The message of this slim volume is simple and clear: Do not let fear corrode your life!
We all tend to fall prey to fear at some stage or other of our life. Even the famous essayist Montaigne once confessed: ?The thing I fear most is fear.? Neither the lowest of the lowly nor the mightiest of the mighty is free from fear. The most powerful of the nations fears an attack from the enemy or rival. Politicians are afraid of losing in the elections. Students are apprehensive of failing in their examinations. Mothers are worried about their family'ssafety.
Fear is at the root of all our problems. ?Living in constant fear saps our vital energies, leaving us drained and exhausted to savour the joys of life,? says Vaswani, popularly known as Dada. With his intuitive ability to understand human predicaments, Dada analyses the negative fear complex to reveal its root causes, its hidden sources and its debilitating effects on one'spersonality. Understanding fear and then conquering it is what Dada advises us to do. ?Fear is a poison that quickly circulates through the entire system, paralysing the will power, producing queer, unpleasant sensations in the mind and the heart, and sometimes causing unhealthy conditions, like ulcer, acidity and fainting fits. Fear is a great foe of man. It must be uprooted before it overpowers you.?
To substantiate his belief, Dada Vaswani cites the case of USA which ?is one of the most buoyant, high-spirited, optimistic nations of the world. The Americans love life, with all its challenges and its rewards. They live life on the fast track. They work hard and they play hard too. But we saw how fear psychosis gripped the spirited, energetic nation after the terrible day we now call 9/11!?
Dada Vaswani quotes Norman Vincent Peale who was approached by his friend with problems galore. The friend said he was fed up of life and wanted to rid himself of everything and go and live in a place where he could get peace and quietude. He asked Norman Vincent Peale if he knows of such an ideal place. Dr Peale took him to a shady lane of New York till they faced massive, sturdy iron gates set between high walls. It was a cemetery. The friend cried out, ?You can'texpect me to live in a graveyard!? Dr Norman Vincent Peale replied, ?My dear friend, this is the only place I know where there is ?perfect peace and quiet? that you demand. As I said, the dead have no complaints whatsoever. Would you like to move in with them??
Thoroughly devastated, the friend shook his head in dissent. Dr Peale, advising his friend to ?learn to face life more confidently and positively? walked away from the abode of peace. It has been said, ?A ship in the harbour is safe?. But is that what a ship is build for?
(Sterling Paperbacks, A-59 Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-110020.)
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