DISSOLVING THE FEAR
IN THE MIND
Humans are intrinsically fearful of loss.
Misplacement can assume several dimensions. Say mislaying of property, wealth, recognition,
position, power, pelf, health and most importantly life. Holding on to these assets makes us feel fearful and anxious and
accordingly increases our liabilities and consequently the balance sheet of
life becomes skewed.
John’s (name changed) steely voice suddenly
trembled and quivered as he answered into the pretentious cellphone. Rachel (named changed), his daughter had met
with a grievous car crash and was wheeled into the ICU of an estimable hospital;
the doctors gravely indicated that the chances of survival were extremely slim.
The fact of the matter is that humans fear annihilation the most.
Death is the action or fact of dying or being
killed, the end of life of a person or an organism.
‘The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time’, wrote Mark Twain.
Several years ago a Japanese warrior was captured
by his adversaries and was confined to a dungeon. That fateful night he tossed
and turned restlessly and was unable to sleep fearing the following day when he
would be interrogated, tortured, and eventually executed. He was literally
staring death in its face. Then suddenly he remembered the priceless words of
his Zen Master.
“Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The
only reality is now.” Heeding these esoteric words, the warrior overcame the
exacting condition he was encountering and soon his mind became tranquil and he
fell asleep.
Recently at a house warming ceremony a
pensioned–off software techie was accosted by his former colleagues. They found
the normally loquacious friend devastated and speaking in a hushed manner.
Eventually the techie broke his silence and grimly informed the lamentable news
to his friends that he was suffering from abdominal cancer and the doctors
predicted the worst. Soon the celebratory
atmosphere turned somber.
Suffering and fear arise in our minds when humans
confront ailment or impending death. No one wishes to pass from being to
non-being. The credo of human mind is the desire to remain eternally immortal.
But even all those who were granted such
boons by the Gods (Ravana to Bhishma)
eventually cast away their physical bodies.
Interestingly on an average every day millions of
cells in the human body perish and several millions more are regenerated every
day. But we are not mindful or wakeful to this reality. Do humans compose
dirges or elegies like Catallus or Propertius for the dead cells? Or do we
carouse and indulge in delirium on the birth of new cells and recite ‘Happy Birthday’
poems?
‘No one wants to die.
Even the people who want to go the heavens don’t want to die to get there! And
yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that
is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of
life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new’,
wrote the iconic Steve Jobs.
Be it Rachel, the Japanese warrior, the software
techie or Steve Jobs, no one has ever attained perpetuity or everlastingness,
however bare-knuckled a person may be, he remains glass jaw to the ultimate
reality. Yet youngsters today cannonaded by gizmos and
technology become weary and bored of life at the young ages of twenty, thirty
and hotfoot to snuff out their lives. Such individuals are apparently not
cheery and joyous as they do not consider life to be sacred and precious.
Unfortunately they have no stomach to fight.
And contrast this negative attitude with nonagenarians
who clamor to become centurions like any prolific cricketer. A life lived in
measured proportions results in positive emotions thereby augmenting longevity.
Life is indeed holy and hallowed, too valuable and
will remain a mystery that should not be recklessly given up. Yet there is no
covenant or magic potion which guarantees deathlessness. Therefore the human
mind should accept this reality and expatriate the fear. The Mantra ought to be dissolve the fear through mindful living and
mindful breathing, apart from perpetually remaining in knowledge.
Identifying and unravelling this mystery has confronted
the minds of spiritualists, religious congregations and those of scientists and
technocrats alike. Science through medical advancements has attempted to
prolong life, while spiritual masters through esoteric cognition and awareness
have shown the direction. Both sets of people have provided succor to the
theists and the atheists.
A Zen Master was unwell and desired to cast away
his body. His pupils implored that he ought to live longer and disseminate the
profound knowledge. It so happened that one disciple remarked, “Whether it is
life or death, let it be.” The Master was ecstatic with the response and passed
away. ‘Let it be’ is much more than a mere aphorism, it is a state of mind. A
state of stillness and remaining quiet from within, where the mind conquers
fear irrespective of the situation one is faced with.
Our Shastras impress that human mind is
influenced by place, time, food, past impressions (Karmic cycles) and
associations and actions of individuals. The footprints bear both efficacious
and antipathetic impacts on the human mind. We can remain blithe like a child
or doleful and perpetually despondent.
Humans are enslaved by the above mentioned
factors and habits, as a result it involuntarily superintendents our
perceptions, attitudes and behavior. And over a period of time if we are not
aware of these negative emotions they compound in anxiety, anger, aggression,
covetousness, low self–esteem and fear.
Knowledge
about the impermanence of life and its variegated dimensions can be gained only
through regular practice of pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, meditation or mindful
observation of breath. This is the eternal secret and only truth. Even an
agnostic or an atheist will eventually have to accept
this reality.
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