THE USEFULNESS OF FEAR
Nature has put an amount of inbuilt fear in all living beings. This fear makes life protect itself. Like salt in the food, a little bit of fear is essential for people to be righteous.
Fear of hurting someone makes you more conscious.
Fear of failure makes you more keen and dynamic.
Fear moves you from carelessness to taking care.
Fear moves you from insensitivity to sensitivity.
Fear moves you from dullness to alertness.
Total lack of fear may lead to destructive tendencies – a distorted ego knows no fear. Neither does one with expanded consciousness! Whereas the ego dismisses fear and moves in a destructive manner, the wise one acknowledges fear and takes refuge in the Divine.
When you are in love, when you are surrendered, there is no fear. Ego, too, knows no fear. But there is a difference, like that of heaven and earth, between these two types of fearless states.
Fear makes you righteous; fear brings you close to surrender; fear keeps you on the path; fear keeps you from being destructive. Peace and law are maintained on the planet because of fear.
A newborn child knows no fear – it totally relies on its mother. Whether a child, a kitten or a bird, when they start becoming independent they experience fear which makes them go running back to their mothers. This is inbuilt by nature to sustain life.
So, the purpose of fear is to bring you back to the source!
– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
