What if there really were nothing to be afraid of? What if fear of failing, fear of success, fear of death, fear of pain…fear of anything and everything, were just parts of the Maya, the illusion, Natraj’s dance of life?

Then what? First of all, most, if not all, of the excuses we often employ will have fallen by the wayside. Then left without excuses, we would be left with no choice but to carry on with living in such a way as to maximise happiness, service, surrender and love.

One might say that under certain circumstances, fear might be an impetus to needed action, but there are far more healthier and effective tools. (Besides, extreme fear begets debilitation.)

The five aspects of the Fivefold Path provide a framework for fear reduction and potentially removal.

Practice of Daan, sharing material assets humbly, addresses fear of want, scarcity, and poverty.

Tapa, self discipline, if practiced diligently, dilutes the fear some of us have of our basest personality defects and baser instincts; in some circles, this is overcoming self-sabotage.

Karma—why fear a situation when it has a built-in antidote/cure? The old stuff is irreversible, the new stuff has yet to come. So that leaves the present moment, and unless you are tied to railroad tracks and a train is coming,—not a daily experience for most of us—karma shouldn’t be allowed to be a source of pain or worry to the extent we practice good karma.

Which brings us to Swadhyaya—self-study. If we were not somewhat fearful of what we might find, might uncover by looking, feeling and diving within, WE WOULD JUST DO IT (or at least do more of it).

WHAT ME WORRY? was a mantra of sorts of the mid-1960s. Alfred E. Neuman of Mad Magazine fame was/is the major proponent of this. The updated version of DON’T WORRY,

BE HAPPY took it to a higher level, but hinted that if I eliminate—or at least greatly reduce—fear and worry, happiness might manifest.

And Shree Vasant said, though all of us wish to be and strive for happiness all the time, no one seems to have accomplished the feat. Hence, the need for Agnihotra.

As for ‘false expectations appearing real,’ since, by definition, an expectation is future oriented, staying in the moment should automatically eliminate expectations.

We wrote earlier that Fivefold Path is simple, but not easy. The simplicity comes with the clarity that the Path is made up of the five steps we have outlined.

Of course the first and greatest step—YAJNYA & AGNIHOTRA—wasn’t mentioned but is the mechanism that opens the door to all that follow.

Another way out of the ‘misery that is yet to come’ as well as FEAR is to prioritize—if not dedicate—your life to SERVICE—service of the less fortunate amongst us, to the health of the planet, to God, really, and to all sentient beings.

Now as it is said that giving daan to a righteous person is “safe,” so it is with service. And we all know who is on the brink, who is in need.

Service to others pulls us out of the self-absorbed, bubble we often find ourselves in.

So it all comes down to an absence of fear and an abundance of love. Why indulge in fear, anxiety and worry if it is an obvious impediment to love?

Without Agnihotra, it may still be possible to overcome difficulties. But as our lives are not dress rehearsals, why not maximize our chances for success? Indeed. Why not?