Fear is a movement of shrinking and is rooted within us as instinctive need for self-preservation. In animals it is largely instinctive and to an extent has its validity. However, in human beings all these reactions that serve some purpose in animals often take on a distorted and exaggerated form due to the intrusion of the mind. That mind often indulges in fears that are neither real nor rational. Even where we may say that there is some basis for ‘fear’ the mind often builds much more around it by its power of imagination than the thing is in actuality. By doing so it confuses the thinking, often flooding and overwhelming it with information much of which is unnecessary and merely projections of our mind. This happens because our mind presently is a mind of ignorance. It relies heavily on sense data and its analysis. However, it is unable to see the deeper forces at work. Its knowledge received through the senses is indirect and incomplete. Unlike the animal who reacts with sure instinct, we try to construct reality by the mind and while doing so we often fill in the blanks with our hopes and wishes and fears and imaginations, colour it with emotions, and then starts panicking or rejoicing as the case may be on this constructed rather than true reality.
Hence a first preliminary thing to be practiced is to learn to step back, not to be caught up in the whorl and swirl of forces that make us dance like puppets. To practice stepping back, to take out some time to quieten ourselves and instill peace, the practice equanimity dedicating all we do to the Divine are all ways and means by which we can weaken the grip of these ignorant forces such as those of fear.
More specifically we can look at things calmly and see them for what they are worth. Take for example the amount of fear that is circulating all around in the name of the pandemic. The more we project our consciousness outside and look at figures and numbers or track the cases, engage in discussions about the virus the more we get caught in the grip of fear. On the other hand if step back and take a calm rational look we shall see that while prudence is fine, panic and fear are not at all warranted and justified. In fact it has been found that a number of deaths are due to an excessive overwhelming response of our immune system, due to an internal panic. Then we can reflect a little and see what is it that we are afraid of, – death? But if death is only a passage to another kind of life and even of a return to earth to complete our journey then why should we be afraid of it. And if death merely means the cessation of everything then again why should one fear something that is inevitable. In either case plain logic would tell us that instead of worrying about death which is an imponderable we should rather spend our time in living a meaningful life. Of course, we can always take the mystic recourse of surrendering our life and death and destiny in the hands of the Divine Mother. If we do it sincerely it is bound to bring us peace and tranquility born out of trust in the Grace.
There is also the way of courage and will but that is not something that can be easily procured. But the most powerful method is to learn to see the Divine everywhere and in everything. This comes by practice, by constant dwelling of the thought on the idea that the Divine is everywhere even behind the darkest appearances; even behind what we abhor or feel repelled by is in its last analysis a mask of the Divine. When we thus start looking at life then a smile is our answer to all that appalls or frightens us, for we see behind every mask, however terrible it may be, the face of our Divine Beloved. Once we see that then we stop shrinking from anything. This does not mean an indiscriminate indulgence with everything. On the contrary when we thus practice seeing the Divine everywhere and in everything then a new knowledge and deeper understanding of things and forces begins to emerge and are responses are reset and instead of reacting on the basis of ignorance or standard patterns and habitual groves we act based upon the inner divine impulsion without fear or favour without shrinking as also without an ignorant indulgence with life and its myriad faces.
