of a Coney Island fan. >> They all laugh. She looks better, laughing, and healthy. Full color has returned to her normally rosy cheeks.
Krishnamurti asks, << And what do you do, Joe and Alice? >>
Joe says, << I’m a student, or rather, I just graduated from Columbia. This Fall, I begin the quest for a Master’s degree. >>
Krishnamurti smiles and says, << A master, is that right? >>
Joe laughs and clarifies, << No, no. Just a degree. I’m no master. >> He reflects briefly and adds, << I don’t think I ever want to stop being a student. >> Krishnamurti leans forward and says, << Quite right, Sir! That’s the path. >>
Joe seems taken aback by the man’s sudden energy directed toward him. He’s clearly excited, which electrifies the group. Perhaps people walking by can feel it as well. Something gathers in the coming rain. The Sun is removed again.
Krishnamurti looks Joe Campbell over and notices a large scratch on his right arm. << What happened there, Sir, to your arm? >>
Joe looks at his arm and seems surprised to see the scratch. He smiles << We have a house in Woodstock, New York, and I was clearing scrub near the barn. I noticed a beautiful red pepper tree had sprung up there, but it was thistled in behind some really nasty thorn bushes. I paid for those peppers with my arm here, but Alice, they were worth it, weren’t they?” >> She nods and affirms, but something has shifted in the conversation.
At the mention of the pepper tree, Krishnamurti leans back, looks at his brother, and gracefully nods. His brother, seeing the sign they had agreed on years ago, gathers the rest of the entourage together, including Alice, and quietly tells them, << Krishna would like to speak with Joseph alone. Shall we get some food? >> They all agree, and Alice goes along but looks back at Joe, who is looking at her. He shrugs his strong shoulders fast and shows her a goofy smile he used to give her just before he convinced her to do some dangerous stunt, like when they jumped off the high rocks into the river as teenagers. It was a face that said, I didn’t expect this, but let’s see where it goes... Joe has a wild spirit and the kindest heart. But before she can think further, Rosalind pulls her into a hug, and they amble off down the promenade.
With the activity settled, Krishnamurti waves a finger across the speaking space. << Now, Joe. Tell me more about this pepper tree. >>
<><><><><>
The girls stand next to the deck telescope. Rosalind wheels it around to point back down the promenade. She taps Rajagopal on the arm and asks for a coin. He provides it without question, and she places it in the slot. The covers lift on the lenses, and she wheels the view into focus. She steps away and invites Alice to take a look. Alice leans in and observes for a few moments. She asks, << What do you think they’re talking about? >>
Whatever it is, Joe is fully enthralled by what Krishnamurti is saying. He is leaning forward, nodding over and over. << Oh, he looks like a damn fool. I hope he’s not embarrassing himself. >>
Rosalind laughs, << My dear, very few people get time alone with Krishnamurti at his request. He saw something in your brother that he is going to dig out. >>
At that, Alice breaks her gaze and looks at Rosalind, who smiles sheepishly. << What does that mean? >>
Rosalind says something that can’t be right. Alice must have misheard her because it sounded like she said Krishnamurti’s come to Earth to save us all. That is what she said, but she continues, << He calls all good people to his aid. >> Rosalind looks out at the ocean and asks, << Alice, is your brother a good person? >>
Alice says, << My brother is a gift from God. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. And I’ll kill you if you tell him I said that. >> Both women break into giggles. Rosalind ends this part of their conversation by saying, << Krishnamurti has his reasons. >>
Alice looks back into the pay telescope and sees that Krishnamurti is wildly gesturing with his hands, and Joe is leaning back in his chair with his hand on top of his head, looking exhausted. What could have been said in the last 30 seconds to make him look like he does when he finishes a race? The time is up before she forms the next thought, and the shutter of the pay telescope clicks shut, startling her.
Rosalind laughs and touches her shoulder. << Friends, perhaps we should gather our two men before the sky opens. >> They all look up and note the sparse raindrops now splattering on the deck. Behind them, a man opens an umbrella, and another coughs phlegm.
<><><><><>
The approaching giggles break the intense gaze both young men share in their chairs. The women soften the moment with their affection and news of the promenade. It is time for lunch. The food is ready and grows colder by the minute.
Joe doesn’t respond to Alice when she calls his name. He looks like a man in a trance. Krishnamurti is looking off to the ocean now. The Sun breaks through again. For a moment, a ray of light settles on his face, and he closes his eyes to receive it somewhere inside, where ancient forces churn. Joe says, << Well, we all have that inside us. >> Krishnamurti opens his eyes, looks at Joseph Campbell, and smiles, nodding once.
Krishnamurti looks at Rosalind, and she leans in to hear him whisper something inaudible to the others. She nods at him, stands, and addresses the others, << Krishna is very tired and will retire to his cabin for an afternoon nap. He wishes you all a wonderful day and hopes to see you at dinner tonight. >>
Joe and Alice stand and nod to the others, offering hands and shaking them. Joe looks at Krishnamurti one final time and half nods, holding his gaze down in what he doesn’t yet realize is a gesture of deep respect and gratitude. But Krishnamurti understands and nods back likewise in return.
They are halfway up the promenade, approaching the dining room entrance, when Rosalind catches up to them. She carries a book, and her hair flails in the salty wind. She looks like a sea nymph and is twice as beautiful as when Joe first fixed his gaze on her. This is a woman any man could love.
<< Joe! >> She calls from feet away. He smiles at her. << Krishna wanted you to have this. >>
He accepts the book, looks at it, and thanks her. Then he asks a curious question, << What will I find inside? >>
Rosalind smiles and tells him, << It’s the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha. >>
Joe looks at the book and speaks the author’s name and title out loud. << ‘The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold. >> He nods his head several times in interest and gratitude. << I don’t know about Buddha but look forward to learning. Tell Krishna thank you. And Rosalind, thank you! >> They grasp hands, and Rosalind reaches for Alice’s hand. They stand that way for several seconds, smiling at each other. Finally, Rosalind releases them and tells Joe, << We will be traveling from London to Paris over the next few weeks, and Krishna wants to keep in touch with you. I hope you’ll be available. >> Joe and Alice both say they will.
As Rosalind departs the dining room vestibule, the clouds pass behind the ship, and the sun shines strong, reflected in countless water droplets on the rails of a steamship traveling through time.
Author’s Note:
Joseph Campbell and Krishnamurti saw each other a few more times during that trip, in both London and Paris. And they connected a few more times over the years, but never like that first time. Joe sometimes said that the trip felt like it was in serendipity's hands. The next year, he began a Master’s Degree program in Comparative Literature, initiating an academic hero’s journey that would unite Eastern and Western Religions with History, Anthropology, Psychology, and Mythology under a single scope of study and influence. Joseph Campbell’s work continues to inspire generations of artists and lovers of ideas and Humanity.
Five years after this meeting, Krishnamurti, then hailed by thousands as a living God on Earth, walked away from sainthood, divinity, and the luxury and comfort such a lifestyle often assumes. Instead of seeking power and wealth, Krishnamurti gathered his followers together and disbanded them with a single speech in which he said the following:
“I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path.”
