Are you frightened of coming to an end? Most of us are entirely consumed by the fear of death and hold onto our possessions and wealth until the very last minute. We cling to comforting ideas like reincarnation, hoping that if we live rightly, our next life will offer us a better house, greater power, or a step higher on the ladder. However, J. Krishnamurti challenges us to look deeply into this comforting illusion. He asks: what is it that is actually going to be reborn?.
When we strip away theoretical ideas like a permanent soul or "Atman"—which are merely the inventions and activities of thought—we are left with what we actually are. We are simply a collection of idiosyncrasies, tendencies, acquired knowledge, collective traditions, and a continuous movement of past memories. Why do we want this psychological "garbage" to continue?. A belief in reincarnation has very little meaning if we continue to live our current lives in a way that is violent, mean, aggressive, and quarreling.
Instead of obsessing over the afterlife, we must ask what is happening before death. Look at the long years of daily living: the struggling, pain, anxiety, depression, suffering, and loneliness. It is far more important to consider whether all of this agony can be changed and ended right now, rather than speculating about what happens after we die.
This brings us to the profound practice of living with death. When physical death eventually comes—whether through disease, accident, or natural weariness—it dictates that you cannot take anything with you. It brings an absolute end to your attachments to your family, your house, your furniture, your beliefs, your ideals, and your reputation.
The ultimate challenge posed is this: Is it possible to end all of those attachments while you are still living?. Can you voluntarily be entirely free of your clinging to your experiences, your ideas, and even your deepest memories right now?. To end your clinging to these things instantly is to experience what death is, while you are still completely alive. By intentionally ending your psychological habits and attachments—just as one might definitively end a habit like smoking despite the body's demands—you allow your brain to become new, fresh, and clear, completely unburdened by the rubbish of the past.
To truly live is to live with death all the time. By consciously letting go of the things you hold most precious, you unlock a life of profound freedom. A mind burdened with problems and accumulated stuff is incapable of genuine affection. True love is entirely free from attachment and jealousy; therefore, understanding this deep, unattached freedom is the only way to truly love