Handling Fear

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

 Fear is a powerful emotion which can become a very big obstacle in pursuing any goal and in attaining success.  One thing that anyone can notice by one’s sheer observation is that fear is common to all human beings, young and old. In fact it even extends to animals and plants. Therefore, one can see that fear is an instinctive and a natural emotion which is provided by Lord in all living organisms.  Whatever is instinctive and natural, one cannot totally condemn or criticize. Since it is instinctive, since it is natural, and since it is provided by Lord Himself, it must have some purpose and function. Therefore, one should ask the question - what is the function of the instinctive fear that is found in all living organisms, including animals and plants?  The psychologists say that fear is a part of defence mechanism.  Fear occurs as a warning signal to alert the living organisms whenever there is a threat from outside.  Whether threat is an actual or a perceived one, fear acts as a messenger or as a warning signal to alert the organism.  It is a messenger, a warning signal so that one can take precautionary measures to save oneself.  Further when fear comes, certain biochemical changes take place physically and one gets enhanced capacity so that one can have a fight or flight response. In fear, one gets some extra strength as some enzymes are secreted and get activated.  Even sensory powers are activated in animals and human beings.  Therefore, existence of fear is a blessing as well at times and one need not have any regrets if fear comes now and then.  If one wonders why then fear is talked about as a problem to be avoided, Scriptures explain that while fear as a messenger is a blessing, fear as a guest or resident is an obstacle for growth and hence fear, Bhayam, is classified as Tamo Guna while fearlessness, Abhayam, is described as Daivi sampath in the 16^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

To discourage the mind from entertaining fear thoughts, Scriptures mention four methods that are strewn all over the Scriptures. The first method is Yogabhyasa.  Training the mind to remove the fear thought continuing in the mind is Yogabhyasa.  Patanjali yoga sutra (1-2) defines yoga as ‘Chitta Vritti Nirodhaha’ i.e. the capacity to control the flow of thoughts. One controls the thought patterns and weeds out unhealthy thoughts by training the mind.  The fear thought arrives without our will and without our permission either because of instinct or because of vasanas. But without support of our will it cannot continue, point out the Sastras.  Patanjali yoga sutra (1-12) declares ‘abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tan-nirodhah’ i.e. through practice and dispassion the thought pattern of the mind is to be controlled. Therefore, whenever it comes, one should deflect the attention of one’s mind by giving the mind constructive and healthy occupation and activity.  Even as the fear arises, one should give an auto suggestion that fear is useless, fear is obstructive and fear is harmful to one’s health.  This practice of deliberate avoidance of fear thought and deflection when it occurs is called Yogabhyasa.

The second method is Bhakti Abhyasa.  This method is based on the principle, ‘whenever fear arises in the mind, the impact of fear is inversely proportional to the self confidence that one possesses’.  Lack of self confidence leads to magnification of the impact of fear.  Lesser the self confidence, greater the impact of fear and greater the impact of fear, wilder the imagination. Wilder the imagination, weaker the self confidence. Thus, one gets into a vicious cycle; fear destroying the self confidence and that improving the fear leading to a panic attack.  Therefore, the second method is weakening the impact of fear by improving self confidence with the thought that I do have the resources to confront and overcome the threats.  And one of the methods of building up self confidence is Iswara Bhakthi.  “Ishwara sarva bhutanam hruddeshe arjuna tishtati (The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna,)” declares Lord Krishna in Gita (18-60). So remembering Bhagawan with devotion all the time one can draw strength from Bhagawan and boost one’s self-confidence with the thought that he is not alone and Bhagawan is always with him.  Greater the self-confidence, lesser the impact of fear.  This practice of deriving strength from the thought of Bhagawan with Bhakthi to face any threat with self-confidence is Bhakthi Abhyasa.

