Oasis.
Credit: DH Illustration
Fear is one of the earliest emotions faced by humans and animals alike. It is an inborn reflex action when one encounters danger. Various forms of fear surface at different stages of life. Concerns about physical safety have been noticed in babies too. Psychological experiments carried out on children have proved that those with parents who instil fear as a tool to discipline them often lose interest in play, which is such an essential requisite of development in childhood, and generally hesitate to take any risk in life.
As we grow in years, so do our fears. Fear of failure is the biggest hurdle to achieving success, and our only shot at becoming successful is by overcoming this particular fear.
We feel anxious and helpless when gripped with fear for our family and loved ones. Faith that is supposed to move mountains can dispel most such fears too. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna stresses on total surrender unto Him to combat fear. Overcoming fear and becoming free from worry is the subject of the Bhagavad Gita’s opening lines (2.11). The Bhagavad Gita says fear is nothing but an illusion created by our ignorance. It can be dismissed with the profound knowledge that not a single leaf can move without the will of God.
Fear of death is common in our mid-life and old-age stages. This is natural because whatever is unknown is feared. But simple awareness can help us through this phase. All that we are going through today was unknown yesterday, and yet we are facing the ordeals of the present in the best way we can. We have grown and evolved through the years, leaving behind different bodies—those of an infant, a child, a teenager, and a young adult—and have coped beautifully and will do so even beyond this stage of life. The saintly Kabir has this to say so beautifully in one of his dohas on the subject: Sab jag daryo maran te/ Mero maran anand Kab mariye/ kab bhentiye Pooran parmanand. (The whole world fears death/ My death will be blissful/ When will I die and get to meet God fully?)
Meditation helps remove our fears to a large extent. By calming the mind, we not only quell our fears but also increase our chances of conquering them. With patience and practice, we understand and unravel fear to the extent that it no longer has a hold over us. However, one fear that is very advantageous is mentioned in the Bible: Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This could indeed be true, as such a fear acts as a compass that guides our conscience towards righteousness and truth!