People are afraid all the time. The reason and object of
fear keep changing but the basic fear remains as it is. So how do we overcome
fear? The best way to overcome fear is to have faith in our capabilities or unwavering devotion to God. Remember the story of young boy Nachiketa from Katha Upanishad who deliberately went for a meeting with Yama, the god of death.
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| Nachiketa overcome fear through knowledge...he had faith in himself and therefore fearlessly approached Yama for a dialogue on the secrets of life. |
Fear steals peace, happiness, and progress from life. It
installs anger, hatred, intolerance, frustration, and sadness.
When we are under the control of fear, we become anxious,
nervous and tense. This means our mind and intellect is clouded. We are not able
to think properly and make good decisions. This means there is no happiness and
progress in life.
An important reason for fear is distrust. Fear develops and
envelops us when we have been betrayed, injured or abused by others.
The effective way to overcome fear is to have faith. We need
to have faith in God or in oneself.
Choose a form of God that you are comfortable with and realize that God is always with you. When we have someone always with us, we will not be afraid regardless of the circumstances.
Choose a form of God that you are comfortable with and realize that God is always with you. When we have someone always with us, we will not be afraid regardless of the circumstances.
If you do not believe in God, or doubt whether God will be
always with you, or will God help you, then the only option is to develop faith
in one’s ability.
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| 16 year old Markandeya defeated fear and death through unwavering devotion to Shiva. |
Fear is the result of ignorance. This ignorance is injected
into us by parents, relatives, teachers, friends, and by ourselves through our
wrong thoughts and actions.
In young age, fear is used to discipline a child. This fear
then takes a demonic form and enters into various aspects of life. It takes
numerous forms.
Such fear has to be conquered through proper understanding
and knowledge. We should be able to pluck out fear with the help of knowledge.
Another set of fear is future – fear of losing the job,
girlfriend, meeting with accidents, death etc. This future fear can only be
overcome by realizing that all forms of happiness that we get from an external
source is bound to end. So do not depend on them. Live in the present enjoy but
never be dependent on an external factor for your happiness and daily life.
Be truthful and compassionate. Enjoy your work. Forget about
results. Live in the present. Then you will not have time to fear.
Abhilash
www.hindu-blog.com
Abhilash
www.hindu-blog.com