This is a live story from the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. When he was a small boy, he was afraid of ghosts. Whenever he was alone in the dark, he was afraid that a ghost lurking in some dark corner would suddenly jump upon him. One night, Mohan had to go from one room to another. As he stepped out of the room, his heart began to beat like a drum. Rambha, their old maid servant, was standing by the door.
"What's the matter, son?" she asked with a laugh.
"I am frightened, Dai," Mohan answered.
"Frightened, child! Frightened of what?"
"See how dark it is! I'm afraid of ghosts!" Mohan whispered in a terrified voice.
Rambha said, "Listen to me: Think of Rama and no ghost will dare come near you. No one will touch a hair of your head. Rama will protect you."
Rambha's words gave Mohan courage. Repeating the name of Rama, he left the room. From that day on, Mohan was never lonely or afraid. He believed that as long as Rama was with him, he was safe from all dangers. This faith gave Gandhiji strength throughout his life, and even when he died the name of Rama was on his lips.
Fear is something we are afraid of. Nobody is free from all sorts of fears. If crowing of cocks easily scares a lion, a mosquito is enough to frighten an elephant. Position wise, if love is at the higher side of the energy frequency chain, fear forms the opposite end. However, they are neither absolute opposites nor of the same kind, because love is energy while fear is an emotion. All the emotions we have so far named are combinations of love and fear only. This emotion of fear need not also be fully the result of our unwillingness to confront. The Mohandas Gandhi story tells us that the more we move towards love (God) the more we turn away from fear (devil). Religions that insist its followers to be in fear of something are unknowingly asking them to move away from God.
