Fear

Life starts and finishes with fear. When we are child, we are not afraid of anything. Then, fear meant only the fear of getting physically hurt.

But, then we grew up and started getting afraid. Afraid of losses, afraid of losing – losing our possessions - of wealth, health, reputation, knowledge and everything that we accumulated in between, in our day to day living.

The society and the civilisation actually was formed as we were afraid, to stand alone. It was fear that brought us together initially and then it became our life. It graduated from simply surviving to conquering, it started finding happiness in its victory, in its expansion. And with this happiness came the brutality of seeing hapless conquered people and feeling great about our own strength. We started multiplying by procreating, by conquering so that we become invincible. The desire started gaining strength and its endless march is still on.

Why do we accumulate? Whether it is money or knowledge or good wishes? Why it is becoming out nature to accumulate? Because we feel that what we have, is what we are. So, the more we have, the more we are.

Fear’s origin is in forgetting our connectedness to the universe. It is in forgetting our true self and seeing us as individual members of a caste, society or country. Till we remember this as our reality, we are bound to be in conflicts.