The Future of Humanity

“What is the future of you? What are you who is humankind, what is your future? As we now are living, which has been the continuity of the past – right? –continuity of wars, hatreds, divisions, the ugliness that is going on, the brutality –everything, if humanity continues that way – and that is you – continue that way, there is very little chance of survival. Right? Obviously. If every country in the world is preparing for war – right? – they are – the unenlightened countries are buying armaments from the enlightened countries, those who are highly civilized like Britain, France, America and so on, they are supplying armaments right and left, to everybody, because in industry it is becoming necessary to supply arms. Right? So their economy depends on it. So the continuity of war, and destruction is guaranteed. And what is the future of all of us? Not only of us, of the coming generation – your children? It’s really a very frightening world. You may talk about all the rest of the things we’ve talked about, gurus and followers, and all that silly stuff, but this is a tremendous problem. If we go on as we are going on, we are bound to end up in a catastrophe of some kind or other. And if you accept that, it’s all right. If that’s what you want, it’s perfectly all right.

But if you say, that’s totally wrong, it’s totally unholy to kill another, for whatever cause, for whatever reason, for your honor, for whatever reason, to kill another is the denial of the most holy. So what is one to do? It is really a very serious question. We can only exist on this earth when we treat the earth as ours, all of ours, not British, French, German, and all the rest of it. Now, you perhaps and we realize this. Then will it affect the whole consciousness of mankind if I really – if you and I really, deeply do not belong to any group, to any nation, to any sect? Will that affect the whole of the world? Of course, if all of us in this hall, in this tent, really felt this, naturally it would affect the whole of consciousness, even of the politicians.”

J. Krishnamurti
Q&A 3, Saanen (Switzerland), 1982