Chapter XVI of Holy Geeta, describes 26 Qualities of the Soul. And the very first is:
Fearlessness: The foundation of spiritual life: having faith in God’s protection, justice, wisdom, mercy, love and omnipresence.
Bible – Job 3:25 – For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me (English Standard Version)
Some days back I had come across a beautiful story about Lord Krishna (when he was young lad and his elder brother Balram)
The story goes like this: Krishna and Balram were walking through the forests to reach somewhere, when the night fell. The silver moon filtered through the leaves and the wind blew with all its might. They decided it was best to rest till the crack of the dawn. While one would sleep, the other would watch over for wild beasts; and they would take turns. Balram insisted that Krishna rest and he would play guard. Balram was smiling to himself as he watched krishna sleep when he suddenly heard a sound!
Startled, he looked around and saw a demon about his height watching him with hungry eyes. Balram was scared and with a quiver in his voice, he asked,
“Who are you ?”
The demon laughed and said,
“I am the size of your Fear!”
As he was saying this, he started growing bigger. Indeed, Balram was petrified. The more afraid he was, the more the demon kept growing. The more the demon grew, the more panicked Balram became. The demon was now towering – almost three times Balram’s size and he couldn’t take it anymore. Screaming, “Krishna!” he fainted.
Krishna woke up and saw Balram next to him. Assuming he was asleep, and it was now his time to watch out, Krishna reached out for his flute and was about to start playing it, when he saw the demon. The demon watched him with hungry eyes. Krishna watched him without much interest. Unable to take such apathy, the demon said,
“Don’t you know who I am?”
Krishna said, nonchalantly, “Looks like you are going to tell me, in any case!” The demon said, “I am the size of your fear!” Krishna laughed. And the demon started to shrink! The more Krishna chuckled to himself, the tinier and tinier the demon became, until it was the size of a miniature doll. Krishna picked him up and put him in the bag to show Balram.
The next morning when Balram woke up, he told Krishna, “Krishna, Krishna, thank God we are safe! You have no clue what happened to me last night while you were sleeping. A humongous demon came and told me he was the size of my fear!”
Krishna with a smile upon his lotus lips, removed the doll from his bag and asked, “Is this the demon?”
Balram was confused and said, “Yes – it looks like him. But he was huge. How did he become so tiny!”
Krishna said, “He looked so huge because he was able to scare you. He was the size of your fear! I couldn’t help but laugh when he tried to scare me, and he kept shrinking. He would have disappeared, but I wanted to show him to you – hence I have kept him!”
******
Just the way the room can not be dark and lit at the same time, Faith and Fear cannot co-exist They are the diametrically opposite view of our perceived reality.
The problem with most of us is that we have faith but there are specks of doubt. And our faith is strong when the going is good! It starts to waiver at the first encounter with suffering, at the mere thought of suffering for our near and dear ones!
Considering the current situation, we are facing – What we can do is:
1) Stop reading and seeing round the clock information/news. Every time we read a word it creates a molecular/cellular shift in our body. Audio and Videos create even more havoc. Awareness is a must – and this awareness can be gained from a reliable institute/Website. TV and Newspapers thrive on negativity. They lower our immunity.
2) Strengthen your immune system: With positive thoughts; with a relaxed mind, enough sleep, by being in sunshine, eating healthy food – whether it is fruits and juices, salads, veges, sprouts and nuts – build your immune system. And continue to do so😊
Being with a loving and caring family and friends is the highest immune builder. Great time to get closer to them and to understand them and to help them.
3) Just the right time for your indoor hobbies and passions – Reading, Dancing, Music, Panting, Writing – all are wonderful ways to keep the mind in a state of peace and calm. Above all meditate. It keeps mind still and brings peace.
Introspect. It is a God sent opportunity to Pause and Reflect and to Pray; To make lifestyle changes.
4) Deepen your faith. Take common sense measures but have more faith. Meditation is the best way to deepen our faith.
5) Laugh : Above all don’t take life so seriously. It is just a Reality Show 😇
Laughter is injurious to Disease 😂
Affirm often : I and my family are Happy, Healthy and Whole. Our lives are filled with Love, Joy and Laughter. I wish the same for all.
The whole of our journey of life, my friend is: to move from Fear to Faith. The kind of faith a child has in his parents. When a child is walking, holding a parents hand, he has no care in the world. Whole of the world may be falling apart but the child walks on merrily. That is the kind of faith we need to have in our Heavenly Father and Divine Mother; whatever be your belief.
Fear to Faith Part I (Do read it if not done earlier. I think it will help you)
PS: I haven’t left home for more than a month now and our terrace faces east. I have been able to witness and experience some truly divine skies – mostly mornings but a few evenings too. Stillness speaks 💕
Musings of a Wanderer 