DO NOT BE AFRAID

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DO NOT BE AFRAID 

You can conquer Fear

                                by MRL

Fear is the most dominant emotion in the human psyche. Some people have fears

regarding their future, some about their health, and some about job prospects.

Many people harbour fears about money, property and the welfare of loved ones.

It is only by cultivating the habit of not fearing fear that one can acquire

fearlessness. A lucid analysis of this fear complex is a prerequisite for

eliminating fear from our minds.

 

In a way, fear, as a gut-emotion is more powerful than even intelligence. Very

intelligence people are also defenceless against the onslaught of fear. Compared

to fools and idiots, intelligent people are at a disadvantaged position because

their tendency to assess experience increases their apprehensions by an hundred

fold. Fear is more an instinct than an emotion and the saying “Fools rush in,

where angels fear to tread " underscores the behaviour of people un-encumbered by

rational thought.

 

Fear is an instinct man has in common with animals. Self preservation is the

operative force behind it. . Fear is more like a reflex action than a coolly

evolved logical thought. The background knowledge stored in the unconscious

sometimes sends out fear as a signal so that adequate psychological strength can

be mustered to cope with imminent or lurking dangers. Instinctual nature of fear

is rooted in the instinct nature of man time and again, proved to be man’s best

resource for tackling incipient threats to his safety. Fear dictated behaviour

is not the prerogative of man alone. Even animals and birds that lack the

developed minds of human beings, flee to safety by paying heed to “danger

signals”.

 

The Potency of fear in human beings is greatly enhanced through the mental

faculties of memory and anticipation. The modern era is an era of information

explosion. Fear psychosis is now generated on a large scale by the highlighting

of tragedies caused by either by the criminality of man or the calamities of

Nature sensational coverage in the media is always given to human interest

stories based on pain and suffering. What the primitive man feared most was the

ferocity of Nature and the mystery of “Darkness. Fear of darkness made him

anxious about the unknown life ‘hereafter’ and that is why his religion was

primarily devoted to the observance of rites and rituals to propitiate the angry

Gods, the forces of Nature. Civilised man, on the other hand, has more fears

about life here than about life hereafter. His fears mostly are for

materialistic concerns such as money, physical well being, popularity breakdown

in relationships and career. Evolution

is the fine honing of intelligence through births and rebirth against the

backdrop of the instinct of fear.

 

Its logic is arranged in terms of man’s gain in knowledge proportionate to the

intensity of his fear about survival. Fear becomes a bane only when it

incapacitates man for action. When it propels man to act it has to be seen as a

gift from God.

 

Broadly speaking, fear falls into two categories - 

1) Fear of what the Future holds

2) Fear of Failure 

 

The first seems to be most characteristic of modern man. Only his focus now is

not on just survival, but on success too. Nature’s wisdom is discernible in

using fear as an agent to provide protection. But for his fear of accidents man

would dare to walk in the streets with his eyes closed and get crushed to pieces

in no time. But for man’s fear of darkness and his instinctive wariness he would

not be careful about stepping on a scorpion or a snake or of falling into a lake

while walking during night time. Fear brings caution in its wake and caution

saves man from many potential dangers.

 

What is Light in life is wisdom to the mind. Wisdom is not piled up data. It is

“insight” drawn from data and correct insight always banishes fear. As long as

we are ignorant of the forces of nature around us we tend to live in a state of

constant fear. Unlike men, animals cannot recognise a butcher by sight. That is

why, even one minute before the butcher’s knife falls on its neck, an animal or

a bird can relish the food offered. They experience pain and terror only at the

moment of death. But man’s panic starts in the moment of apprehending danger.

That is why, when a man comes to know, because of a prediction by an astrologer

or the prognosis made by a doctor, that he is going to die within a fortnight,

he dies a hundred times in his imagination much before the death is supposed to

occur actually. He will be in such a distracted state of mind that nothing will

interest him, neither tasty dishes nor the promise of wealth.

 

Man’s fear increases in direct proportion to his knowledge of facts. Planning

ahead is a good trait but too much planning is stupid since no one really knows

what lies ahead in life. No body on this earth can foretell with accuracy what

will occur, the unexpected being the most likely possibility. It is wise to live

one day at a time, dealing with each problem as it arises, to the best of one’s

ability. One should strive to preserve at all times, an inner calm and an outer

smile. As for the immediate present, it is too close to one to allow for right

perspective or judgement.

 

Fear of failure can take many forms. It may be fear that one may fail to make

good the opportunities given or fail to win appreciation and recognition for

work done. It may be fear that one may fail to win love and admiration or fear

that the people one values may despise or look down upon one. There are two

chief causes for this fear of failure.

 

1. The environment which is uncongenial or inappropriate or hostile

 

2. The personal equipment of mind and senses inadequate to the task of attending

to the daily chores of life.

 

These two make us liable to be consumed by anxiety, foreboding, and worry, sap

our vitality and eventually lead to the disintegration of our personality. As a

result, we may lose clarity and fill to see in the right perspective either the

problem, or our efforts to find a solution. We may use wrong words or take

recourse to wrong words or take recourse to wrong actions. If one allows this

type of blinding fear to get out of hand, it will soon corrode the psyche, and

make life a hell on wheels.

 

Let us ask ourselves a practical question. How many tortured hours until now

have we spent on illusionary fears that have no basis in tangible occurrences?

Common-sense should be allowed to prevail and pre-empt the growth of such fears.

Let us concentrate on our work and relaxation. Let us refuse to register in our

consciousness the very existence of that which causes the reaction of fear. This

is one of the methods to prevent it.

 

Whenever you find fear creeping in, throw it out with the dynamic power of

substitution, that is, replace fear with peace. Meditate on the Eternal. Stand

firm and unmoved no matter what occurs. Act as if there is no fear in you. Soon

it will become a habit and the habit will become second nature.

 

The function of fear should be to better ones strategies for protection from

possible dangers, fear should serve us, not scare us. Fear is, in the last

analysis, the offshoot of ignorance. If we can accept the one existence, the

Lord in us, and submit to Him, there is no cause for fear!

 

Regards

Bharathi.A