Being Fearless is the foundation of a Spiritual Life – Sri Guru

Fearlessness is the very foundation of spiritual life. Even though a seeker dearly wishes to scale the spiritual heights but the shackles of fear are so intense that their wish never seems to be fulfilled. Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to something threatening in our environment. In this way, fear is necessary for our survival. But what is not good is over-indulgence in this emotion of fear.

Fear – the enemy within

Fear comes from human heart. It develops a magnetism by which it draws to itself the objects and situations a person is feared of, just as a magnet draws a piece of iron, thus increasing our miseries. Fear of failure or sickness is cultivated by being in the loop of such thoughts which are then rooted into our subconscious mind and get connected to the Universal mind. So, it’s none other than ourselves who are implanting the seeds of fear in our own cosmic field.

The life cycle of fear

Do we ever think that from where this emotion of fear is born? What is the lifecycle of fear and how it can be converted into fearlessness? No, we never look deeper into our minds to know the cause behind fear and ways to rise above it. The fear is born out of worry, and worry is the result of human nature of non-acceptance of results. Thus, in spiritual path we lay the foundation of acceptance that is the primary antidote to all kinds of fear appearing in our life.

Is fear right?

Fears can be rational, primal or irrational. The rational fear is needed for safety and survival. The intense caution of not loosing one’s child in crowded area is a rational fear that allows us to be more alert and attentive. Such a fear helps us to take care of ourselves as well as others. The primal fear is the fear that is coded into our brain over the journey of evolution. From early hunters to modern day dwellers everything is being imprinted into our genes and thus the insecurities of early man are still programmed in our brain. There is a sure way to come out of such fears through the wisdom of reason. Finally, there are irrational fears that occupies most of our conscious mind. This type of fear ranges from our fear of facing the uncertainty to fear of facing the ghosts. Irrational fear remains far away from the domain of logic yet they are the most experienced fear that everyone wants to get rid of.

Living fearlessly 

Spiritual path explores four ways to rise above these mundane emotions of fear. It is important for seeker to identify the right kind of fear and then work accordingly to rise above this unwanted emotion of fear. 

1. Label Rightly

The only purpose of fear is to make a seeker careful about his actions. It is important to label our gross fear only as ‘caution’, not fear. Eating healthy food in order to avoid diabetes is not the fear, it is the caution. If you call and feel this caution as fear then your heart will send such electromagnetic signals in the universe that will intern attract such possibilities only. So, develop your insight to know the difference between fear and being alert or careful. Not doing the exercise will put on the unnecessary flab on our body so it is essential to make an exercise ritual but there is no need to step into the horror of fear.

2. Attitude of Introspection

The wrong actions are the mother of right learnings if we have an attitude of introspection. Every person has knowingly or unknowingly created their own system of morality from family, society and religion they are living with. When our moral values are far off from our actions, there is an inevitable sense of fear that arises within. For an example, if our family values are held in honesty and loyalty then speaking lies will always bring fear to our deepest minds. This fear can be uprooted by the way of introspection and correction. Seeking forgiveness for the wrong and abiding to moral values in the future is the sure way to live fearlessly in coming future. Values stand the test of time and thus abiding to them is a fundamental way to remain fearless in the face of any adversity.

3. Believing in the Cosmic Will

Fear is associated with human’s limited vision and will. The spiritual path evolves our mind with the understanding of Cosmic Will called God. We often says that God upsets our plan to execute His plans. Fear of humans is the fear of inability of execution of his own wish but when a seeker’s mind is anchored in Divine then glad acceptance comes as a natural outcome. There are times that we look back into our life and says that whatever happened, happened for good. Even though while facing those tough times we were never comfortable but years after we realise that the Higher Will has been executed rightly. A seeker believe in Higher Will at the core of his heart and thus surrender all his fear to ‘His Will’ and feel the freedom at once.

4. The Tool of Sadhana

At the apex of every spiritual path there is the process of sadhana that can convert the lower experiences into he higher one with consistent practice. Fear is an experience of the lower-most energy station called ‘mooladhaar’ where energies are trapped. This is the base of our spinal cord and there is a sure way to get our fear out of this energy zone. Whenever trapped in fear, the seeker can take a deep breath within and feel the breath touching the base of the spine. Hold there for a few seconds so that fresh ‘Prana Energy’ can push the vibrations of fear out of the system. Then you can exhale your breath slowly. This allows our energy body to function on subtle levels and upheaval the fear energies to turn into the wisdom of reasoning or surrender. Cessation of fear happens only when our energy is rescued from the fear centres and this can be achieved through regular practices of sadhana.

When I started on this path, my life was full of fear and confusion but as I walked the talk of Enlightened Beings, my energies transformed into higher experiences. The necessary fear still exists that keeps me away from sin but the irrational fears are renounced because it is a Higher Will that knows how to make my life better!

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