J Krishnamurti Discourses on

More Jiddu Krishnamurti Talks

Jiddu Krishnamurti on Freedom from Fear

Question: Can one dissolve fear completely by finding the cause of fear?

Jiddu Krishnamurti : You know, if you are giving your complete attention, at the end of an hour of this kind of talk, your mind must be tired, and your body must be tired too. To listen with complete attention is something which most of us have never done before, and it is very arduous.

The lady asks: ``Is fear dissolved through knowing the cause of fear? '' Is it? One generally knows the cause of fear: death, public opinion, the things one has done that one doesn't want to be discovered, and so on. Most people know the cause of their fear, but that obviously doesn't end fear.

Through analysis one may discover some hidden cause of fear, but again that does not free the mind from fear. What brings freedom from fear - and I assure you the freedom is complete - is to be aware of fear without the word, without trying to deny or escape from fear, without wanting to be in some other state.

If with complete attention you are aware of the fact that there is fear, then you will find that the observer and the observed are one, there is no division between them. There is no observer who says, ``I am afraid''; there is only fear without the word which indicates that state.

The mind is no longer escaping, no longer seeking to get rid of fear, no longer trying to find the cause, and therefore it is no longer a slave to words. There is only a movement of learning which is the outcome of innocence, and an innocent mind has no fear.

Source - J Krishnamurti Talk in London, Saanen August 2, 1962