There are inquirers having a fear of non-existence, they talk about worrying that nothing will be left of them. How can this fear be addressed directly from a scriptural point of view?
Background: The word ‘mind’ can be the translation for ‘antah karana’. The word ‘mind’ is the overall term having the four sub-faculties of ahamkara-ego, buddhi-intellect, manas-heart, cittam-memory. The word ‘manas’ is being translated as heart because that is more meaningful and applicable in the English-speaking world. The usual translation for ‘manas’ is ‘mind’ which can be confusing.
At the core of every emotion is a thought which resides in the intellect. When more thoughts are added to the core-thought, eg. from memory, then that core-thought gets a ‘weight’ or ‘charge’. That is an emotion which resides in the heart. In general, this combination of thought in the intellect and emotion in the heart is powerful. It is in the domain of psychology affecting all five layers of the persona and the combination can be positive and helpful or negative and destructive. The texts describe the negative qualities present in the mind which have to be minimised and overcome … raga-craving, dvesha-aversion, kaama-desire, krodha-anger, lobha-greed, moha-delusion, mada-infatuation, matsaarya-envy, jealousy.
Before we address the topic from a Vedantic and scriptural viewpoint, it can be directly addressed from a personal-psychological viewpoint since the minds of many are not ready for the purely Vedantic viewpoint. The aim of psychotherapy is to weaken the disturbing thought-emotion by viewing it as an object to be witnessed and managed at the level of person. This is done through relaxation techniques, mindfulness training, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, etc.
This implies the individual has some degree of maturity and mental capacity to separate out and not identify too strongly with the thought-emotion combination. To facilitate this process, the individual must be able to doubt the thought, challenge it, question its validity, eg. in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. The individual is coached to distinguish the thought from the emotion, have the insight into how they arose, challenge both and replace the negative with a believe-able positive. Otherwise, the individual will continue to be identified with the thought-emotion and continue to suffer.
Questions for the enquirers …
Can you recognise that your question indicates you are strongly identified with the thought-emotion, that you take it to be who you are as a person, rather than a subtle object you have in the mind?
As an individual, at the person level, do you identify with the fear? Are you able to separate out the thought of non-existence from the resulting fear?
Can you view them as different units existing by themselves? That will weaken their power over you.
Are you able to look at each unit of the combination and see that the thought and emotion are only objects, while you, the individual at the person level, are the subject, a witness or observer? If you can do that, you will greatly reduce the fear you are currently experiencing by about 60%. It will still continue but you will be able to manage it better.
To eliminate the fear by 100% the enquirer needs to come to Vedanta. Psychotherapy can reduce the fear but cannot eliminate it completely. Only Self-knowledge can, by overcoming Self-ignorance. This is the domain of Vedanta, Self-recognition, which takes the understanding of oneself to the ultimate level. Self-knowledge will, for an advanced seeker, minimise the fear by 90% to a simple ‘pin-prick level’ (Swami Paramarthananda), with about 10% still remaining. Self-knowledge will eliminate it completely to 0% for the fully Self-recognised being, Jivan mukta. It is like getting the firm knowledge that a dream mosquito from the dream world cannot bite me, the waker in the waking world.
Through Vedanta, I recognise I am not just person, but actually Consciousness itself, the Subject, unwitnessed Witness, unobserved Observer, free from and beyond all thought and emotion. I know clearly that the thought-fear is an object in the mind of the person. That mind exists in the person and that persona / personality exists in Me, Consciousness. That body-mind person with the thought-emotion, are all merely a mithya mirage appearing in Me, Consciousness, Atma, Brahman. I can drop that thought-fear because it has nothing to do with Me, cannot touch Me. This is the freedom guaranteed by Vedanta.
What do the scriptures say? The 4 Axioms or Mahavakyas are …
Aham Brahmasmi … I am Brahman … Brhadaranyika Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajurveda.
Tat, tvam asi … That, you are … Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Samaveda.
Ayam Atma Brahma … This Atma is Brahman … Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharvaveda.
Prajnanam Brahma … Consciousness is Brahman … Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.1 of the Rigveda.
From a Vedantic viewpoint, further questions for those seekers to ask themselves are …
How convinced am I, what % that I am Consciousness and what % I am the mind-body instrument?
Have I strongly identified myself with the thought-fear as the reality of myself? Identification is binding, harmful and results in suffering. Can I accept that the thought-fear is merely an object in My Presence, Consciousness? Can I accept it is not Me, Consciousness.
Do I trust the scriptures? Can I, just for now, accept what the scriptures and teaching state until I can verify the result for myself? Do I accept that the scriptures and teaching are trustworthy because they have helped so many over the millenia. Do I accept that trust in the scriptures and teaching is a necessary qualification for success in Vedanta. How strong is my trust, how many %?
Or, do I trust my mind? Can I see that this trust in the mind is counter-productive, really silly, since it is this same mind which has given rise to the thought and fear?
Why do I believe my mind and whatever it raises without questioning it?
Am I ready to challenge my mind or am I still strongly identified with the mind as myself?
There are great benefits in trusting the scriptures and following the instructions of the teaching. What are they?
Even though I still have my mind-body personality, I will be firmly established as Consciousness, 100%. The process of shifting identification from person to Consciousness will most likely be gradual. That is positive because it means the re-identification as Consciousness will be solid and unshakeable.
By being freed from identification with the body-mind, I will be able to skilfully observe them as objects and deal with them the way I, Consciousness, think fit. As Consciousness, I am free. I am free to use the mind-body. I am free to not use the mind-body. This is ultimate inner freedom whatever the circumstances. The duality of life will continue unabated, driven by prarabdha karma pertaining only to the mind-body. That karma and duality have nothing to do with Me since they pertain only to the mind-body person. I am eternally free!
The mind will be mostly sattvic … clear, steady, calm and illumining. It will be ready to happily serve Me and be a powerful instrument for good in life.
The heart will be steady and raise the necessary energy for the intellect and ego to function productively, with an attitude of humility and service. The heart will rejoice in freedom. The events of life, whatever they are, negative or positive, will be experienced but known to be applicable only to the transient body-mind but not to Me, Consciousness, Atma. Life will be happy, satisfying and peaceful whatever the circumstances.
The irony is that the death of the physical body of a Self-recognised being will actually be the ultimate ‘non-existence of body and mind’. There will be no ‘fear of non-existence’! Instead, there will be the ‘fulfilment of eternal existence’ as Brahman.
If I am fully convinced that I am Brahman, pure Consciousness, here and now, then with the death of my physical body, I will continue as Brahman … forever
