Overcoming Fear

Based on a lecture by Hari Prasad Shastri

I offer you an outline discourse on how to deal with fear. The subject is dealt with not only from the modern psychological point of view, but also from the standpoint of the higher Yoga.

The first thing to remember is that we are psycho-physical beings animated by the divine Spirit, which is our true Self and is entirely beyond the range of fear and danger. The spiritual ideal is complete fearlessness. When we are completely fearless at all times, we have truly realised the ideal.

The ideal is not only that we should fear none, but also that no one should be afraid of us. If those who depend on us are afraid of us, there is something spiritually wrong with us. We ought to fear none and we ought to inspire none with fear of us. If this ideal is followed, human society will become ideal and many of the evils which today agitate the social mind will come to an end.

One of the greatest gifts of the Yoga of Self-knowledge is to give fearlessness to everybody. ‘Let nobody have any fear of you’ is one of the highest injunctions which is imposed on a disciple. Therefore a yogi gives the gift of abhaya (fearlessness) to everybody.