ONLY FIVE MINUTES LONGER
“Fear Not. What is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed.”— The Bhagavad Gita, Ancient Hindu Scriptures
I always found the Hindu culture to be the most profound of all Eastern philosophies...
So, I bought myself one of the most famous books in their ancient history, called the Bhagavad Gita. A 700-verse Sanskrit scripture, the Gita is a Hindu sacred text that forms part of a larger epic—the Mahabharata. It is an epic scripture that was considered as a spiritual dictionary by Mahatma Gandhi, as well as a book of inspiration for many leaders of Hindu thought.
It is a narrative that is told through a dialogue between Arjuna, a warrior, and his charioteer, Lord Krishna. Arjuna doubted whether he should go into battle against his own father’s army, while Krishna explained to him that he must fulfill his duty as a warrior. To this day, the Indian philosophers consider the battle, as described in the Bhagavad Gita, to be an allegory for human life.
What I first noticed, while reading the first six translated chapters of the Gita, was that it distinguished between two aspects of human life— “the what is and the what might be”. According to the scripture, any divide between the two would result in fear, while the constraint from thinking about tomorrow would eradicate it.
For Hindus, the whole process of thought is considered to be a trap, which leads to confusion, illusion and false action, combined with untrodden waves of fear. In that sense, fear is always a result of the “known rather than the unknown”.
Moreover, Hindus believe that the mind is capable of creating its own fear. And whenever the mind attempts to dismiss that fear, more of it is created. Therefore, the simplest effort to get rid of fear, analyze, overcome, or resist it, would further reinforce it. This is why Hindus assert that the ending of all fear necessitates tremendous discipline, which requires the person to be in direct contact with his fear, instead of running away from it.
In fact, Hinduism makes it clear that fear cannot be overcome through defense or resistance, nor can there be freedom from it through the search for answers, or by way of intellectual or verbal explanation—only through self- understanding comes the awakening of the self and the ending of all fear.
Actually, Hindus consider fear as one of their greatest problems in life. That is because a mind, which is riddled with fear, lives in permanent confusion and conflict. Later on, it becomes violent and aggressive. Moreover, a fearful man is said to be incapable of expressing love or showing sympathy.
Yet, the Gita expressed that every time we experience fear, we ought to remember that “fearlessness exists in us too”. In other words, when we sense fear, we should realize that there exists a friend and ally within us that we could rely on for help. And that friend and ally is none other than our own consciousness. As Krishnamurti put it: “Remember the self indeed is the friend of the self.”
An Indian philosopher, who was groomed to be the new World Teacher in his early life but later rejected this mantle and withdrew from the Theosophy organization behind it, he told this story...
When Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo to the British, he was locked up. Later on, reporters were allowed to visit him in his cell to find out why he had lost. So, they asked him: “Did they have a better army?” He said: “No”. They asked, “if the British were better
trained?” He said: “No”. “Did they have any special skills?” Again, he said: “No”.
So, “how the hell did they win then?” The asked.
He told them: “The British fought for five minutes longer”.
How does this story relate to fear?
Krishnamurti explained: “Lots of people succumb to fear right at the point when they are about to overcome it. Know that you only have to fight for five more minutes. Only five minutes. That’s the difference between those who win and those who lose. The winners fight for five minutes longer”.
Going back to the Gita...
Believed to be nearly five thousand years old, the ancient scripture explained that whenever we are able to destroy the fear within us, the fear outside is abolished as well. It further clarified that every time we experience doubt, something in us turns doubtless. Similarly, every time we are frustrated, something in us becomes joyful.
In that sense, I found the Gita fascinating...
Here’s how the scripture described the self as a friend rather than a foe: “The self is the foe of one unsubdued. When you subdue your fears, your consciousness will become your greatest friend and ally. When you subdue your lower self, it transforms into an angel. When you fail to do this, it becomes the devil.”
It further added: “One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger is called a sage of steady mind.”
What the Gita meant is that when a person is equipoised in happiness or in distress, or when free from attachment, fear, and anger, that person becomes a sage of a steady mind.
But how is that state of mind developed?
“Through knowledge,” the Gita explained, something Hindus refer to as real knowledge, or what is commonly known in India as spiritual knowledge—one that destroys the darkness, the same way light does to dusk.
Here’s an example...
If a professional athlete wants to win a gold medal in the Olympics, he cannot simply claim: “Oh, I want to be a gold medallist!” Then, he enters the competition and expects to win. For that to happen, he has to practice, train and exercise hard, up to a point where he feels able to compete, and possibly triumph.
The Gita elucidated that the spiritual path requires similar focus and dedication, just to begin tasting the happiness and feeling the joyfulness one seeks. Hindus refer to that as the awakening of the self through knowledge. This awakening is a complete transformation of the self, and a whole transition into a new level of consciousness, never experienced before. “It’s when you start seeing life from a different perspective,” Krishnamurti pointed out.
The Gita perceived this as an “understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating.” And when this transformative knowledge occurs, an internal makeover follows, coupled with a delightful spiritual taste.
According to the Gita, journeying the path of righteousness protects the soul from the darkest silhouettes of fear... this is the real key to fearlessness. “Thus, even while living in a fearful world, we can live fearlessly,” the scripture stipulated.
The Gita also told us that: “Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening, is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.” Therefore, everything that happens, happens for a reason. “Fear not what is not real, never was and never will be,” the Gita proclaimed. This is why Hinduism advocates life without worry, knowing that a fearless soul cannot be caged. Hence, when fearlessness is attained, the mind becomes unwavering—like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.
There’s a mythical story that I would like to share...
A man met Azrael, the angel of death. So, he asked him: “How many souls will you take this time?” The angel of death answered: “Not more than 500.” But the actual number was 3,000. The man met Azrael again, later during the day, and told him: “You said you would only take 500 souls, but over 3,000 died!”
The angel of death answered: “I took 500, the remaining died through fear!”
Actually, the impressions of all our present, past and future fears are all stored in our subconscious mind, and this is why we unknowingly suffer from guilt and continually allow ourselves to be provoked by fear. Those impressions are deeply seated in the innermost layers of our minds. They cause all the tensions, which manifest through anxieties, worries, and fears.
And this is only the beginning of the worst yet to come...
When those tensions become severe, they take the form of psychosomatic diseases and other mental problems. Eventually, the state of consciousness changes and the victim becomes obsessed with one single thought: “What is going to happen to me?” And when that occurs, the patient experiences all kinds of fears that are buried deep inside the mind, only to surface from time to time.
This is why the Gita asserts that “the worry machine is too strong.” But if you fight it, there is hope. And the only way to fight it is by facing those “battles within yourself.” It said: “On this path, effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.”
When a sage from India was asked: “What’s the greatest sin of all?” He replied: “Fear is the biggest sin of a human.” He went on saying: “Fear is death, fear is the sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in this world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.”
Then, he told this story...
A king had begged the Buddha to bring his dead son back to life. So, the Buddha told him to bring a handful of rice from every family where no member has ever died. The king tried, but of course, failed. He returned empty-handed to the Buddha, who explained to him: “No matter how powerful you think you are; your life is in no control of you.”
There’s a quote from the Buddhist Scriptures that says: “A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated—this is the greatest blessing.”
In other words, there is no fear for one whose mind and soul are free from... desires!