The Vedic Conversation - Episode 3 Fear: overcoming what holds us back

The Vedic Conversation Episode 3 - Fear: Overcoming the things that hold us back

Each episode we take a different topic and look at it through the lens of storytelling and from the perspective of the the Veda, an ancient but still very relevant body of knowledge from India.

This is joint venture with Anthony Thompson, a Vedic Meditation teacher based in London and Vedic colleagues Derrick Yanford in New York and Rory Kinsella in Sydney.

This episode was recorded during the height of the lockdown and is about Fear: Overcoming the things that hold us back. At the end we offer a practical exercise so you can apply this knowledge to your daily life.

Here’s my story.

It was a wet and windy day and I decided to take the underground (the Metro/subway) to work rather than my usual 40 minute walk. It was rush-hour and the carriages were crammed with people, all feeling rather damp and uncomfortable. The ride was a two stop journey which would take about eight minutes. But on this occasion it took considerably longer because after a few minutes the train stopped in one of the tunnels.

In those days the driver had no way of making announcements to the passengers, so nobody knew why we were stationary and how long it was going to last. Now it's not unusual for trains to pause before getting to the next station because there's usually another train ahead and the wait is typically just a few moments.

The carriage became very quiet as everybody was thinking about what was going on, and then after about 3-4 minutes people started getting tetchy. Somebody started to make a commotion, and talk loudly about how they were going to be late for work. Moments later somebody else started to show signs of distress - they were gasping for breath and saying how they couldn't breathe and that we were going to be trapped in the tunnel and never get out.

Now everybody was probably having the same thoughts but keeping them to themselves.

Once those fears were expressed and shared, fear escalated and spread quickly through the carriage. Some people were crying or fainting as the heat intensified. Others tried to force open the doors. It became an intensely distressing experience.

But what was it that everybody was frightened of?

It wasn't the first time a train had got stuck or broken down and always after a while the situation is resolved. But people were thinking 'maybe this time it's different and we're on the brink of a tragedy'. And that's ultimately what people are frightened of - death.

On that train people might have been thinking 'I'll get fired because I'm late again and if I'm out of work I can't pay my rent that might mean I become destitute and have to live on the streets and ... and ... and ... eventually dying.'

When you analyse what you're frightened of and follow it right back to the root you'll find that it's fear of death, fear of the unknown experience of death, which is the 'driver', the catalyst for this strongest of emotions.

The Vedic World View teaches us that this is an instance of the 'small self' being in control. We've allowed ourselves to view our life through a restricted perspective - that we, and we are alone, are the most important thing, and everything is about us.

There's a fear of loss of control which means we're no longer able to determine the outcome ... and we always want the outcome to be with us alive and able to tell the story.

When we meditate we're allowing ourselves to rest very deeply, to the point where we transcend thought and connect with what the Vedas call the Absolute, everything out there which is apparently not us – but it is. We are connecting with Nature's Intelligence and are no longer immersed in our small selves - we're witnessing ourselves as something much bigger, something which is an expression of full consciousness, what we call the big Self.

Fear is based on the unknown and the possibility of death and when we recognise this and meditate with the understanding that death is inevitable, (after all there is a 100% success rate), and that it's the end of our body life, our small self existence, we relax and become fearless because we know our big Self, our field of Consciousness, is bigger and more fulfilling than our small self and will certainly outlast it.

 As Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said so beautifully:

“Fear is simply lack of self-confidence, and the basis of confidence is the contentment which can only come from the experience of bliss. There is nothing in the world which can really bring the mind lasting contentment because nothing in the world can provide a happiness which is intense enough to satisfy the mind's great thirst. The only field of contentment is the transcendental field of bliss-consciousness. Unless one arrives at this state one's peace will always be threatened by anything in the world.”

If you’re happy to share your stories, we’d love to have you join the conversation. Please send them through to us at stories@thevedicconversation.com or post them on social media using the hashtag #thevedicconversation and we’ll share some in future episodes.

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