Fear Pulls You Down

What is it that we all have experienced in our lives? And what if this feeling is something we all want to overcome? However, it is quite difficult to overcome this chilling, freezing, and troublesome feeling! I am sure many of you may have guessed the name of this feeling, which is fear.

What is fear? Fear is something that keeps us away from any rational thinking. Fear, in fact, is a response to a perceived threat or danger. The key term here is “perceived,” because the fear in itself may be unfounded. Let us learn a little more about fear.

Fear is a generic term; there are many types of fears in our life. We may fear failure, fear to lose a loved one, fear loneliness, have stage fear, or we may even have a fear of being ridiculed or not being accepted.

Let’s now hear a story of a rat named Chunnu, who lived deep in the Indian forests. Chunnu feared a cat named Mausi so much that he always hid in his burrow and never came out, even to play with his friends. He simply could not find the courage to step out, because he always feared that he would encounter Mausi.

Sensing Chunnu’s fear, his great grand uncle, Badde Dadaji decided to do something. Now Badde Dadaji was old and could not run around. So he always lived in the burrow and other family members got him food to eat. He was surprised to see that Chunnu was always in the burrow with him while other family members often ventured out.

So, do you want to know what Badde Dadaji asked Chunnu to do? He asked Chunnu to go and meet Swami Ji. In India, saints and holy men are often called Swami Ji. “Swami” typically means a priest, and “Ji” is an honorific title.

Now, this Swami Ji’s name was Jaaduwaale Baba, and he performed miracles and helped those in need.

Fearfully, Chunnu came out of his hiding to meet Jaaduwaale Baba. He finally shared his problem with Swami Ji, and cried and begged for help. Jaaduwaale Baba showed mercy on little Chunnu, the frightened rat and using his miraculous powers turned him into a cat.

For a few days Chunnu, the cat was happy until it saw a dog. Now Chunnu, the cat began to fear the dog. It went back to Jaaduwaale Baba and shared his fear of the dog. Once again, Jaaduwaale Baba used his powers and turned him into a dog. After becoming a dog, he began to fear the tiger in the forest. So Jaaduwaale Baba turned him to a tiger as well.

In spite of having the strength of a tiger, Chunnu now began to fear the hunter. He went back to Jaaduwaale Baba and cried for help. Jaaduwaale Baba heard Chunnu, the tiger’s story and came to a conclusion and turned him once again to a rat and said, “With all my miraculous powers, I can convert you to anything powerful, but nobody can help you because you are a rat at heart.”

So it is with each one of us. Only when we find the courage to face our fears will they disappear. Until then it is like a disease that will eat us from the inside. Fear can eat us off our confidence and our rational thinking, if we don’t do anything about it. It is because of our fear that we are not able to reach a position that befits our capability. It is only when we move beyond our fears that we can achieve something and be successful in life.

Aim to Strike, from StockUnlimited