Dear Sri Rajagopalan, I would tend to agree with your friend. There should not be fear, but there should be an awareness of the right and the wrong. I am not as erudite as the esteemed people in this group and they would definitely be in a much better position by virtue of their learning to comment on this, but my personal opinion would be that, our religion is not so much about blind adherence to customs and practices but more of a way of life. It serves as a beacon of light that shows the wayfarer both the paths, i.e. the right and the wrong and it then allows the individual to make his choice. I think this is what makes it different from other religions which try to force upon their followers a fixed set of ideas and notions. Fear would only make an individual to abstain from doing things which are considered taboo, but does that mean that he is good or he has attained an exalted stated of being?. In the Bhagawad Geeta, the Lord says "Not by non-performance of actions does man reach 'actionlessness'; nor by mere renunciation does he attain 'perfection'". My humble opinion is that only the awareness of the good and the bad and the ability to control one's mind to follow the path of good makes a person better; hence fear or blind abstinence/adherence should never be directing one's actions. I am sorry if I have quoted out of context or if my arguments seem flimsy. I would therefore request people in this e-group to please excuse my ignorance and correct me accordingly. Regards, Shridhar
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