Evolution of Love 2

ESCAPE FROM MISERY AND GRIEF

Fear and anxiety are emotional issues we have all perhaps experienced in our lives, some more, some less. It has haunted mortals over ages. Shree Shree Ma Anandamayee says that the mortal world is indeed filled with fear and misery. “The world indeed is fearsome. If you take refuge in fear, will you not be afraid? To expect fearlessness there, is useless. To get protection from all misery, it is one’s duty to take shelter only with God.” Elsewhere, She said, “Fear and pain are due to desire.” Sage Ashtavakra too voices the same in Ashtavakra Gita during his famous discourse to Kind Janaka. He says, “it is anxiety and nothing else that is the root cause of misery in this world”. Fear and anxiety both stem from obstacles to the fructification of our desires or vasanas.
FEAR AND ANXIETY
“Fear is the result of a threat or impending danger. Anxiety is a word we use for some types of fear that are usually to do with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future, rather than right now. Anxiety is a natural human emotion in response to a stressful or perceived threatening situation that may occur, rather than one that is occurring around us.
Although the focus of the responses are different in fear vs anxiety, fear and anxiety are interrelated. When faced with fear, most people will experience the physical reactions that are described under anxiety. Fear can cause anxiety, and anxiety can cause fear.”(Baton Rouge Behavioural Hospital)

DESIRES, FEAR AND ANXIETY

Swami Krishnandaji of Divine Life Society says that when the deep rooted vasanas in our chiita or memory or sub-conscious gets triggered, the ‘signal’ goes to the mind and it searches for appropriate ‘objects’ in the world outside to mitigate the ‘thirst’ of our inner desires. The sense organs and organs of actions then play their role through ‘action’ or karma to get desired results. Unfortunately for us, the cycle does not stop there. If we are happy with the results, we either fear of how to retain our gains or long for further gains. If we are unhappy with the results, frustration and anger follows, followed by renewed ‘karma’ to correct the situation. Both instances leave another set of fresh impressions in our ‘chiitta’ as the next set of actions ensue. This mind-desire duo and the attachment to objects and results leads to our getting submerged in the ‘quick sand’ of the world or ‘jagat’. And the world of fear, anxiety, anger, depression, grief…….. Desire is not just limited to what we like. It covers rag dwesha, likes and dislikes, attraction and repulsion.

Ma and our scriptures have pointed out various paths and techniques to free ourselves from the cycle of fear, anxiety and grief :

THE PATH OF FAITH AND DEVOTION

Ma’s pronouncements at various times are of interest:

“He is there. Where am ‘I’ if He is not. If you dwell in the feeling: “He is touching me”, you will see – it is He alone. “If I exists, let it be like a servant or maidservant. In that case I am not far from him.” For the arousal of this attitude constant japa is necessary. The more one is mindful of the Ishta the more there will be devotion. Be one-pointed without allowing the mind to wander in all directions. Why is there the thought of fear? “He is not near me” – indeed because of this feeling. Why fear? He is holding you. Holding on to fearlessness where is the question of fear”?

“What are you afraid of? He is there all the time; let Him do as He wills. Whatever He does is for the good – remember this”.

“Ma is there. Why worry?”

THE PATH OF KARMA

The right perspectives on all karmas or actions that we do in daily life would be a great help. Ma says, “In this world do not become an owner, become a gardener. All problems occur when you become an owner. There are no fights if you can become a mere gardener. The world belongs to the Lord; I am only the servant, that is all. I will keep on serving according to His orders. If you can always live the life of a householder with this emotion, no new bonds will be forged. You are only experiencing the karmas for which you have taken birth (prarabdha). If one can live life always remembering this, where is the question of any fear? He will put everything right.”

THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE

Ma says, “So long as there is coming and going, there will be birth and death. He, who is jubilant at the birth of a child, must be prepared for tears of grief at the time of death. While everything in life is uncertain, it is an undeniable truth that every man must die. To end this ceaseless coming and going, there is only one expedient which is the realization of the One Supreme Being. Unless through sadhana the mind becomes purified and absorbed in Him, one cannot enter His domain of peace.”

Sage Ashtavakra too echoes this in Ashtavakra Gita. He says, the man of wisdom, i.e. the one who has realized his Self, is ever free from the vagaries of the mortal world. “In the conviction that it is anxiety and nothing else that is the root cause of misery in this world, the man of wisdom, with his desires annihilated, remains free from anxiety, happy and contented.” “In the conviction that happiness and misery, birth and death are parts of the natural process of causality, the man of wisdom, without any need to accomplish anything, is free from anxiety and does not identify himself with anything he happens to be doing.”