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SOURCES OF FEAR
Even the wind grows friendly to the strong.
When fire is kindled in the forest, it destroys the whole of the forest. And it is aided by the wind. Without the aid of the wind, the fire cannot spread. In spreading the fire the wind acts as a collaborator. Now, why should the wind support and cooperate with the fire. The two are contradictory in nature, and yet the wind acts as a collaborator. Why? Because the fire is powerful, and when the fire begins to spread, the wind comes to its aid uninvited. On the other hand, when the fire is weak, the wind only helps to extinguish it. When the lamp begins to flicker, a gust of wind puts it out. So the wind acts both ways. It helps to spread the fire; it also helps to extinguish it. The feebleness of the little lamp makes the wind extinguish it. The might of the forest conflagration instead makes the wind cooperate with it, enhancing it all the more, turning it into a blaze.
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That is the universal law-all come to the aid of the strong. The man who is weak and without power, has no friends. The mind is ever afflicted with fear.
So, the foremost source of fear is lack of vitality, powerlessness.
(2) The Fear Complex
When the mind is filled with fear, everything becomes frightening. A house was declared to be haunted. People took it for granted that ghosts lived there. A spectre may be invisible, but the mind obsessed with the thought of the ghost is beside itself with fear. Nobody wants to buy a 'haunted' house, however beautiful or cheap; the main reason behind it being the mentality of fear. Once fear is entrenched in a man's heart, it abides there for ever and manifests itself in a variety of ways.
(3) Constant Thought of Fear
To indulge in fearful talk, to think of fear always, to read horrorthrillers, to hear and contemplate upon these, all help to create more and more fear. What is going to happen now? What will happen tomorrow? What will happen when I get old? Who will look after me then? Such waves and streams of fear get started that nothing is perceptible except fear. The thought of fear creates more fear.
There are many people who delight in reciting horror tales. They say, "My father once saw a witch. Her feet were turned backward." Or they say, "One day my father came across a ghost, or my friend met with a spectre, or a most terrible thing came to pass," etc. There is no end to such loose talk. Ghost stories are told one
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