LIFE LESSON

 

LIFE LESSON:

OVERCOME THE  FEAR  --  Nanganallur  J.K. Sivan 

I once read a powerful  speech and noted  the thoughts conveyed in my mind as it  appealed greatly to me.  It was about Fear.

We are afraid of so many things,  the most  important of it  being the Fear of Death.  Philosopher J.Krishnamurthy used to say 'Death  is a pleasant experience because it is not only inevitable but it also frees one of disease, worry, attachment, possession and feelings about anyone or anything.  We are afraid of expressing our views, disagreement and  do not  protest anything  we find wrong . Instead we get emotionally upset accepting any insult without opposing it.  Many fear God  which is unfortunate. God is never cruel and do not punish anyone.  In many houses, elders misguide the children that  God is watching their every action and will punish, even blinding the eye, if they did anything wrong.

Another fear generally  is about  what will happen after death.   Some feel they have sinned would be tortured and pushed into hell, where  hot burning oil would wait for them to be roasted. No. it is not so. May be  such a fearful idea was conveyed to  prevent one from committing wrongful actions and to put them on the righteous path.   

Every action has a simultaneous reaction. Good begets good  as love begets love.  'As you sow so you reap' teaches adequately instead of threats of torture and hell.

The life we live now on earth,  is in fact,  the heaven or hell -- both being  of our own  making and  creation. One can live happily and create very happy and pleasant moments of every second   lived,  for himself and others.  He has  option to  pollute  and cause an atmosphere of menace to  himself and others  as well.

Man is the form of what he thinks. His education,  personal background and character contribute greatly to what he is. A honest person, disciplined as he is, has nothing to fear and is always straight forward and bold. Nobody fears himself. Only those who have respect for their conscience and are aware fully of  their misdeeds,  show signs of restlessness and fear for consequence of what they intentionally and knowingly did , which they know is incorrect, improper or illegal.

No one is afraid of himself.  Fear is only towards  people and things other than him.  The  fear is restricted towards the  persons who  disagree with him, not  being of  same wave length and frequency, differing  with his way of thinking. The person who fears others, is much worried about the reaction of others and their behaviour.

Fear is an emotional product. We  need to handle it  carefully and calmly using our intellect.  We are afraid of voicing our views and express our objection when  we know we differ with what others say or do and feel it is not  right.

There is a fear of even opening the heart in love  because of the fear that the other person concerned can take advantage of it. There is fear of waking up in the morning for some as they have to face the world with the sunlight and this keeps them behind their covers until they can sleep no more.

Fear arises when one is not confident of himself or aware that he is  doing a wrong thing.  Thought patterns are originated and stagnated in one's mooladhaara chakra.  Mooladhaara means root base.   Our negative thoughts create the fear.  Until we  make an attempt  to overcome the negative thinking  fear will  continue to haunt.

Fear prevents  one  from acting boldly in situations where people dominate and have a right of their way. What to do then?  The solution is:

1. Keep the mind calm, whatever may come. Let anyone do whatever they wish and  let anything happen around me, I shall remain calm, quiet and composed. I shall be happy and cheerful.  Then fear is  weakened and cannot oppress..

2 Pray to  God.  I cannot do everything as I wish, and I have to accept what comes. Let me do what is right and good as my conscience prompts me to do.  That is all. Result is not something for me to worry about. It is His domain.

Every one is born with fear and eliminating it absolutely is impossible.  When we are emotional,  fear is part of it.  Fear  necessitates building up  character and teaches us how to act with courage. Fear is a natural response for  all  when things are uncontrollable.

''Fear of the unknown'' is the general term by which we refer to our fear for something  we haven't anticipated, or exposed to before.  Direct confrontation with  such fear is the best way to overcome  it.  It will prove beneficial  when confronted   head on , with  a particular person or situation  we are  afraid of.  Mental strength to encounter the source of our fear removes the scare and fear we have about the  person  or situation.

Always be prepared to face and deal  with failure. Confronting a fear is hard.  It may not  always lead to a successful end . Yet we have  to confront the  fear many times before we  conquer it.   Don't confuse fear with fate.

If you're afraid of failure, you might decide that it is your fate not to start  an action you  always wanted.  The truth is, you have control of your future. You have the power to determine the path you will take. Resist the temptation to hope things turn out for the best and leave it up to fate. This is the positive attitude. 

Don't let other people control you.  When someone feeds your fears, it kills your  enthusiasm, discourages you, brands you by telling you're inadequate or incapable of changing.  Avoid such people.

Surround yourself with people who want you to overcome your fears and reach your potential.   Courage can't come into play unless you have a fear to face and solve. By owning your feelings you've taken the first step toward gaining control over the situation.

Name your fear. Sometimes fear makes itself known immediately, clearly, and other times its more difficult to name the cause of those anxious feelings lurking in the back of your mind. Let your fear rise to the surface and give it a name.

Write it down. Writing down your fear is a way to officially admit that you have a problem you want to overcome. Keeping a journal is a good way to track your progress as you work toward conquering your fear. It can serve as a guide for the next time you've got a problem that needs to be solved. You can overcome fear by facing it every time it comes your way, and, once you decide to make up your mind, your fears will dissolve away.