"So we are enquiring what is the root of fear, not a particular fear but the root of all fear. The root of fear is time: what I will be, what I have been, what I might not be. Time is the past, the present, and the future. The past modifying itself in the present and continuing in the future. Fear of something that has happened psychologically, or physically, last week, or last year, and hoping that it will not continue in the future. So time is a factor of fear. The poor man, fear of not being able to find the next meal. You don't know all that. The fear of having no home, no shelter, no food. And the effect of fear, both on the physical organism, and on the psychological, on the psyche, and the very psyche may be made up of fear. Please understand that.
The psyche, what you are, may be the result of fear. And probably is. So it is important to understand the depth and the meaning of fear. And that is time and thought. Time as the future, I might die, I might lose, I might be nobody, I am somebody now - which I doubt - but I want to be somebody in the future, the next day, and so on. So time and thought are the root of fear. And therefore one must ask a much more serious question: whether time and thought has a stop."
J. Krishnamurti Talk 2, New York, 1983
Have you ever wondered what the root of fear is?
Krishnamurti suggests fear is a human phenomenon embedded in psychological time. Time is the past, present, and future, and fear is often a result of worrying about what has happened or what may happen. Fear can affect both our physical and psychological selves, and it may have even shaped our psyche. Therefore, it's important to understand the depth and meaning of fear, which is rooted in time and thought.
Can time and thought ever truly come to a stop? If not, then fear may always be present in our lives.
The Immeasurable is dedicated to exploring the essential questions of our existence. The intent is to inspire readers to question assumptions of the mind, offering opportunities to ask deep questions into common life themes which are superficially accepted.
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