Hello and welcome to episode 96 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today is part 3 of fear and how you can overcome any type of fear.
I highly encourage you to watch episodes 94 and 95 before watching this as it will give you some great insight into fear and how to overcome it. We learned that at that moment when you are fearful there is something fearless inside you too. That is the greatness of knowledge. When we know that there is fear we know that there is a friend within us that we can call upon to help us, your consciousness. Remember the self indeed is the friend of the self.
Waterloo
Today I want to dive deeper and bring all these aspects together. Let’s start with a story. When Napoleon lost in the battle of waterloo to the British he was locked up. The reporters came to his cell to ask him why he thought they had lost. They asked if they had a better army. He said now. They asked if the British were better trained and again he said no. Did they have any special skills? He said no. So how did they win then, they said. He said that the British had fought for five minutes more.
Lots of people succumb to fear right at the point when they are about to overcome it. Know that you only have to fight for five more minutes. Only five minutes. That’s the difference between those who win and those who lose. The winners fight for 5 minutes longer. I want to write down this saying. “I almost believed you oh fear. Thank God I did not”
Ram says “he who is not dejected when faced with danger nor overcome by delusion nor feel pride or selfishness, nor overcome by the glances of women. Such men are rare indeed.” So it is so important to know that this battle is only about being there for 5 minutes longer while others will just succumb.
5 minutes longer
Krishna says “he who perseveres, imbued with yoga sees the jiva dwelling within. Those with un-purified minds not having mastered the senses fail to see me despite perseverance.” Write that down and repeat it. We must persevere and continue to draw ourselves in if we want to be successful. If we do not do this then we will fail despite our perseverance. You do this by drawing the gunas in. Do it during normal times so that when fear comes this comes naturally. We just need to do it for 5 minutes longer.
We just need to have the skill of yoga and to practice fearlessness in the midst of fear. If you do this you will become the greatest yogi on earth because you will be practicing dharma and experiencing fearlessness in the midst of fear. Always know this, that you have that fearless friend within you. It is always there no matter what you are going though.
The chariot
I want to give you another simple exercise to help you. There are two things: the visible and the invisible. Visualise a chariot, 3 horses of gunas, and the reigns and then there is you. We feel as if we have control of the reigns but the truth is the horses are usually in control. Krishna says that there are two invisible things that most people fail to see. As you drive there is an invisible charioteer which is your consciousness and there is also a script which is invisible too. Your consciousness is your fearless ally that no one can touch. You need to make friends with it. When you do this everything else in the universe will become your friend.
A great spiritual master was writing when there was a cyclone in India. There was water everywhere and everywhere was flooded. His window was open so people rushed over to see if he was OK and to help him get out. When they got there they realised that not a single drop of water had touched him. The rain had stopped just before it got to his house. Danger is halted when consciousness is present. They have removed fear completely. When you destroy fear within the fear outside goes as well.
Krishna says “he who works the invisible script giving up the fruits of work is a relinquisher.” Making friends with your consciousness is your best bet. Your consciousness is always there to support you.
Responsibility
Another thing you must do is take complete responsibility. When you admit that this fear is because of the gunas inside of you have already made the first step towards victory. The moment you start to think that others have to change is the first step towards failure. If you take responsibility you will achieve success. You will know that you need to work on it instead of trying to change others. If you keep trying to change others then you will only ever be frustrated because you cannot change others. You can only change yourself. You do this by withdrawing the gunas and destroying them.
Duality gives the illusion that it is coming from outside. Krishna says that all beings in this world are confounded by the delusion of duality. Duality is born out of attachment and aversion. The gunas are deluding us by making us blame others instead of looking within ourselves. If we want to progress we need to realise that this duality stems from within us and not anyone else.
Consciousness
The only thing that exists is your consciousness and everything else is only an appearance. No matter how read something seems remember there is only the consciousness and there, there is no duality. Duality is merely something that should be destroyed by drawing ourselves in for 5 minutes longer. You do this by fighting for five minutes longer. It is just a game and once you get this you will be free forever. Imagine being fearless in the midst of fear. Imagine how powerful that would make you feel. Start it today.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.