Fear

           Fear is the unknown. Fear is of the unknown. Fear is the other. Love kills Fear; Fear kills love.

            Fear is ignorance. Knowledge kills fear.             

   “In enjoyment there is the fear of illness; in social position there is the fear of calumny; in wealth there is the fear of losing; in fame there is the fear of humiliation; in strength there is the fear of enemies; in beauty there is the

Fear of old age; in scholarship there is the fear of disputants; in virtue there is the fear of traducers; in life there is the fear of death. Indeed everything in this world is accompanied by fear. Renunciation alone leads to fearlessness”.

   Fear complex is one of the inborn qualities of the living beings. This has a tremendous effect on all activities.  In fact, Shri Krishna advises Arjuna to be fearless and face life with courage. This earthly life is for the Dhira, it is said in Bhagavad-Gita. Even in Upanishad, there is ample reference to fear.

  There is a prayer to ward off fear:

    “Oh ‘Indra’, make us fearless of those (sin, enemies, hell) of which we are afraid. O Maghava, destroy that, i.e., the cause of fear that is in us, the devotees. For our protection, destroy our harassing enemies”.

     “The fear is in the mind and the fear is of the mind. The fear is of the unknown and the fear is the unknown. Fear is darkness and fear is ignorance. Fear is of the safety and security, of the protection of the body, protection of the progeny, and the dear ones, and the protection of the wealth, protection of the ‘now’ and the ‘future’. Protection of the body against the diseases, protection of the property, of the wealth, house and property against natural causes.” In Aparokshaanubhuti of Shri Shankaracharya, fear is attributed to ‘duality’ and ‘imperfection’; it can be overcome only by the realization of non-duality. Even the slightest distinction between Jeevatman and Paramatman will cause this fear and delusion. Hence, it may be construed here that as long as jeevas are imperfect fear persists. When duality appears through ignorance, one sees another; but when everything becomes identified with the Atman, one does not perceive another even in the least. In that state when one realizes all as identified with the Atman, there arises neither delusion nor sorrow, in consequence of duaity.

    Our forefathers used to pray the Lord of the Lords, Indra, and the Prayer to the great elements thus:             

    “May ‘Indra’ come to our succour – Indra, who is the giver of welfare on earth, and bliss in the next world; the Lord of the people, who is the layer of vrata, who is the subduer of enemies, and giver of rain; Indra, who is the peaceable and giver of safety, the sun, the earth, air, fire and water; and the king of these, Indra, protect what is dear to all”.

   In reality, there is no safety and security for all things of the world are temporary and perishable in Nature. What is the perishable cannot be saved and what is eternal and limitless does not need any protection.

   If the body is killed, or destroyed, the vital force is not killed. And the Self, the Soul takes a better body of its choice. Death is always for the better since the world is becoming better everyday. Wealth is not of paramount importance since the acquisition and squandering of wealth is always going on.

   There is an interesting aspect of fear. It appears that we all enjoy fear. It seems we all feel a little secure in our hearts in the face of prevailing terrorism, bomb hoaxes, anthrax and such other commotion. We cling to fear for companionship. Fear is a constant companion, and an ever-faithful one. Some deep fears are so personal that we become possessive about them and do not let them go. Fear gives us identity. It makes us feel special. We explain away, rationalize other people’s fears. Our own, we nourish with the love of the self. The fear is also a strong support to the fickle mind since the latter clings to the former. Otherwise we would not spend much of our time in thinking and talking of these alarming sensational news that spreads fear. A little fear in the heart is good!

    Fear talks to us. It tells us the world is bad. By negation one understands oneself as good. So it is comforting. Fear tells us not to venture beyond a point. By implication one feels persecuted by life. One feels sorry for oneself and sits back revelling in self-pity. Fear gives us excuses by telling us something is dangerous or evil. Fear gives us an alibi when inefficient. One actually thinks fear is protecting. But fear is masking the true self from the world and the world from one. The need is to conquer fear. When you are afraid find the cause of the fear and face fear boldly, courageously. It is rare to find a man who is completely devoid of fear. Discarding fear is important.

   Fearlessness means being aware and having knowledge. We fear that of which we know least or do not know at all. Half-baked knowledge is the breeding ground of fear. When we have adequate knowledge, we have less fear. When we face fear boldly, nothing happens; only fear perishes. We should have faith in ourselves. Many fears will vanish with self-confidence; and, all Fears vanish with self-knowledge.

   The Fear is for the attached. The unattached is fearless. The attachment is for the ignorant and not for the knower. So, the prayer is for the removal of ignorance and for enlightenment. The whole world is at the command of the knowledgeable since knowledge is power.

The sacred mantra: “asato ma sadgamaya; tamaso ma jyotirgamaya; mrityor ma amritam gamaya.”

 “O Lord, Lead me from Untruth to Truth; from Darkness to Light; and from Death to Immortality”. The human body is ‘asat’ since it is perishable. It is the body-consciousness that binds us to illusion and we are carried away by illusory world. Getting rid of, or transcending body-consciousness one can realize the Truth, the “Sat’. Tamas is darkness; it is ignorance and transcending body-consciousness one can realize the truth, Knowledge, Light! Mrutyu is death, the death of body. It is ignorance that makes one feel ‘I’ am the body; when body-consciousness is gone by meditation, one realizes the immortality of the Soul, the Atman.

   Real strength is the strength that is unaccompanied by any fear of loss, fear of attacks from enemies, fear of death. What we oedinarily consider strength is not really strength at all; it is the fear that forces us to make efforts to build up some sort of defence. Thus in the greatest worldly security lies also the greatest fear.  True strength is attained only when we feel certain that our real Self shall not in the least be affected, whatever might happen to our worldly interests.