All About Fear
Divine Life
Society Publication: Conquest
of Fear by Swami Sivananda
Fear is illusory; it cannot
live. Courage is eternal, it will not die. Perils, calamities, dangers are the
certain lot of every man who is a denizen of this world. Therefore, O Man!
Fortify your mind with courage and patience. Fortitude, courage, presence of
mind will sustain you through all dangers. Just as a rock on the sea-shore
stands firm and the dashing of the waves does not affect it even a bit, even so
a man who is endowed with courage is not affected by the dark perilous waves of
this Samsara. He stands adamant in all trying conditions and circumstances and
comes out victorious.
A man of courage does not
tremble in the hour of danger. He is not embarrassed and bewildered. He does
not sink down. He is not overwhelmed by despair. He smiles away all dangers and
difficulties, blows the trumpet of triumph and attains victory in the end.
The threatening of fear are a
terror to the heart. Lead a virtuous life. Live in God. Be good. Serve. Love.
Give. Meditate. Nothing can frighten you. The Lord of Death will be afraid of
you. The terrors, even of death, will be no terror to you.
Terrify not your soul with
vain imaginary fears; from fear proceeds misfortune and failure. The fears of a
coward expose him to danger. A coward dies many times before his actual death.
Be bold. Be cheerful. Allow not your heart to sink down from the phantasy of
imaginary fears. Have self-confidence and faith. Thy birthright is courage. You
are Nectar’s son. You are a child of light. You are an offspring of Immortal
Brahman. Claim thy Birthright now. Rise Up! O Man! Roar OM OM OM. You are the
lion of Vedanta.
The Sanskrit equivalent for
fear is "Bhaya". Fear is an emotion or Vritti in the mind that is
produced when one’s life is in danger on account of external forces or things.
Man reacts to the situation with a fear-emotion.
It is characterized by pallor
of the face, palpitation of heart, slowing of pulse or stoppage, tremor of
limbs, perspiration, expressionless condition of the eyes, in extreme cases -
choking of voice, inability to speak, etc. The body becomes like a log of wood.
The mind gets stunned. The functions of the senses are inhibited. In extreme
cases one may die of shock. In ordinary cases when the cause of fear is
removed, he slowly recovers from the morbid symptoms and comes back to his
original state.
Ignorance is the cause of
fear. Man tasted the "forbidden fruit" and became a slave of lust. He
forgot his original, divine nature and was thus caught up in the whirlpool of
ignorance. The infinite fearless Brahman became the finite Jiva with fear.
Identification of the body or Dehadhyasa is the cause of fear.
Dehadhyasa is another form of
ignorance. This physical body is an instrument for man’s sensual enjoyment. If
he suffers from any disease he is afraid that he will lose this body which
serves him as a vehicle for his enjoyment. He tries his level best to preserve
this body. All other causes of fear are traceable to Dehadhyasa.
Feeling of inferiority is
another cause of fear. This negative feeling produces lack of self-reliance or
self-confidence in man. He is afraid of those who are superior to him in
talents, power, position and efficiency. He feels that he is incapable of doing
anything.
Some physical deformity or
deficiency, lack of physical and mental efficiency, wrong training in children,
are other causes of fear.
There is no other way to get
rid of fear than realization of the Self.
Fear (Bhaya) and Raga
(attachment) are modifications or Vrittis in the mind. They are temporary
whirlpools or waves. The substance of the mind is nothing but Raga and fear.
They are twin-sisters. Hence they are closely related to each other. If you
destroy fear and Raga there is neither life nor existence for the mind. The
Upanishad declares, "Detachment, faith, fear, Raga, shyness, modesty,
shame. etc.," are only mind.
Fear is a product of ignorance
or Avidya. Man forgets his essential, divine nature through Moha or infatuation
and identification with the body. He was the all-pervading immortal fearless
Soul or Brahman in the beginning. He was the "Santam (Peaceful), Ajaram
(decayless), Amritam (immortal), Abhayam (fearless) Brahman." On account
of egoism he became a rebellious child. He separated himself from his Father.
He had division of property. He started his own independent living in this
earth-plane. He rented a house in the mundane world. He entered the body-house
of flesh and bone and became a little timid man, a little Jiva, with all sorts
of fears. Thus started his downfall on account of his quarrel with his Almighty
Father and owing to his starting a new egoistic living with Raga-Dvesha.
He was bodiless muscle-less,
fleshless, boneless, I-less, mine-less, desireless, Vasana-less, when he was
one with the Father, when there was a joint family. And so he was absolutely
fearless, and ever blissful and peaceful. He had no thought of body, house, property,
wife, children, position and prestige. He had no thought of diseases of body
and fall from his social status or prestige. He had no thought of enemies, war,
riots and of running to any place for safety, security. His original bode was
peacefully secure and free from any sort of a danger and enemies. It was all
one Brahman community.
In his new, independent
egoistic life, he became selfish, crooked, narrow, and mean-minded. He
entertained low thoughts. Every day fears multiplied, as he was very much
attached to his body, the bodies of wife, children, and to his house, property,
etc.
Raga (attachment) is the
long-standing associate of fear. Wherever there is Raga, there is fear. Fear
and Raga co-exist. Man is attached to his wife. So there is fear of losing her. As he is attached to his children, house and property, he
has fear of losing his house, property and children. He is drowned in sorrow
and gets terrible shock if these objects are destroyed or lost. Hence Raga is
the cause of fear. If there is no Raga, there is no fear. The first link in the
chain of Raga is his attachment to his body. All kinds of Raga start from this
Raga to the physical body.
Lord Krishna says in His Gita:
"Vitaragabhayakrodhah sthitadheer muniruchyate". "He who is free
from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of stable mind." Abandon
attachment through practice of non-attachment or Vairagya and attachment to the
lotus feet of the Lord or fearless Brahman. All fears will vanish.
You are attached to a
fountain-pen, walking stick, book, watch, towel, cloth. Fear slowly creeps in.
There is fear of losing them. Always entertain the thought "All objects
are illusory, perishable and pain-giving." You will have no attachment.
Even if there is attachment, it will be mild. You can drive it away with slight
thinking and discrimination.
Give up attachment to this
body by identifying yourself with the pure, all-pervading immortal Atman or
Brahman. All sorts of fears and attachments will totally disappear. May you all
be free from Fear and Raga! May you all be established in the fearless,
(Abhaya, Nirbhaya) Brahman through the practice of courage and meditation on
the fearless, immortal Brahman.
Excerpts from:
All About Fear: Conquest of Fear by
Swami Sivananda Archives - Blog
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