On Fear [Paperback]

This book is for all thoes who suffer from fear and anxiety. Who does that leave out? On Fear, is a collection of Krishnamurti's very profound observations and thoughts on how our society engenders fear with the competitive education we recieve and with our ambitious approach to life. He also points out that a mind that is afraid, cannot know peace or love. Krishnamurti suggests that only a fundamental realization of the root of all fear can free our minds. For thoes people seeking a deeper understanding into the psychology of fear, its contributing societal factors and how to deal with it, this book is very enlightening.

This was recommended to me by a friend who had read it right after losing her brother from being killed by a guy running from the police who simply shot him because he was in his path of escape. She was deeply soothed by the book, so I picked it up.

I began reading it as part of a stay-at-home vacation and was completely captured by it. Yes, it can be repetitive, but it acts like a meditation in that way, which also helps with grasping the profundity of what is being explained. Of all the metaphysical books I have read, this one in particular is one of the few that have truly catapulted me into an expanded state of consciousness. (Another is "I Am That" by Nisargadatta, a book in which the metaphysical truth is literally palpable in its pages). "On Fear" was so illuminating that it became my meditation for the entire "vacation". By the end of the week, its impact was transformative.

I have read 8-10 other Krishnamurti books and this one is one of the easist to grasp. I cannot recommend the book highly enough.

Readers unfamiliar with Krishnamurti's works and with Eastern philosophy are likely to have problems understanding him. K.'s approach to inquiry is radically different from that of most writers; and with K., the approach is much more important than the particular problem under examination. K.'s approach is radically direct.

K. does not approach fear (or other subjects) analytically. His talks are attempts to get us to look at things simply and directly. And K. is not interested in particular fears, such as fear of death; but in fear itself, which he claims is undivided. If we can understand fear itself as an undivided entity, we will understand and be free of all fears.

Because K.'s approach is not analytical, little intellectual context is offered to the reader to help understand what he is saying. Consistent with this devaluation of intellectual context, K. typically refers negatively to traditional religious texts and authorities. He claims in other works of his that he has not read any of the ancient texts. Furthermore, K. makes no concesssions to his audience based upon their knowledge level, life experience, etc. To him, what he is explaining is clear and obvious and is either grasped immediately or not at all. This is in contrast to a teacher like Adyashanti, who assumes that at any particular time in a person's life, he or she is capable of absorbing some truths but not others.

I think K. would would reply to these comments by saying that contexts offer a superficial intellectual understanding, but not direct factual perception. K. is not attempting to offer an intellectual understanding of fear. Rather, he is attempting to show one how to look at fear directly. "The seeing of it is the ending of it" is a typical Krishnamurti saying.

I believe this extreme directness of approach is both good and bad. On the one hand, he examined everything firsthand; and we can be sure he is speaking from his own experiences (Aldous Huxley remarked that one would probably have to go back to the Buddha to find someone who spoke with such direct personal insight). On the other hand, I believe some intellectual context is necessary to help the reader understand what K. is talking about. Unfortunately, readers will have to provide their own context by familiarity with other sources (the Zen and Non-dual Vedanta traditions, for example) and with K.'s other writings.

Before going into any more detail about K.'s approach to fear, I'd like to point out that this is not a self-help book. Those suffering from debilitating fears are not going to be helped and could be further traumatized by K.'s approach. Also, those hoping to get a better handle on their fears so they can continue to persue some personal agenda of fulfillment will find no help here. A common Krishnamurti saying is "You are the problem." In other words, the self and its fixation on control is the problem, not the solution. "How can I be happy?" someone asked another teacher, Mooji. "Get rid of you" he replied.

K.'s suggestions for looking at fear are quite consistent; but are not a formal system or method, for systems and methods are analytical and step by step, while K.'s approach involves simple, direct, and immediate perception of the feeling-tone (not the associated thoughts) evoked by the consideration of one's fears. His suggested approach to a situation seems almost like the innocence of a child's, except that it involves sustained attention and passion (which is not the same as the application of effort through time towards a self-projected goal).

Here is his approach (this list contains suggestions from his other books as well as this one):

. We must learn to look at the situation directly, not with remembered associations or events.

. We must realize that we are not separate from the situation and that any attempt to control or run away from it will merely result in conflict
and/or fear.

. During each moment, we must look at the situation as a totally new and unknown phenomenon, not accumulating knowledge or experience, which is
fragmentary. When our awareness is not total, then the situation leaves a conditioning residue, such as an image in memory.

. We should approach the situation as concretely as if we were touching a table.

. We should approach the situation with some intimacy and warmth, not as if we are separate from what we are seeing. "The observer is the observed" is a typical saying of his.

. We must stay in the moment, not imagining that we are progressing towards some goal whereby the negative aspects of the situation have been left behind or banished. "The solution is in the problem, not away from it" is another saying of K.'s.

. We must approach the situation with receptive awareness, not concentration and effort. Concentration and effort are exclusive and progressive, while receptive awareness is inclusive and immediate.

. We should observe our responses to the situation rather than trying to shape them. We can't get rid of our conditioning by trying to modify it according to some idea or ideal. "Seeing is acting" and " The seeing of it is the ending of it" are two of his sayings that apply here.

Because his approach is so radically direct, there is nothing for the mind to grasp; so looked at from an analytical standpoint, it may seem nebulous. But K. would argue that grasping or apprehending are conditioned responses to projected images, not qualities of simple, direct awareness. Consider the fact that awareness is the alpha and omega of Eastern thought. If K.'s approach makes sense within that context, one can experiment with it; that is the only way one can understand it.