Fear is one of the complex problems that most of us face in our lives. When we have fear, it takes away all our joy and happiness. This fear is used by elders, parents and teachers to control a child. It is also used by society, tyrants and various organisations who want to control the behaviour of humans within a certain pattern, which they choose as the ‘right’ pattern. In this chapter, we will look at some of the causes of fear (including its root cause), the effects of fear on the human brain, and the difference between physical and psychological fear. We will also see if humans can ever be free from fear.

When fear is caused by a physical danger, then it is natural. It alerts the person of danger. If one is not afraid at the time of danger, then there is something wrong; then the thing posing the danger can cause damage and injury. In such situations, if one is drunk or intoxicated and is not afraid, then there is every possibility of becoming a victim. However, if the danger is gone and there’s no likelihood of such a threat in the near future, but the fear remains because of a previous bad experience, then this type of fear is psychological fear. This type of fear arises from the thought of a painful future. Then there is no use saying that you will not think about the painful incident, because the next moment you are thinking about it.

If fire is spreading, then it may be natural to be afraid, and this fear may prompt an immediate action to save your life. However, if the fire that caused the danger has been extinguished, but you are still continuously afraid of a particular threat that the fire may pose in future, then this fear affects your life unnecessarily.

We run away from this fear through various escape routes, but the psychological fear keeps coming back. The suppression of fear only increases the fear. Some people say that we should accept this fear in order to free ourselves from it. But when we accept the fear, then we are still following a formula that says that we should accept the fear. Then there is the goal to be free from fear. Psychological fear needs to be understood. Only by going deeper into it and discovering its root cause, can we be free from this fear.

In the state of fear, there is nervousness and agony, from which one usually wants to run away. So, when there is fear, there is a motive. The motive is to move away from what gives us fear or causes a state of disturbance, and move towards what gives us security, comfort or certainty. If there is a psychological fear, then we invent theories and beliefs to run away from this fear. Or someone else invents these beliefs and theories and we accept them, because this gives us hope. But there is always fear when these beliefs are challenged. When there is fear, then there is generally darkness. Then we cannot observe things clearly because the fear directs the observation and prevents clear observation.

Physical Challenges, Threats and Fear

Whenever we are trying to achieve a lofty goal or there is a physical challenge or threat to us, then there may be a fear of not succeeding or not being able to deal with the challenge or threat. When the challenge is daunting, then it is natural to be a bit negative. In this state, the enormity of the challenge can be understood and proper measures can be planned. When this is done, positivity arises naturally, for us to deal with the actual physical challenge. In a state of fear, there is tremendous energy to look into the challenge because the threat awakens the whole being and one becomes alert and not casual.

Education tells us that we must remain positive to deal with difficult situations. But any effort to be courageous or any movement away from fear is still fear. This is because, when we are running away or avoiding something, then we are already afraid of that thing. So, suppressing fear is not the right way to deal with it because suppression implies avoidance or keeping something away. When we continuously want to avoid or run away from fear, then we are already afraid of fear. However, if we are very careful about avoiding anything that suppresses the fear, then we are already acting according to accumulated knowledge that says we must not suppress the fear. We are still afraid of doing anything that may become suppression. In seeing the fact that suppression cannot end the fear, there is freedom from suppression.

Now, if we are in front of a wild animal, then naturally there is the fear of being attacked. But it may be necessary for us to not exhibit this fear to the animal, because wild animals generally attack when they sense fear. Therefore, we have to be careful and do all that is necessary to hide the exhibition of this fear from the animal. Otherwise there is a risk of the animal attacking us. But this suppression of fear or inhibition of fear is only an act in need. Here, the purpose is not to free ourselves from the problem of fear through suppression. The purpose is to not exhibit this fear to the animal to protect our life.

Intoxicants to Overcome Fears

Often, various drugs and intoxicants are used to forget the state of loneliness or to become courageous. Now, taking these drugs or drinks can make us feel very strong physically. In that state, one may feel tremendous power to face big challenges or do difficult things. Also, when one feels so strong physically, by taking drugs or by other means, then this physical strength affects the psychological fear too. One is not so afraid psychologically. Similarly, if one is free from psychological fear, then it affects the physical state and one is not so afraid physically. However, if we have too many psychological fears, then these psychological fears make us more afraid physically and vice versa. So, there is a relationship between physical fears and psychological fears.

