(continued from Part 2) ------------------------------------------------------ The "ArthA" turns to worship of God out of acute distress caused by Fear. Fear ("bheeti", "bhaya") is one of the most primal reasons for worship and 'Fear of the Unknown' is the most terrifying of all. It is the 'Mother of all Fears' spawning a myriad other terrifying 'unknowns' in life. It takes only a few common examples to help well understand the nature of this Fear. ** Death is certainty, of course, but Life after Death, we know, is dark and terrible 'unknown', isn't it? It fills us with strange unease if not dread to even speculate about the fate awaiting us all after we have shed our moral coils. ** The thought of an uncertain 'Tomorrow' -- i.e. the Future with all its surprises, twists and imponderables lying in wait to ambush us -- 'Tomorrow' is yet another great 'unknown' fear for all men. ** The probability of unforeseen events is another terrifying 'unknown' indeed. A fatal disease suddenly striking us, a nasty mishap on the road disabling us permanently, the loss of a job or a spouse, sudden bankruptcy, the uncertain future of our beloved children... all these 'unknowns' are deep-seated fears and anxieties that torment most of us all through our lives. The list of 'unknown' fears lurking within and haunting Man, if one were to recount them, would simply go on endlessly. The tragedy of the human condition is that it is generally helpless in coping with this distress. In the constant struggle we wage to overcome our deep anxietes, it often seems to us we can never emerge outright victors. Fear paralyzes men. It makes us all cringe. Vedanta describes such a state of abjectness as the "tamas" that afflicts the "ArthA". Even fearful men, however, do have hope. The hope of Worship. Such men, the "ArthA", turn to pious Worship, according to the Gita, and seek relief from the distress of Fear. Just as a child, fearing unknown ghosts in the Dark, instinctively grabs the hand of anyone -- even totally 'unknown' strangers -- who may happen to be beside and clings dearly to him or her, so too does the terrified "ArthA" reach out in Worship to grasp and cling to the solace that lies in the unseen, unknown Hand of God. ********** (to be continued) Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your life partner online Go to: http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/VkWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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