Yes, I know Jean Klein. He was a philosopher and spiritual guide who was influential in the Advaita movement. Here is some information about him:

• Jean Klein was born on October 19, 1912 in Berlin. He died in 1998 in Santa Barbara, California.
• Very early on, he began reading Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, and Rilke. He then discovered Gandhi’s writings. He would read the works of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Tagore’s poetry, Aurobindo, Krishnamurti… Reading René Guénon had a great influence on him.In the 1950s, he began teaching his own approach to non-duality and Self-realization, influenced by Advaita Vedanta and the Kashmiri tradition.
• His teachings emphasized the discovery of the true nature of the Self through a process of de-identification and attention to the present moment. He insisted on the importance of direct experience rather than intellectual understanding.He taught in Europe and North America and trained many disciples who spread his approach. His best-known books are “Who Am I?”, “The Sacred Quest”, “The Joy Without Object”…
• He is considered a major figure who contributed to popularizing non-duality in the West. His contemplative and experiential approach influenced many contemporary teachers.

Here are more details about Jean Klein’s journey:

• Born in 1912 in Berlin into a family of artists, he studied medicine and became interested in philosophy at a very early age.
• After the war, in the 1950s, he traveled to India where he met the one who would become his spiritual master: Panditji Veeraraghavachar.
• Back in Europe, he began teaching his own spiritual approach that combined physical work through Kashmiri yoga with Advaitic non-duality. He gave many lectures and seminars.
• In the 1960s-70s, still based in Europe, he also traveled to the United States and Canada to teach. He had many North American disciples.
• Alongside his seminars, he wrote several books on his vision of spirituality such as “Who Am I?” (1961), “I Am” (1969) and “The Joy Without Object” (1988).
• In the 1980s, he settled in the United States while continuing to travel to teach. He died in 1998 at the age of 86.He greatly contributed to introducing Advaitic non-dual thought in the West and influenced many contemporary teachers.

To this question Jean Klein replied: “In a sense, yes, the approach to truth belongs to a certain current, but in a lineage there are no entities… I belong to a tradition of seekers of truth.”

Here are some traditions found in his teachings:

• Advaita Vedanta: This is one of the philosophical schools of Hinduism, based on the Upanishads and popularized by Adi Shankara in the 8th century. The main teaching is that Brahman (the Absolute) and Atman (the individual Self) are one.
• Taoism: An ancient Chinese philosophy that speaks of a fundamental Tao (path) underlying all things.Although Klein only acknowledged one spiritual master, Panditji, he later went on to learn yoga from Krishnamacharya and his chance encounter with Dibianandapuri initiated him into Kashmiri yoga.
• He then formulated his own teaching which shows similarities with these eastern non-dual approaches, while adapting it to a Western audience. In this sense, Klein was a pioneer in the transmission of non-dual spirituality in the West.One can therefore see Jean Klein as a link between the original traditions and the contemporary Western teachers who continue to disseminate this non-dual heritage.

Jean Klein did not teach yoga in the sense of physical techniques and postures, but he saw yoga as a spiritual path in its broader meaning.

Here are some elements of his approach to yoga:

• He considered yoga as a process of deconditioning that allows one to reveal the true nature of the Self, beyond the mind and body.
• He recommended certain meditation practices from yoga, such as attention to the breath, inner silence, and listening.
• However, he insisted more on listening and self-exploration than on elaborate techniques. The essence of yoga for him was the attention that leads to understanding.
• In his seminars, he proposed simple exercises to develop presence to oneself and the present moment.
• He considered that authentic yoga is the realization of our unity with universal Consciousness beyond the ego.Although influenced by traditional yoga, Jean Klein approached it from a more spiritual and contemplative angle than a physical one. His teaching could nevertheless be akin to a “yoga of listening”.

According to his students and some testimonies, Jean Klein is said to have had a profound spiritual experience or awakening, even if he did not talk much about it publicly.