However, in most cases, consuming drugs is not the right way to deal with physical or psychological fear, unless there is a physical condition of the body that is causing the fear. Then obviously a doctor is important. If there is a physical danger or challenge and the fear arises out of that danger, one takes a pill or drug to overcome this fear. The drug may either make one forget about the challenge or make him feel capable of doing something he cannot do. In both cases, the results could be dangerous. There are people who have felt extraordinarily strong after taking drugs and have tried silly things and landed themselves in serious trouble. This is not advisable.

Moreover, though drugs may make us feel temporarily stronger, they also make us insensitive. They have a negative effect on both the body and the mind. Instead, if we keep ourselves healthy and fit through right food, right exercises and proper sleep, then there is not only physical strength and energy, but there is also a quality of awareness, which is necessary to look into the physical challenge or understand the problem of psychological fear and free ourselves from it.

Understanding Psychological Fear

There is psychological fear because we think that what has happened in the past might happen in the future. Or we think that we may not succeed in achieving what we want to achieve. So, we are continuously living in the past or the future. The fear continues because of the effort to get rid of it, through various kinds of tricks, including different methods of meditation. This is in reality not meditation at all. In becoming one thing and avoiding its opposite, there is the fear of the opposite. In developing courage, we are already running away from fear or we are afraid of it. The cause of fear is psychological time, that is the past or the future, and there is no awareness of the present. But if we can stay with our present psychological state, in which there may be fear and anxiety, then there is understanding of that state and freedom from the problem of fear.

A person who has not freed himself from the problem of psychological fear cannot act rightly because it is the fear that guides his action. Such an action is always fragmentary. When there is fear, there is a motive. This means there is a cause. And when there is a cause, the action is fragmentary. When the mind is free from fear, then there is clear observation. Action stems from this clarity. This action is free from any cause. Such an action is whole and not fragmentary.

Energy to Understand Fear

In order to inquire deeper into the question of fear, we require energy. The energy comes when there is an urge or passion to understand something. Uncertainty, anxiety or fear creates this urge.

When there is observation using the intellectual capacity of reasoning of the mind and the emotional element of the heart, we can discover the root of fear. Then there is freedom from the problem of fear.

Root Cause of Fear

The self is the root cause of fear. As long as there is the self, there is no freedom. There will be fear for sure. Suppressing the thought is still an activity of the self. There are different techniques and methods that may give a temporary escape from the self. But it gives just temporary relief from the problem of fear. The thought generally comes back and so does the fear. So, until we think out and feel out the problem of fear, there is no freedom from it. As long as there is the activity of the self, which is acting from particular knowledge or an action based on ideas, principles and ideologies, there will always be fear. The action is motivated by our need to achieve a particular goal or our desire for success, name, recognition and fame. In becoming something, there is the fear of the opposite. In trying to be a great person, there is a fear of being unimportant. There is a desire to be secure psychologically through beliefs and we hope for continuity after death. When these beliefs are challenged, fear is caused.

When the mind gives importance to a certain thing, then there is psychological dependence on that thing. This leads to attachment to the thing. This attachment gives rise to the fear of losing that thing. We are dependent on each other for our physical needs, but this dependence is not so binding, because either the needs are satisfied or we can find an alternative. In certain cases, we may be able to live without the thing that we need.

The fear that arises out of physical dependence makes us cautious. However, a psychological need is never satisfied. We are continuously running after more. And the thing on which we are dependent becomes extraordinarily important to us. Therefore, such dependence is very binding, leading to unnecessary anxiety and the fear of losing that thing.

So, although the desire for physical security causes fear of not being able to secure ourselves physically, it is natural to desire physical security. It is necessary to have food, clothes and shelter to live and survive in this world. However, we must be careful because the desire for physical security can become a desire for psychological security, when there is an unnecessary exaggeration of the demand for security in the future. This only causes psychological fear.

Necessary Precautions and Needless Worry

There are certain things you need to be prepared for. A person may be healthy, but if there is a communicable disease in a certain area or a city or if there is some other danger that is spreading fast, then there may be a fear due to such developments. It is wise to take necessary precautions from such dangers. Sometimes, it is sane to think about the dangers that are not there but may arise.

Also, we have to accumulate some things to a certain extent, to live in this world. It is sane and healthy to have a long vision rather than trying to live only in the immediate present. If the fire is spreading in the city where we live, then it would be foolish to say that we should live in the present and not worry about what may happen in the next hour or two, because you can already see the danger ahead of you, though it might be a few minutes or hours away. However, many people live only in the immediate present, without thinking about the future. We must think about the future when it is necessary.

