Monday, October 17, 2011

Overcoming Fear: Solution from Srimad Bhagavatam

In the SB 11.2 , the Nine Yogendras explain the process of devotional service to Maharaj Nimi in response to his inquiries on the process of devotional service that is pleasing to the Lord.


While thus covering different aspects of Devotional Service they 9 Yogendras also covered the reasons for Fear and how one can overcome fear.
These have been presented below for Reference:

How can one overcome fear?
SB 11.2.33: Śrī Kavi said: I consider that one whose intelligence is constantly disturbed by his falsely identifying himself with the temporary material world can achieve real freedom from fear only by worshiping the lotus feet of the infallible Supreme Lord. In such devotional service, all fear ceases entirely.


Why is a living entity fearful?
SB 11.2.37: Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called māyā. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul.

 Process to overcome fear
SB 11.2.41: A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans — whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord's body.

From the purport of 11.2.41: As already explained in this chapter, bhayaḿ dvitiyābhiniveśataḥ syāt: fear or illusion arises from thinking that there is something not dependent upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now, in this verse, the specific process for overcoming this fearful illusion is given. One must train one's mind to see everything that exists as an expansion of the potency of the Supreme Lord. By offering respects to everything and meditating upon everything as part of the body of the Lord, one will become free from fear. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), suhṛdaḿ sarva-bhūtānām: Kṛṣṇa is the well-wishing friend of every living being. As soon as one understands that everything that exists is under the powerful control of one's most beloved friend, one comes to the stage in which the whole universe becomes a blissful abode (viśvaḿ pūrṇa-sukhāyate), because he sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere.


If everything is controlled by the Supreme Lord whatever has to happen to me will also happen by the will of the Supreme Lord for my benefit. Let me thus not worry about anything else but serving the Supreme Lord with full surrender.My relationship with Krishna is of foremost importance and let me develop that by offering myself in service.

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