Fear – an analogy

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Khalil Gibran wrote a poem

It is said that before entering the sea

a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,

from the peaks of the mountains,

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,

she sees an ocean so vast,

that to enter

there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river can not go back.

Nobody can go back.

To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean.

The river – an inanimate body – has the same journey as the evolution of human consciousness. From rivulets to a river to an ocean it loses its identity as river and becomes a part of ocean. Similar is the journey of a soul. From one body to another, finally the soul says – no more bodies I will merge into God!

Is that death ? Or the death of death – where there is no more bodies that die? It is your perspective. Not an easy choice! Do you want to have another body? Be another river? or say no more body, no more names, no more separate identity, let me be part of the ocean ? Oh what will become of me ?

Do you see the fear? The inability to give up that individual ego? And that my friend is your choice and your choice alone! No longer will you be back! No more land to roam, no more food to eat, no more sensual pleasure, no more wonders of universe to see!

And then soul says, let me enjoy! Do you see why salvation is so difficult?

Merging in God , losing all the diversity and losing the pleasures , the soul trembles and says one more time! Thus a soul can’t escape

But then you can remind yourself of the roaring words of ShankarAcharya – oh the joy of samadhi, the joy of merging and remaining there is a million times more than any joy of any wordly pleasure! Now can you be bold and kick the frame, never to get it again?

Few are!

I home this explains the fear of Samadhi ! But once you experience it – you begin to miss it! Take that plunge? Or not!

At one point you must be fearless! Hence one of the names of God is Abhay ! Fearless