Another very common impurity of the mind is fear. Fear is an emotion or a feeling which is present in everyone and when I say everyone it is in all the living beings. Whether it is animals or birds or any other living being including humans, fear is there in the mind.
One of the thoughts which will come to your mind is what are people afraid of ? So lets take ew examples. Lets say a man says he is afraid of heights. Does he know at what height his fear starts ? Yes he does. Does he know at what height he can climb without feeling dizzy or experiencing a faster heart beat? Yes he does. So does he fear something which he is not aware of. No. He fears something which he is aware of. Let’s say a college student fears failure in an exam or an employee fears losing his job. In both cases the person is aware of his fear of failing the exam in case of a college student and losing a job in case of an employee. In all the cases discussed above the fear was always known. So there is no fear of the unknown but fear is always of the known.
Once upon a time there lived a couple in a 2 storied house. One night they were sleeping on the second floor of their house. Sometime in the midnight, the husband heard a sound coming from the kitchen. He got cautious and woke up his wife. He told his wife that he suspects there could be a thief in the kitchen. His wife also listens to the sound of footsteps and clinking of utensils. The wife asks the husband to go down and check who it is. But the husband is fearful. He thinks the thief might be powerful and he would be carrying a weapon. When the noise did not go away he finally thought he should go down. Slowly he went down and peeked in the kitchen and he was surprised to see his son. Their son had come late to the house and was hungry. Out of the fear that his parents would scold him for coming late, he quietly went to the kitchen to grab a bite. When the husband saw his son in the kitchen, all his fear went away. But why did his fear go away. His fear went away because he was able to identify with his son as his father. Fear comes when we separate ourselves. Once we realise our true nature the fear will go away.
Another way to remove the fear is to have no desire. In cases where there is no desire, there is no fear of achieving the desire and also no fear of not achieving the desire.
What is the ultimate fear ?
The ultimate fear any living being will have is the fear of death. No one knows what happens after we die. We are aware that death will come to every living being. But we are still fearful of it. Philosophers say if there is one things which you cannot avoid then that is death. Even after being aware of this fact, we are still fearful of death. But then do we really fear death or we are fearful of what will happen to my family, my money, my property after my death. Think. It is the latter things we are more fearful of and not the death itself. Many old people fear what will happen to their property after they die. Will the children fight and go to court to claim property and make a mess of their earnings. These questions are good but just being aware of the questions is not the solution. What is important is that the person takes action after being aware of the situation and acts accordingly. Once he acts then he is not fearful of death. This brings us to another point that knowledge and action will ensure that that fear about the thing will go away.
WHAT VARIOUS PEOPLE FEAR ?
People in all professions or characters have something or the other they are fearful of. A normal person will fear disease. A family where everyone is well to do and have got respect in the community will fear this reputation going away. A person who is very rich and has lots of money may fear the government that it will impose taxes and his money may be lost. A strong person will fear of enemy, a beautiful lady and a handsome man will fear that old age will catch up with them, a knowledgeable person may fear about a competitor who someday may have more knowledge than him, a person with good quality may fear a wicked person and ultimate fear which everyone has is the fear of death.
How to overcome fear ?
Is there a way one can overcome fear ? Yes there is. One way to eliminate fear is to have no desire. But is that really possible. To some extent yes it is possible ? Desire can be limited and should not cross our capacity to fulfil those. A better way of eliminating this impurity of our mind is to make away with feelings of separateness. When we are aware of the knowledge behind our sense of fear and are one with our true nature, the sense of fear will go away. The moment you create duality between “you” and “me” the fear will creep into our minds. So remove the separateness and live a fearless life !!
What are the other impurities of the mind ? find out more about anger and greed.
