Krishnamurti was asked the following question: "How am i to get rid of fear, which influences my activities?

Here is how i answered the same question:

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That's a good question: how do you get rid of fear?  And i believe Krishnamurti answered the question well.  So therefore, i am going to talk about the same "fear" but in a different way.  I am going to talk about "fear" from the view of Don Juan and his "man of knowledge" concept.  (the "man of knowledge" concept, i consider in this case to be the same thing as a "man of understanding" concept).  

Whereas Krishnamurti wrote an entire book on the subject of fear, Don Juan talks about "fear" as only being the "first of four" hurdles that you must conquer before becoming a man of knowledge/understanding.  Thus, fear is an important hurdle (the first hurdle always is), but conquering fear is just the beginning of the race.  After fear, Don Juan says you must conquer "clarity", then "power", then "old age" in order to achieve the title of "man of knowledge/understanding).

Here is Don Juan in his own words:

"When a man starts to learn, he is never clear about his objectives.  His purpose is faulty; his intent is vague.  He hopes for rewards that will never materialize for he knows nothing of the hardships of learning.

He slowly begins to learn--bit by bit at first, then in big chunks.  And his thoughts soon clash.  What he learns is never what he pictured, or imagined, and so he begins to be afraid.  Learning is never what one expects.  Every step of learning is a new task, and the fear the man is experiencing begins to mount mercilessly, unyieldingly.  His purpose becomes a battlefield.

And thus he has stumbled upon the first of his "natural enemies": Fear!  A terrible enemy--treacherous and difficult to overcome.  It remains concealed at every turn along the way, prowling, waiting.  And if the man, terrified in its presence, runs away, his enemy will have put an end to his quest."

Don Juan was then asked: "What will happen to the man if he runs away in fear?

"Nothing happens to him except that he will never learn.  He will never become a man of knowledge/understanding.  He will perhaps be a bully (like el trumpo), or a harmless, scared man; at any rate, he will be a defeated man.  His first enemy will have put an end to his cravings."

"And what can he do to overcome fear?"  Don Juan was asked.

"The answer is very simple.  He must not run away.  He must defy his fear, and in spite of it he must take the next step in learning, and the next, and the next.  He must be fully afraid, and yet he must not stop.  That is the rule!  And a moment will come when his first enemy retreats.  The man begins to feel sure of himself.  His intent becomes stronger.  Learning is no longer a terrifying task.

When this joyful moment comes, the man can say without hesitation that he has defeated his first natural enemy."

"Does it happen at once, or little by little?  Don Juan was asked.

"It happens little by little, and yet the fear is vanquished suddenly and fast."

"But won't the man be afraid again if something new happens to him?"

"No.  Once a man has vanquished fear, he is free from it for the rest of his life because, instead of fear, he has acquired clarity--a clarity of mind which erases fear.  By then a man knows his desires; he knows how to satisfy those desires.  He can anticipate new steps of learning, and a sharp clarity surrounds everything.  The man feels that nothing is concealed.

And thus, he has encountered his second enemy: Clarity!  That clarity of mind, which is so hard to obtain, dispels fear, but also blinds.

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I first discovered Don Juan's man of knowledge about forty-years ago and i have found myself coming back to it again and again since that time, always finding myself with a new problem and between the different sets of hurdles.  Since you conquer "old age" through death, i have never made it to the place where i thought i was a man of knowledge/understanding.

Even so, there have been times that i thought i was over all three hurdles, heading for the final one.  But circumstances change in a persons' life, and now i think i am stilly trying to get over the second hurdle, clarity.  I sure don't have any power in my present position, so i cannot do much along those lines right now.  I have no fear, i have clarity, but i am stuck.  Go figure.  And that's what i do.

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So yeah, fear is a biggie, but it isn't the end all be all, if you know what i mean.  You have to conquer your fears, otherwise, you will always be hobbled by your insecurities.

Fear must be addressed by those at the top as well as those at the bottom of the totem pole.  Take for example, "el trumpo's fear" that people are going to find out that he is nothing but a con-man, fake, ignorant human being.  That's a pretty scary feeling, when you have the power of the presidency of the United States of America.  

That's the kind of fear that can keep you up at nights--writing foul, ignorant, misogynistic posts at 3 am in the morning--and thus showing how really fucking stupid you are.

Fear is not good.  One does not think well when fear is in one's head.  

God grant us, and leaders, too, the wherewithal to at least make it over the first hurdle of fear, because if you don't make that one, you have no chance at winning the race.  

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Fear falls on the right side of the equation.  There is no "fear" on the left side of the equation.  As with all of these subjects, it is always best to be living and thinking from the left side--the pure side, the side with Pure Spirit, Love, Awareness, Truth, Soul, cosmos consciousness.  If you can make it across all the hurdles of life, you just may find eternal happiness.  That might make it worth the effort.  And a reason to conquer "all of your fears", including that of death.