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15. FEARING AND FIGHTING
0. Aid for Survival
Bhaya samjñā, instinct of fear, is one of the four primordial (unlearned) instincts' possessed by every living organism. Preparations for defense are essential for all animals, in a sense, for all life. Every living organism is continually in danger of destruction. Life is a precarious steady state maintained only by continual activity and preparedness to meet and counter adverse conditions. Instinct of fear is an aid for survival available to all life. In humans, all psychological distortions — cruelty, vindictiveness, hate etc. are produced by the deluding (mohaniya) karman. They are called quasi-passions (nokaṣāya). 1. Programs for Defense
Brain provides higher animals and men with special programs that alert them to threats to their security and enable them to deal with them. Readiness to meet danger is ensured partly by inborn programs and partly by others that are learned. These are the programs that give them fear and anxiety. Stimulation of certain regions in the brain of an animal produces arching of the back, bristling of the hairs, baring of the teeth and all the signs of aggression. Conversely after removal of some other regions, monkeys no longer display the appropriate reaction of fear to a sudden disturbance, and they will pick up and examine dangerous objects such as snakes. Evidence that there are similar centers in the human brain comes from the results of injuries and tumors, which may turn a mild person into an aggressive one or the reverse.
The physiological responses to clues to danger, whether inbom or learned, prepare the individual to give an appropriately strong response of fight or flight, and suitable responses are as necessary in social life as in physical conflict. The right response may vary from a fight to the death
1. The four primal/unlearned instincts are : hunger, fear, sex and possessiveness.
