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The only way to deal with fear is to face it. The more you try to run, the more it will haunt you. Face it and ask yourself questions: “Who are you? Where are you coming from? Why are you coming to me? What am I afraid of?” When you ask these questions, you will find that fear is only a thought in the mind. Thoughts come and go. There is nothing permanent in the mind; it endlessly fluctuates and this is the reason we practice Yoga: to steady those fluctuations and to recognize who we are.
You are not the mind, not your thoughts, not your feelings, not an ego, not even a body. Know that you are the true Self. Fears come, fears go because the mind always changes, it gets into moods. Realize you are the Self. The Self is always peaceful and content. Even though the mind gets into different moods and feelings, you—the real you—are not tainted by that. You know these fears, upsets, and changes in mood are the nature of the mind and you can say, “Okay, today my mind is happy. Tomorrow it will be unhappy. Fine.” See? You won’t identify yourself with that. You recognize that you are not the mind while all the time asserting your real nature as the true unchanging Self.
Everything in the mind, in the body, in the nature changes. If you are afraid of losing some money, remember that you never came with a penny in my mouth when you were born. And, you are not going to take a dollar with you in the pocket when you go. Things come and go, constantly. That’s why coins are made round to just keep rolling. Name and fame are the same. One day everyone says you are so wonderful and throws a parade to celebrate you. Sometime later, they throw you in the ditch. It doesn’t matter because what comes will eventually go. That is the nature of the world, of the duality: anything that comes will go. Remember: Where there’s a coming, there’s always a going.
What other kinds of fears might you have? Losing something? Losing some friends? Were you born with them? When you get into the train, you see someone already sitting in your same section. You start to chat and soon become friendly during the trip. When your stop comes, should you say: “Oh you must come with me” or “I’m not leaving as I must stay with you.”? No, you get down from the train at your stop and your new friend goes onto their stop. So, as long as they are with you, next to you, enjoy the friendship.
There’s no losing or gaining in this world because you can’t hold onto anything; everything is impermanent. Even these bodies are impermanent. Will we all live forever? No. The sage, Dharmaputra, the oldest brother of the Pandavas, was asked one day, “What is the most laughable matter in this whole world?” He said, “For me to think that I am not going to die is the most laughable thing.”
No body is permanent and no buddy is permanent. That’s why it’s called buddy. Somebody, nobody, everybody. Buddy, buddy, buddy. Because it’s a body. It comes, it grows, it becomes old, and it dies. No shirt is permanent. No car is permanent, however careful you are in keeping it. Intelligence is like that. Go to the college, learn something, record it in memory. One day you may forget everything.
Tell me anything that is going to be always with you. When you know this, what is there to be afraid of? Fear of losing what? Fear of losing your life? It happens every day, every minute. In a way, a fearful person dies every minute. A fearless person lives longer until the real death comes. So there’s no need to be dying while alive. Keep on doing it. And if you keep on doing it, that negative thought will wait for a little while and then it will get tired and walk out.
Be strong in thinking positively and if the negative thought is stubborn, question it, “Hey, come on, tell me, what is the problem? Why are you bothering me? What do you want to do with me? Why are you here?” Challenge, question, use your intelligence. Analyze it and it will begin to dissolve. If you question your fears and anxieties that’s the way to face them. You will see fear for what it is, you will understand it as a superficial ripple. Just go a little underneath and there is peaceful, calm lake. Only on the surface you see the waves, and that’s natural. Go deeper within and you will find the peace that is your true nature, the real you.