The third method is called Vairagya Abhyasa.  This is based on a very important teaching in our Scriptures that the whole cosmos including the Pancha Bhutas is the body of the Bhagawan as Vishwa Rupa Iswara.   So all the living beings including all our bodies are within the body of the Lord.  Therefore, everything belongs to the Lord.  Lord alone is the owner of everything. Lord alone is the controller of everything.  While the individual does not own anything and cannot control anything, his ignorance causes Mamakara, the feeling that I own things.  Mamakara causes attachment and attachment causes fear.  Mamakara, claiming ownership and controllership over persons and objects, is a spiritual offence and Sastras say that fear is a punishment given by the Lord for this offence.  Renouncing ownership idea over objects and persons in favour of the Lord leads to removal of cause for fear and is called Vairagya Abhyasa.

The fourth method is called Jnana Abhyasa.  While the other three methods seen earlier can accomplish only what Swami Paramarthananda calls as FIR reduction in case of fear, where FIR reduction stands for reduction of Frequency, Intensity and Recovery period, Jnana Abhyasa can totally remove fear. This is because in Jnana Abhyasa one does not identify oneself with one’s body-mind complex equipped with the Athma Jnanam that one’s real Self is Sat, Chit, Aananda Athma which is no different from Brahman and has the conviction of the Maha Vakhya “Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman)” born of Self-knowledge. Fear is for the mind only and claiming one’s higher stature as Athma and not identifying oneself with the mind, one frees oneself from fear.

Thus, we have four methods given by the Sastras for handling fear; Yogabhyasa, Bhakti Abhyasa, Vairagya Abhyasa for relative freedom from fear and  Jnana Abhyasa for absolute freedom from fear.

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Jivan Mukthi

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s Gurupurnima talk 2019)

Jivanmukthi  is a concept unique to Advaita Vedanta.  The person who has realized through Athma Jnanam the oneness of his Self with Brahman and shed his dehathma buddhi is considered a liberated person, while living and his state is called Jivanmukthi.   Liiberation as per Advaita Vedanta is not the attainment of some new state in some other world after the end of the present life, but it is the realisation, through Athma Jnanam in this life itself, of what one has always been, namely Brahman, by the removal of the wrong notion that one is the body-mind complex,  So in the state of Jivanmukthi, a Jivanmuktha lives enjoying infinite happiness and peace at all times with the wrong identification, as self with the body, mind and senses, removed and freed from the mistaken notion of bondage, until his prarabhdha karma is exhausted.

Prarabhdha karma is one of the three karmas, agami, sanchita and prarabhdha, that is generated by one’s actions with the sense of doership.   Agami karmas  are the unfructified karmas of present birth;  sanchita karma, the accumulated karmas over previous births and  prarabhdha karma, that part of the sanchita karma that comes to fruition at the time of one's birth.  Prarabhdha Karma determines जातिः (Jathihi),  environments of birth,आयुः (aayuh), lifespan, भोगाः (bhoghah),  experiences of life as per sutra 13 of Sadhana pada of Patanjali Yoga Sutra.  For a Jivanmuktha, on giving up the Ahamkara ‘I’ and shedding the sense of doership (karthrutva bhava) and enjoyership (bhokthruthva bhava), agami karma is annihilated, sanchita karma is liquidated and no further karma accrues as he acts thereafter without sense of doership.  As Lord Krishna observes in Gita (4-37) “Jnanaagnih sarvakarmaani bhasmasaat kurute”.( The fire of Jnanam reduces all karmas to ashes). 

