Chapter 11: Fearlessness
Chapter 11
Fearlessness
The majority of people, if asked what they fear most, would reply, "I fear nothing." But few people realize that they are controlled through some form of fear. Most of the fears are induced in early childhood. So subtle and deeply seated is the emotion of fear called phobia that one may go through life burdened with it, never acknowledging its presence.
Considerable courage is required to accept the truth about the presence of this fear, and still greater effort to take corrective measures.
Fear is nothing but a 'state of mind' and hence can be controlled. Physicians are less fearful of diseases than ordinary people. The reason is that physicians know how to detect and cure diseases. We too can detect and control fears by knowing what causes them.
There are three major forms of fear as below.
- Fear of death: Almost every person's ultimate fear is death - dying and losing the whole self to the unknown. Hence this fear forces him to run away from problems and threats. A wise person does not get caught up in the delusion that he is just body or mind. He realizes that his basic identity is imperishable soul.
In the way a person sheds old cloths and wears new cloths, soul sheds ruined bodies and wears new bodies. (The Bhagavad Gita 2-22)
Weapons cannot destroy soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet and air cannot dry it. (The Bhagavad Gita 2-23)
Soul is ever existing and Omni pervasive. (The Bhagavad Gita 2-24)
This soul is beyond the reach of senses, mind and has no birth, growth and death. Knowing this you should not worry! (The Bhagavad Gita 2-25)
It should be noted here that The Bhagavad Gita does not advocate killing others in the name of dharma. It pleads for a life of dharma and sacrificing one's own life in the pursuit of dharma.
Fear of death also causes people to worry about old age and ill health. The greatest of all remedies for the fear of death is a burning desire for achievement, supported by useful service to others. A busy person seldom has time to think about dying. He finds life too thrilling to worry about death.
Death is the most important motivator in life. It motivates us to understand the value of life and time, and prompts us to make the best of every moment of life.
- Fear of failure: Man fears failure, criticism, shame etc. Hence this fear forces him to inaction, or resorting to wrong means. But every failure brings a seed of equivalent success. To overcome the fear of failure, a person should strive to attain even-mindedness, indifference to success and failure. This does not mean that a person lives like a robot. He remains in control of contrary emotions instead of being carried away by them.
A student who has passed the exams may become over-confident, neglecting further reading and may fail in future exams. On the other hand, a student depressed by failure may take drastic decisions such as suicide or dropping out of school.
A politician overjoyed with success in elections may become arrogant and alienate his party men and public. On the contrary, a contestant depressed by temporary defeat may give up politics altogether or jump into the party in power, compromising principles and conscience. A person who is not carried away by success or failure stays on steady path of greater successes.
Your right is to work only and never to the results thereof; know that I am the Dispenser of results and do your duty with detachment. (The Bhagavad Gita 2-47)
Let go of selfishness of 'I', 'me', 'mine', and do your work, whether you succeed or not. Such evenness of mind is called Yoga. (The Bhagavad Gita 2-48)
Gandhiji explained the above verses as under.
“Do your duty, but renounce its fruit, have no desire for reward. But renunciation of fruit in no way means indifference to the result. In regard to every action one must know the result that is expected to follow, the means thereto, and the capacity for it. He, who, being thus equipped, is without desire for the result, and is yet wholly engrossed in the due fulfilment of the task before him, is said to have renounced the fruits of his action.
By detachment I mean that you must not worry whether the desired result follows from your action or not. Things will come right in the end if you take care of the means and leave the result to God. A person who is worried about the outcome of his work does not see his goal; he sees only his opposition and the obstacles before him. Feeling unequal to the difficulties of his situation, he becomes resigned or resorts to violence out of frustration and despair.
But the person who is detached from results and tries only to do his best without thought of profit or power or prestige does not waver when difficulties come. He sees his way clearly through every trial, for his eyes are always on the goal.”
While pursuing legal career Gandhiji had no access to the immense storehouse of creativity which lied within. It was only when he began to live for others that he found himself bursting with almost un-controllable power. By the time he was in his sixties his capacity for work was several times what it had been in his twenties. Because he had learned not to worry about success or failure he could give all his attention to the work at hand, without feeling the burdens of anxiety or fatigue.
"Mr. Gandhiji," a journalist asked him once, "you have been working at least fifteen hours a day, every day, for almost fifty years. Don't you think it's about time you took a vacation?" "Why?" Gandhiji said. "I am always on vacation."
- Fear of poverty: Nothing brings man so much suffering and indignity as poverty! It is no wonder that man fears poverty and tries to do anything to get hold of money to defend from poverty.
But, money by itself is not evil. Man has to earn money to sustain his life, for food, clothes, family and a roof. The greed and lust for money is the evil.
To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those ever-united devotees, I provide what they lack and preserve what they have. (The Bhagavad Gita 9:22)
The above verse addresses a universal human concern: Will I be taken care of by God? Will my needs be met? Will what I've worked for be preserved? The spiritual seeker faces an additional layer of anxiety: By devoting myself to God, am I neglecting practical responsibilities? Krishna answers - not only will your needs be met (yogam), but He Himself takes personal responsibility for your welfare (kshemam).
Gandhiji explained his understanding of the above verse as below.
“How was one to practice 'aparigraha' (non-possession)? Was I to give up all I had and follow God?
Straight came the answer: I could not follow Him unless I gave up all I had. My study of English law came to my help. I understood the Bhagavad Gita's teaching of 'non-possession' to mean that those who desired liberation should act like a trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own.
Do not worry in the least about yourself, leave all worry to God,' — this appears to be the commandment in all religions. This need not frighten anyone. He who devotes himself to service with a clear conscience, will day by day grasp the necessity for it in greater measure, and will continually grow richer in faith.
Just as one must not receive, so must one not possess anything that is not needed. It would be a breach of this principle to possess unnecessary foodstuffs, clothing, or furniture. For instance, one must not keep a chair if one can do without it. In observing this principle one is led to a progressive simplification of one's own life”.
It is often said that a family's fortune is lost in the third generation. When people accumulate lot of money, the children lose the motivation to work hard and make money on their own. Often they give into bad habits and addictions, as can be seen from the children destroyed because of drugs and bike races. So a person should provide proper education and moral foundation to children and encourage them to survive on their own.
The important point to be considered here is not romanticizing poverty or live an idle life without earning money. The important thing is the faith that God takes care of the needs of a person who is immersed in serving God in the form of mankind.
Later when Gandhiji had given up legal practice and devoted fulltime for independence movement, many anonymous donors from unexpected quarters used to appear and donate money. Many women and children also used to give all they could, when volunteers were collecting funds.
Fearlessness is a state of mind which may be difficult to achieve at one step. We need to have faith even though our mind is filled with fears. Then, gradually fears become tamed, and become less and less controlling of our lives.