Fear - an essential subject

The greatest fear that human beings have is the fear of death. This is because of the uncertainty of life and especially, the uncertainty of the manner in which death engulf us. However, the most prominent reason for fear is attachment to this material world and the fear of losing everything that we have built in our lives (relations, wealth etc). This happens because we tend to identify ourselves as the body, and not the soul within. If we come to the understanding that we are all eternal servants of Lord Krishna and that we are only meant to be temporarily situated in this world full of miseries, we will immediately lose all our fears and be happily situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Fear category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 8 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati (SB 6.17.28). Not only is a pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa like Prahlāda Mahārāja unafraid of any dangerous condition of material life, but also if the Lord appears to mitigate the fear of a devotee, the devotee maintains his status of fearlessness in all circumstances. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.2)



vanipedia.org 		The material body is finished at the time of annihilation. Both the universal body and the small unit, the individual living entity's body, are susceptible to annihilation at the ultimate end. However, the devotees do not fear the annihilation of the body, for they are confident that after the annihilation they will go back home, back to Godhead. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.24.68)



vanipedia.org 		By the mercy of the guru and Kṛṣṇa, one receives the seed of bhakti. This association saves a devotee from the greatest fear. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we therefore change a devotee's name to a form that reminds him of Viṣṇu. If at the time of death the devotee can remember his own name, such as Kṛṣṇadāsa or Govinda dāsa, he can be saved from the greatest danger. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.32)



vanipedia.org 		By becoming detached from material activities, we will be freed from fear and anger. By austerity, one becomes purified and eligible to return home, back to Godhead. The duty of the king is to rule his citizens in such a way that they can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This would be very beneficial for everyone. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.10.23)



vanipedia.org 		Entanglement in family life is the root cause of material attachment, indefatigable desires, moroseness, anger, despair, fear and the desire for false prestige, all of which result in the repetition of birth and death. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.14)



vanipedia.org 		Symbolically, mother Devakī's constant fear of Kaṁsa was purifying her. A pure devotee should always fear material association, and in this way all the asuras of material association will be killed, as the ṣaḍ-garbhāsuras were killed by Kaṁsa. It is said that from the mind, Marīci appears. In other words, Marīci is an incarnation of the mind. Marīci has six sons: Kāma, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada and Mātsarya (lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy). The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in pure devotional service. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.8)



vanipedia.org 		Whoever causes offenseless living beings to suffer must fear me anywhere and everywhere in the world. By curbing dishonest miscreants, one automatically benefits the offenseless. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.17.14)



vanipedia.org 		The perfection of life is to be uninterested in material enjoyment and interested in Kṛṣṇa. If one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness somehow or other, even for material gain, the result is that he will be liberated. Kāmād dveṣād bhayāt snehāt. Whether for the satisfaction of material desires, because of the influence of envy, because of fear, because of affection or because of any other reason, if one comes to Kṛṣṇa, his life is successful. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.16.39)


Fear - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

HOME

Choose Another
Essential Subject

   


Retrieved from "https://vanipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fear_-_an_essential_subject&oldid=531231"