Freedom is really a state of mind in which there is no fear or compulsion, no urge to be secure – states Jiddu Krishnamurti.
I wonder if you have ever stopped to observe the marvelous glow
in the west as the sun sets, with the shy young moon just over the trees? Often
at that hour the river is very calm, and then everything is reflected on its
surface: the bridge, the train that goes over it, the tender moon, and
presently, as it grows dark, the stars. It is all very beautiful. And to
observe, to watch, to give your whole attention to something beautiful, your
mind must be free of preoccupations, must it not? It must not be occupied with
problems, with worries, with speculations. It is only when the mind is very
quiet that you can really observe, for then the mind is sensitive to
extraordinary beauty; and perhaps here is a clue to our problem of freedom.
Now, what does it mean to be free? Is freedom a matter of doing what happens to
suit you, going where you like, thinking what you will? This you do anyhow.
Merely to have independence, does that mean freedom? Many people in the world
are independent, but very few are free. Freedom implies great intelligence,
does it not? To be free is to be intelligent, but intelligence does not come
into being by just wishing to be free; it comes into being only when you begin
to understand your whole environment, the social, religious, parental and
traditional influences that are continually closing in on you. But to
understand the various influences - the influence of your parents, of your
government, of society, of the culture to which you belong, of your beliefs,
your gods and superstitions, of the tradition to which you conform unthinkingly
- to understand all these and become free from them requires deep insight; but
you generally give in to them because inwardly you are frightened. You are
afraid of not having a good position in life; you are afraid of what your
priest will say; you are afraid of not following tradition, of not doing the
right thing. But freedom is really a state of mind in which there is no fear or
compulsion, no urge to be secure.