Jiddu Krishnamurti - U

nderstanding whole content of

Fear
Jiddu Krishnamurti - Is it possible for the mind to empty itself totally of fear? Fear of any kind breeds illusion; it makes the mind dull, shallow. Where there is fear there is obviously no freedom, and without freedom there is no love at all. nd most of us have some form of fear! fear of darkness, fear of publi" opinion, fear of snakes, fear of physi"al pain, fear of old a#e, fear of death. We have literally do$ens of fears. nd is it possible to be "ompletely free of fear? We "an see what fear does to ea"h one of us. It makes one tell lies; it "orrupts one in various ways; it makes the mind empty, shallow. %here are dark "orners in the mind whi"h "an never be investi#ated and e&posed as lon# as one is afraid. 'hysi"al self-prote"tion, the instin"tive ur#e to keep away from the venomous snake, to draw ba"k from the pre"ipi"e, to avoid fallin# under the tram"ar, and so on, is sane, normal, healthy. (ut I am talkin# about the psy"holo#i"al self-prote"tiveness whi"h makes one afraid of disease, of death, of an enemy. When we seek fulfillment in any form, whether throu#h paintin#, throu#h musi", throu#h relationship, or what you will, there is always fear. )o, what is important is to be aware of this whole pro"ess in oneself, to observe, to learn about it, and not ask how to #et rid of fear. When you merely want to #et rid of fear, you will find ways and means of es"apin# from it, and so there "an never be freedom from fear. If you "onsider what fear is and how to approa"h it, you will see that for most of us the word is mu"h more important than the fa"t. %ake the word loneliness. (y that word I mean the sense of isolation that suddenly "omes upon one for no apparent reason. I don*t know if this has ever happened to you. %hou#h you may be surrounded by your family, by your nei#hbors, thou#h you may be walkin# with friends or ridin# in a "rowded bus, suddenly you feel "ompletely isolated. From the memory of that e&perien"e there is fear of isolation, of bein# lonely. +r you are atta"hed to someone who dies, and you find yourself left alone, isolated. Feelin# that sense of isolation, you es"ape from it by means of the radio, the "inema, or you turn to se&, to drink, or you #o to "hur"h, worship ,od. Whether you #o to "hur"h or take a pill, it is an es"ape, and all es"apes are essentially the same. -ow, the word loneliness prevents us from enterin# into a "omplete understandin# of that state. %he word, asso"iated with past e&perien"e, evokes the feelin# of dan#er and "reates fear; therefore, we try to run away. 'lease wat"h yourself as in a mirror, do not .ust listen to me, and you will see that the word has e&traordinary si#nifi"an"e for most of us. Words like ,od, "ommunism, hell, heaven, loneliness, wife, family - what an astonishin# influen"e they have on us. We are slaves to su"h words, and the mind that is a slave to words is never free of fear. %o be aware of and learn about fear in oneself is not to interpret that feelin# in words, for words are asso"iated with the past, with knowled#e; and in the very movement of learnin# about fear without verbali$ation, whi"h is not to a"/uire knowled#e about it, you will find there is a total emptyin# of the mind of all fear. %his means that one has to #o very deeply into oneself, puttin# aside all words; and when the mind understands the whole "ontent of fear and is therefore empty of fear, both "ons"ious and un"ons"ious, then there "omes a state of inno"en"y. For most 0hristians that word inno"en"y is merely a symbol; but I am talkin# of a"tually bein# in a state of inno"en"y, whi"h means havin# no fear, and therefore the mind is "ompletely mature, instantly, without #oin# throu#h the passa#e of time.

nd that is possible only when there is total attention, an awareness of every thou#ht, of every word, of every #esture. %he mind is attentive without the barrier of words, without interpretation, .ustifi"ation, or "ondemnation. )u"h a mind is a li#ht unto itself, and a mind that is a li#ht unto itself has no fear. )our"e - J Krishnamurti %alk in 1ondon, )aanen u#ust 2, 3452