But worrying needlessly about the future when everything is going well causes unnecessary fear and anxiety. When there is a challenge or threat in life, there is a physical situation that demands our attention. Then we do whatever is necessary. However, sometimes, even when there is no apparent physical challenge or threat, it may be necessary to take certain precautions against some possible dangers such as contagious diseases or wild animals in a forest. So even though there may be no visible physical threat in front, one may need to take precautions against a threat, which might not be visible but hidden. But if we try to secure ourselves totally from every possible danger that may arise, then it becomes very difficult to live life. It might be impossible to secure ourselves completely from every earthquake or famine looming in the future.

Moreover, if we are worried about all possible dangers that are not visible but may arise in future, then it not only causes nervousness but also prevents us from living life. For instance, you may be afraid to travel by bus or car because you fear you may have an accident. The fear prevents you from enjoying the drive. Also, even if you avoid travelling by car or bus, you cannot have complete security because you may be attacked by a lunatic, even while walking.

Now, it is very difficult to separate physical fears from psychological fears because they overflow into each other. Physical fear is the fear arising from a danger that is present. Psychological fear arises from thinking about a danger that is not present, but may arise. The exaggeration of physical fear becomes psychological fear. Also, to an extent, to think about the possible dangers that may arise is not psychological but is still a physical fear.

The Role of Self

There is fear because there are many groups and communities with their own sets of morals, principles and ideologies, and they are fighting against each other. This continuous fighting between people of various groups, races and nationalities, attacking each other either verbally or through the use of arms, causes an atmosphere of unnecessary fear in the world. The root cause of all these divisions, leading up to war and destruction, is ‘self.’ Self has caused division between various communities and groups in this world. So, unless we can free ourselves from all these different ideologies, principles and ideals, there will be wars, and there will be fear. Thus, the ‘self ’ causes fear not only psychologically but also physically.

We compare ourselves with people who have achieved great heights, name or fame and try to achieve similar heights. Then there is a fear of not achieving or not succeeding. So, such comparison is also one of the causes of fear. However, it may not be possible for us to live without comparison completely because sometimes physical comparison is necessary. But psychological comparison is unnecessary as it causes needless fear, anxiety and loneliness.

Fear of Death

There is also the fear of death. People cover this fear through various beliefs and hopes; they never go into the question of death. Death is a fact, and all of us will die one day. But most of us do not see what it is about death that we are afraid of. Most of us are afraid of not being able to continue with our pleasures, attachments and hopes. We want to avoid the pain and agony that we have suffered in the past. So, what we are afraid of is the known. It is not the unknown that is causing the fear. We want to continue with the pleasures and we are afraid of not being able to do so. We are also afraid of any painful experiences being repeated. However, if we realise that we can die to both pleasure and pain, then there is no fear of death. So, the self or the me is the cause of the fear of death. The ‘me’ that is attached wants continuity and security and is afraid of death.

When there is fear, then we generally turn to the people whom we consider experts and who can help us free ourselves from this fear. So, we accept the authority of the so-called experts, who may be psychologists or religious teachers. There is the fear of right and wrong/good and bad or the fear of what may happen in the future. So, we accept the authority of the experts. However, when we submit to the authority of others, conform to a particular formula or ideal, or conform to the authority of our own knowledge, then the authority itself breeds fear. There is nervousness about whether we are conforming to the formula correctly or not. In staying with this fear, there is understanding and freedom from fear.

Role of Religion

Religions have also perpetuated fear. Most religions say that if we do not live according to religious scriptures, then we will be punished after death. So, religions use coercion or fear to control humanity. Religions have caused various divisions in our society, leading to numerous conflicts and wars in the world. If a person sees and feels the fact that organised religions have caused tremendous damage in this world, then he will not commit himself to any of these religions. Such a mind is an enquiring mind, free from belief and non-belief.

The ideals of various religions are mere illusions. They prevent us from looking at what we are and thereby prevent us from understanding ourselves. Moreover, any action according to ideals cannot be correct action; it is only a self-centred action. When there is an action according to an ideal, then there is a cause, and such an action is fragmentary.

It is necessary to free ourselves from organised religions. There is nothing sacred in organised religions, which use propaganda and pressure. All the organised religions of the world are based on thought and thought itself is fragmentary because knowledge is never complete. But if we study the various scriptures of different religions and experiment with various theories, principles and ideals and say this is true or that is false, there are clever people who can refute our arguments and change our minds, with their cunning arguments and power of persuasion.