Words from the Master

Yes…?

Swamiji, when we have fear, you ask us to be more aware of it and look into it. But sometimes, the fear is so sudden. It comes and goes - like a sudden shock. Then we won’t have time to look into it…

Yes… you are talking about what is called fear stroke.

Fear strokes are short spikes of fear. They just come and go in a few seconds’ time. For example, you may be walking on the road. Suddenly you see a rope and think it is a snake. You experience a sudden rise of fear, which subsides in just a few seconds because by that time, you realize it is only a rope. This is a fear stroke.

You see: It is like this: There is always a current of fear in us. At times, it rises to a peak, that’s all. These fear strokes can happen with great intensity although they are for a short duration of time. Fear strokes weaken the immune system. They release depression-inducing chemicals and even accelerate our ageing process. They can even cause a heart attack or make our hair turn white.

On an average, every one has about 6 fear strokes a day consciously or unconsciously. Conscious fear strokes are to do with things like - just the telephone ringing well past midnight, or just while in the car and a motorist suddenly swerves to your side or when you are watching a horror movie someone taps you on your shoulder; so many things like these.

You get fear strokes in your dreams also, but you forget them when you wake up. Fear strokes are like shaking the roots of the rose plant. It is very dangerous for the system.

As you said, at the time of the fear stroke, you will not have any time to go into awareness; you don’t have time to chant any God’s name and go through the stroke because it is just a spike. But after the fear stroke, you can very well analyze the stroke and get a deeper imprint of the understanding of your fears. This will help in dissolving the whole idea of fear.

The intensity and frequency of fear strokes can be greatly reduced by reducing the intensity and the depth of the regular fear that is in us. Only from this regular fear, the fear strokes arise. If deeper understanding and clarity can reduce the regular fear, the fear strokes will also reduce.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.