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Preface
Fear is the creature of ignorance and the cause and forerunner of death. The psychological effect of fear is terrible, beyond description. It paralyzes healthy action, generates worry, and is exceedingly pernicious to life. Worry corrodes and pulls down the organism; fear and worry will finally tear the body to pieces. Fear is the antithesis of self-composure, and the cause of cowardice and terror. Under its influence the countenance becomes pallid, the face is pulled down, and the chest drawn in. It paralyzes all the bodily muscles and consumes the vital force. 2
We make persistent efforts to allay fear, like buying insurance policies of various kinds including health, life, child education, and fire, investing in security of our homes and establishments, and financial planning. But all these efforts are entirely misplaced, and do not tackle the core problem - fear. Good health can never be ensured through a medical insurance. The process of getting a medical insurance for the most dreaded diseases starts with an unhealthy suggestion that we are going to suffer, sooner or later, from such diseases. We lose faith in our own powers, start paying hefty premium, and, in effect, get ready to welcome disease. What is true of physical health is also equally true of mental well-being, the rule governing them both being the same, namely, ‘as one thinks, so one becomes'. Whether we get a dreaded disease or not, we remain a loser. In the former case, we may, however, get the satisfaction of being worldly 'smart'. It is naïve to assume that availability of money will guarantee future education of a child. Our day-to-day experience tells us that people involved in meticulous financial planning are no securer and happier than those who adopt a carefree attitude toward financial matters. Samayasāra offers an antidote for curing the problem of fear permanently:
सम्मादिट्ठी जीवा णिस्संका होति णिब्भया तेण। सत्तभयविप्पमुक्का जम्हा तम्हा दु णिस्संका॥
(7-36-228) सम्यग्दृष्टि जीव निःशंक होते हैं, इसलिये वे निर्भय होते हैं; क्योंकि वे सप्तभय से रहित होते हैं, इसलिए वे निश्चय ही निःशंक होते हैं।
(xi)
