There are two types of fear. One is instinctive fear and the other is conditioned fear. The fear of loss of one’s own life is instinctive fear. Nobody wants to die. Nature is made in a way that it keeps on going. For example if there is a loud blast noise, the first instinct will be to shake, tremble or flinch. That is nature’s way of preparing you that maybe there ‘s a threat so take necessary action. No matter who you are, how enlightened you are it is natural to have instinctive fears. There is no reason to be afraid of instinctive fear. The way to overcome this type of fear is to become aware of where you are. You ask yourself that if I am destined to die in a certain way at a certain time, then it will happen that way. There is nothing that can stop it.
The second fear is conditioned fear. It is the fear that parents or society have instilled in you. For example, all your life you are conditioned with the necessity to get married so that someone can look after you. It is instilled in you that if there is nobody to look after you or companion with, then you life will be tragic. From the beginning the mind is conditioned with this fear that no one will look after you when you are old if you have no children therefore you must have children. This is conditioned fear. If you are afraid of the cold, you will clothe yourself so that you can avoid being cold. Similarly if you are afraid of living a certain way, you will do anything to avoid it.
Listen to this discourse by Om Swami to find out more.
