Fear and Tranquillity
Death seems to be the last taboo of the West, something not to be discussed over the dinner table. Indeed, our fear of death is such that we spend inordinate amounts of money trying to hold it at bay. But death, it seems, stops for no one. Meanwhile, in the East, the fear of death is one of our five outer obstacles (Kleshas) to be mastered.
What I find interesting is that death, in Indian tradition, is called Yama. The same word Patanjali gives us in The Yoga Sutras for his social disciplines (Yama), the first of his 8 Limbs of Yoga. Although maybe not so surprising as non-violence, truth, non-stealing, simple living of needs not desires (referred to as Bramacharya) and non-holding, do offer a route to kill off the ego.
Devdutt Pattanaik in the ‘7 Secrets of Shiva’ tells us that the fear of death leads to two kinds of fears (scarcity for the predator and predation for the prey) predicated on the need to survive. This, of course, is perfectly natural and appropriate in the animal kingdom. Less so in humans.
As I mentioned in Imagination and Shiva-linga, imagination is what makes us human. We have the ability to break free from this reductive thinking pattern. Yoga being a key set of tools and techniques to do just that. Yoga practices still the restless mind, allowing us to accept nature as it is, rather than trying to control it, bringing a sense of equanimity and tranquillity (Ananda).
From a purely pragmatic perspective what this means is shifting from our lower mind to higher mind. We need to progress through the lower aspects of the Reptilian Brian (survival) and the Mammalian Brain (emotional), to the higher aspect of the Human Brain (Higher Wisdom). This is the journey from conscious (listening to external distractions), to subconscious (half-state of not really listening) to unconscious mind (unaffected by outer situations).
Unfortunately most people prefer the route of bhoga rather than yoga; that is self-indulgent pleasure over discipline. This keeps us locked into inappropriate, fear based behaviour, which further amplify our fears. We spiral through imagination without meaning, restlessness and anxiety, denial and meaningless activity, distraction and emptiness, yearning and imagination without meaning …
We overly identify with the body. But that is insufficient. It decays. So we attach our self-worth to things outside the body; our job, our home, our car, our family, our money. But any damage to any of these things is damage to our self-image, and our tranquillity is lost. And the amassing of these things leads to the fear of their loss, and tranquillity is lost. So we yearn for more, and for what is not ours, and tranquillity is lost.
This explains then why Patanjali lays so much emphasis on the social disciplines (Yamas), the first of his 8 Limbs of Yoga in The Yoga Sutras, where non-violence, truth, non-stealing, simple living of needs not desires and non-holding, which offer a route to kill off the ego, inevitably leading us back to a natural state of tranquillity.
Bringing it all together
It is often said Ananda means Bliss. This is a misunderstanding based on our lower mind imagination, restlessness and need to fill the void. We yearn for the ‘high’ we think we will get from bliss. But Ananda is really Tranquillity, ‘peace thrice over’ as it is chanted in Indian rituals; Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, where we let go of our attachment to things, ego, fear. Wandering freely, without a care, as Datta (the three-headed sage of Indian tradition) does once he has outgrown fear, and is at Peace with the world.
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And for those who enjoy historical fiction, stories of underrepresented life’s, see my first novel Fermented Spirits published through Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022. ISBN-13: 978-1398437159