But this does not apply to the prarabdha karma which is like the arrow that has left the bow shot at a target that cannot be got back or arrested in its movement but has to exhaust itself, by reaching the target. So a Jivanmuktha stays in the body and continues living in the world until the prarabhdha karma is exhausted. This we can say is a good and a bad news. It is good news because a Jivanmuktha stays alive as Jnani, blessing people with his knowledge and service and inspiring sadhakas through his teaching and personal example.  The bad news is his body has to suffer out the bad prarabhdha. I say his body because he does not view the body as himself any longer.  The balance of prarabdha karma does not affect Jivanmuktha mentally, as he does not identify himself with his body/mind.  He has internalised the knowledge “Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya, Jiva Brahmaiva na para” (Brahman is Sathyam, the world is mithya and Jiva is none other than Brahman)” and has the perspective that this world of variety other than his Real Self is only an appearance supported by Brahman and his Real Self is not different from Brahman. This we can see from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri Ramana Maharishi who viewed their body afflictions in a detached manner as something affecting the body only and not themselves. The assimilation of Brahma jnanam and attaining such a perspective is called Mithyatva darsanam.  The Jivanmukthas who continue to stay in society and interact with people have the Mithyatva darsanam that dilutes the impact of prarabhdha rendering it insignificant like the aerial view of mountains.

Acharyas who came after Adhi sankara highlight a second method of countering Prarabhdha which is discussed in Swami Vidyaranya’s work “Jivanmukthiviveka”. A Jivanmuktha Jnani who prefers to live in solitude with minimum contact with the world for body’s basic needs only, has this approach to neutralise the impact of prarabhdha in the mind.  Normally Nitidyasanam, Vedantic meditation, is practiced for removing viparitha bhavana, wrong notions and misconceptions regarding self in the mind.  But In this second method it is also used as a source of happiness, Nitidyasana sukham.  In Nitidyasanam one meditates on the teaching of Vedanta that focusses on Jiva Brahma Ikyam to internalise the teaching that one is not a samsari jiva subject to limitations but the infinite Brahman which is Sat,Chit, Aananda. This new understanding of one’s own Self is portrayed in Kaivalya Upanishad(1-1-14) as follows;

Puratraye kridati yasca jivaḥ tatasthu jatam sakalam vicitram I

Aadharamanandamakhandabodham, yasmin layam yati puratrayam ca II 14 II

All this diversity is born out of jiva alone which sports in the three worlds of experience (waking, dream and deep sleep).  Moreover, these three worlds resolve into the jiva which is indivisible consciousness and aananda, the substratum (of all).

When this Jivanmuktha Jnani contemplates on his Aananda swarupa in Nitidyasanam, his mind is filled with experiential happiness, which is far, far superior to vishayananda, that comes from contact with anathma.  The Prathibimba Aananda he enjoys is from contact with Bimba Aananda itself as he is, as described in Gita (2-55), “Aatmanyevaatmanaa tushtah” (happy in the Self by the Self).  From this happy state no worldly problem or sorrow can shake him or move him to grief as pointed out in Gita (6-22), “Yasmin sthito na duhkhena gurunaapi vichaalyate” (wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow).  This Nithidyasana sukham, the Jnani uses to dilute the impact of prarabhda.  Rather he feels thankful to prarabhda for this life as a Jeevanmuktha Jnani that he is enjoying, with the reflection as described in the Kaivalya Upanishad (1-1-19):

Mayyeva sakalaṁ jataṁ, mayi sarvaṁ pratisthitam I

Mayi sarvaṁ layam yati, tad brahmadvayamasmyaham II

Everything is born in me alone; everything is based on me alone; everything resolves into me alone. I am that nondual Brahman.

This Nitidyasana sukham is also called by various other names such as Jivanmukthi sukham, Jnananda, Yogananda and Athmananda.

So while a Jivanmuktha Jnani serving the world staying in public life dilutes the impact of prarabhdha through mithyatva darsanam, the withdrawn Jivanmuktha Jnani dilutes it through Jivanmukthi sukham.  When prarabhdha is exhausted, the Jivanmuktha of either type attains Videhamukthi.  In Videhamukthi freed from the earthly existence in the body, a Jivanmuktha becomes one with Brahman, like the space in the pot becoming one with the open space, when the pot is broken. As the subtle body is also dissolved at that time, he is freed from the cycle of birth and death as well.

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