Here are some elements about his experience:

• He places it during his stay in India in the early 1950s, during a visit to Bombay.
• It is said to have been an experience of dissolution of the sense of ego and realization of his true nature, akin to the awakening described in Advaita Vedanta.
• Some evoke a sudden experience that occurred during a walk along the banks of the Ganges. Klein is said to have then had a direct and unshakeable glimpse of unitary Consciousness.
• Klein speaking of his awakening: “…there remained no doubt that I could ever be retaken by duality, and this was confirmed in the days and weeks that followed.”
• Although having lived this awakening, he always insisted on not clinging to past experiences but remaining in the present listening of Truth.
• His presence and teachings were imbued with a deep realization, lived from within rather than coming from theoretical knowledge.
• But Klein remained very discreet about his personal experiences. He preferred to invite his students to explore their own inner truth.Although he did not make a display of it, Klein’s spiritual experience seems to have been decisive in his own realization and subsequent teaching.

Here are some representative quotes from Jean Klein that illustrate his thought:

• “The mind can never realize anything. Realization is the business of silence.”
• “Happiness is not to be sought, it is already present. Remain open and receive it.”
• “Stop identifying with the body and mind, and realize that you are the consciousness in which everything appears.”
• “Do not seek anything outside of yourself. Everything is already contained in the I Am that you are.”
• “Do not cling to my words, but listen to what is said through and beyond the words.”
• “The self is only a creation of thought, an abstraction. Only the I Am, the immediate perception of Self, is real.”
• “Silence is the source of all creation, the primary substance from which everything emerges.”
• “You have nothing to do, you only have to be. It is in Being that everything reveals itself by itself.”
• “Truth cannot be attained, one can only be it. Become what you really are.”These quotes summarize the essence of Jean Klein’s contemplative and non-dual teaching.

Yes, Jean Klein had a friendly relationship and a spiritual connection with Yvan Amar, another French teacher inspired by Advaita Vedanta.

Some elements about their connection:

• Yvan Amar attended many of Jean Klein’s seminars and considered him a mentor. Upon his return from India in 1972, Yvan Amar followed Jean Klein’s teaching for a year before returning to the East.
• Klein encouraged Amar in his own teaching of non-duality, recognizing his authentic realization.
• Although their styles were different (Klein more sober and analytical, Amar more poetic), their visions were very similar.
• Both saw the essence of spirituality in the discovery of the Self beyond identifications.
• Their friendship was based on a deep mutual respect and an intimate understanding born of their shared spiritual experience.This relationship illustrates the close link between two contemporary masters who greatly contributed to introducing non-duality in the West.

The exact circumstances of Jean Klein’s death in 1998 are not fully known, but here is the available information:

• He died at the age of 86 in his home in Santa Barbara, California (USA).
• According to one of his students who was with him at the time, his death was peaceful and serene.
• In his later years, Klein suffered from heart problems which may have led to his death, but the exact cause was not communicated.
• Some report that he was physically weakened for the past few months, but remained lucid until the end.
• A few days before his death, he is said to have bid farewell to his loved ones and disciples, aware that the end was near.
• The morning of his death, he is said to have gotten up calmly, had coffee in the sun in his garden before peacefully passing away.
• No particular ceremony or ritual seems to have surrounded his final moments, in keeping with the sobriety he advocated.
• His death was announced by a short message from those around him, saluting his spiritual realization.Although the precise details are not publicly known, the account of those close to him suggests that Jean Klein lived a conscious and serene death, in accordance with his teaching on the ultimate nature of life.

Here are some additional quotes from Jean Klein to conclude on his thought:

• “Silence is the language of ultimate reality. Cultivate it assiduously.”
• “Let go of any attempt to attain anything. Simply be available to what is already there.”
• “The mind creates the division between subject and object. Go beyond the mind into the objectless consciousness which is your nature.”
• “You have nothing to realize or attain. Simply be what you already are, here and now.”
• “Do not identify with any experience, no matter how exalting or intense. Remain centered in the quiet presence of the I Am.”
• “Happiness depends on nothing external, it radiates from your own conscious presence to yourself.”
• “You are already that which you seek. Cease seeking and rejoice in your own light.”
• “There is nothing to understand, nothing to change, only to welcome and be what you fundamentally are.”These few quotes perfectly summarize the vision and teachings of this important contemporary spiritual master that was Jean Klein.