Questioner: Sir, I want to have a clarification. You said just now: a true or a false statement. What is true and what is false?
Krishnamurti: Truth? What is a true statement or a false statement? How are you going to find out? From another? What is a false statement? And what do you mean by false? Take a very ordinary example: Many people accept that nationalism is a marvellous fact, that we must be nationalistic. Is that a false statement or a true statement? How do you look at it? How do you find out? Say, for instance, most of you believe in God. Don’t you? All right. You believe in God. Is it a false statement or a true statement? How do you find out? You can believe in anything you like, in any illusion, in any fanciful, romantic, sentimental concept. And belief may not necessarily be true. No belief is. So how do you find out these things?
How do you find out if there is God? To find out you must have a free mind, not a believing mind. You must have a mind that is capable of investigating, looking, doubting, questioning—of not being afraid. Fear can create that which is false as true, and that which is true as false. This is what is happening in the world. So to find out what is true, what is truth, there must be a great sensitivity, a sense of freedom—not just the idea of freedom but actual freedom, freedom from fear, and so on. Most of us have many illusions, and those illusions have become truth, real. And to be free of illusion is the most necessary and arduous work. Be totally free of all illusions; then only can you find out what is true and what is false.