Fear and Love

Our lives are ruled by fear. Fear of death, fear of old age, fear of illness, fear of unemployment, fear of failure, fear of superiors, fear of inferiors, fear of responsibility, fear of committment, and numerous other fears cause us continual anxiety. Fear leads to violence and war; fear prevents us from seeking and speaking the truth; fear forces us to steal, stops us from loving, makes us accumulate things. Fear is at the root of all evil. Fear is the cause of inner and outer insecurity. Because of fear we want to control, dominate, and rule others. Fear erodes personal as well as social harmony.

The cure for the problems created by fear is unconditional trust in the workings of the universe. As we trust that the sun will rise, water will quench thirst, fire will cook food, boats will sail the seas, so we have to trust that each life, including our own, will fulfill its destiny.

Most of our fears are artifically induced. They are induced at school, in the family, by our peer groups, by politicians, by the media, by religions, and by our own ignornace. The greatest task is to be free from all fears. [...]

All human beings are part of the tapestry of the universe, part of a pattern which connects. Nothing exists in isolation, in separatness. When I realize this network for grand relationships, I lose the illusion of my separate self, I lose the ego. I lose the sense of "I" and "my". When there is no ego, who is afraid of whom? [...]

In Garald Joampolsky's words, "Love is letting go of fear." Love is the source of joyful living. Love is my true destiny. In love I find the meaning of life. Love is the ground of all relationships.

-- Satish Kumar, in 'Path Without Destination'
At nine, he became a Jain monk; at 18, he was inspired by the writings of Gandhi and left the order. In his early-twenties, he took an 8,000 mile journey on foot, without carrying any money -- walking from India to America, where he was received at the White House by the Disarmament Adviser to President Johnson. Currently, 65, he is the editor of Resurgence magazine.