Fear, its many manifestations — from the subconscious to the generational — and the ways to overcome it was the focus of a recent workshop at the Mohanam Village Heritage Centre in Auroville.
The workshop was led by Sehdev Kumar, Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo, author of Matters of Life & Death: Reflections on Bioethics, Law and the Human Destiny and The Vision of Kabir, a translation of the poet-seer’s dohas.
During the over two-hour hands-on workshop titled ‘Abhayadan - Gift of Fearlessness; Freedom from Fear’, Prof. Kumar discussed the various kinds of fear that humans face as well as the numerous methods to address them.
With examples, Prof. Kumar made participants aware of the various kinds of individual and collective fear we face as a humanity, especially the ones faced in this digital age.
Of the many fears that lurk in our subconscious, the professor pointed out the dominant ones as ‘fear of loneliness’, ‘fear of disappointing - honour, shame and guilt’, ‘fear of losing face’, ‘fear of disclosing secrets and lies’, ‘fear of not being loved or misunderstood’, ‘fear faced by the LGBT community’ and so on.
“Fear has an apocalyptic power; like a mighty river that is frozen in winter, fear can sap all energy and make everything inert and lifeless. In each one of us, in the very ground of our being, seeds of fear lie embedded in million different ways,” he noted.
Ministry of Loneliness
Pointing to how the United Kingdom had recently set up a Ministry of Loneliness, he said this was done out of a compulsion as the State was losing millions of pounds supporting people who were lonely. It is estimated more than 9 million people in the country often or always feel lonely, according to a 2017 report published by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. Besides, loneliness is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression and anxiety. For instance, a huge population over the age of 60 in Japan is also facing acute loneliness as the country has the oldest population in the world.
The phenomenon was so widespread that the word “FOMO” acronym for ‘fear of missing out’, was officially added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2013. FOMO describes that anxious feeling that can arise ‘when you feel there is a more exciting prospect that is happening elsewhere — and unfortunately, you're not there’.
The professor also categorised fear in several sections: for instance, women face different kinds of fear than men; people over the age of 60 have their own agonies; and the young generation has to grapple with their own distinct kinds of maladies.
There are several collective or generational fears as well, the professor pointed out, which often lead to mistrust and even wars and construction of walls.
On the positive side, several communities and organisations were trying to address this malaise, Prof. Kumar noted. He suggested joining or forming a group, for example, a singing group. One need to look no farther than Auroville where a “Laughing Yoga” group had been started. The participants ranging in the age group of 25 to 65 and representing various states of India and countries such as Spain, the UK, Ireland and others shared their thoughts on fears that were unique to their situation.