Question : How does one get rid of fear ?
Ramana Maharshi : What is fear ? It is only a thought. If there is anything besides the Self there is reason to fear. Who sees things separate from the Self ? First the ego arises and sees objects as external. If the ego does not rise, the Self alone exists and there is nothing external. For anything external to oneself implies the existence of the seer within. Seeking it there will eliminate doubt and fear. Not only fear, all other thoughts centred round the ego will disappear along with it.
Question : How can the terrible fear of death be overcome?
Ramana Maharshi : When does that fear seize you? Does it come when you do not see your body, say, in dreamless sleep? It haunts you only when you are fully `awake' and perceive the world, including your body. If you do not see these and remain your pure Self, as in dreamless sleep, no fear can touch you. If you trace this fear to the object, the loss of which gives rise to it, you will find that that object is not the body, but the mind which functions in it. Many a man would be only too glad to be rid of his diseased body and all the problems and inconvenience it creates for him if continued awareness were vouchsafed to him. It is the awareness, the consciousness, and not the body, he fears to lose. Men love existence because it is eternal awareness, which is their own Self. Why not then hold on to the pure awareness right now, while in the body, and be free from all fear?
