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THE FEAR COMPLEX
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by inner reservation, secrecy and scar. Two persons live togetherthey may be man and wife, parent and child--but between the two there exists a wall of mistrust. Even though near, they are far from cach other, never really together.
Man fears man and it is because man is full of greed, selfishness and ungratefulness--the three traits go together.
The second state of fear pertains to the other world which includes the animal world. Man is afraid of other species. In the darkness of night he goes abroad with a stick in his hand because he is afraid of meeting a dog or a cow or another beast that might harm him. Some people are afraid of the cat and the rats. Almost all fear the serpent and the scorpion.
Fear of the other world includes the fear of goblins and sprites. s really very strange. We all have heard marvellous stories relating to ghosts. In this context we may distinguish between two kinds of fear - imaginary and real. Once I met a man whose nervous system was so weak that he was afraid of every person he encountered; he was afraid that the other person would kill him or give him a severe bcating. And he would begin to scream. This kind of fear is purely imaginary. It grows in direct proportion to the feebleness of the nervous system. The state of the nervous system and imaginary fear are closcly related. Those having a weak nervous system are for ever afraid of the known as well as the unknown all day and night - it is because of the weakness of the nervous system and the improper functioning of the brain cells.
Sometimes, however, fear is actual, real. A particular situation cxcites scar. The fear of goblins and sprites is often imaginary, but it can bc rcal too. The mind has formed a concept that ghosts abide in the dark. As soon as darkness sets in, one sees ghosts dancing cverywhere. Only that man who is afraid of the dark can tell what darkness and loncliness do to a man. It seems to him that nothing cxists in the world exccpt goblins and sprites. He sces a ghost standing upright on the stair: hic gazes at a wall, only to find it inhabited by demons. Both forcand alt, right and left, hic sces spirits ascending and descending. It is a most singular statcof mind. One's wholc imagination is pervaded by ghostly beings.
The old Nuns Hostel at Ladnun is housed in a building which is said to be the abode of Pirji (the spirit of a muslim holy man). It is said that Pirji visits this housc every now and then. Once the nuns were shifted to another hosteland the building was occupied for the night by some monks: At midnight one of the monks came out of his room. He saw a man clad in white sitting outside. The monk wondered as to who the man could be. Might it not be the shade of Pirji? The monk was frightened a little but he resolved to explore the strange presence. As he neared the spot, he found that there was
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