Abandon all varieties of religion & just surrender unto Me. I shall protect you from all sinful reaction. DO NOT FEAR.

One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady mind. Gita 2/57

USA NEWS & World Report's cover "In God We Trust, Spiritual America. Testing personal faith in a cynical age." The very first article says "Praying to end a wave of Fear. America is experiencing a fear wave. Fear flows not just from TV pictures but from real life experiences."

Ann Landers gets over 10,000 letters a day. She was once asked "What is the most common problem that you find in your letters?" She said, "Without a doubt, fear."

If we were to have a giant screen up here in the front and we were able to project your hidden fears, what would be on that screen? Some of you are afraid you're going to lose your job. Some of you are afraid you're going to lose your marriage. Some of you are afraid you're going to lose a kid, that he's going in the wrong direction. Some of you are fearful about your health. You're waiting test results and you fear that "C" word -- cancer.

We call fear by many names. We call it worry, tension, anxiety, uptight, stress. One recent study did a study of 500 different people and they discovered 7000 different fears in 500 people -- that's an average of 14 different fears per person. This is not some minor issue that Krishna talks about when He says, "Don't be afraid!"

What do we know about fear? We know it's contagious. You can get it from others. We know that it's limiting. We know that it's draining.

Surface Fear (gas, bills, underwear Subconscious Fear (rejection, not up to task) Soul Fear (loved as you are)

Until this issue is resolved, you're going to be tormented by other fears. Only Krishna can love you with as much love as you really need. Consistently.

Your deepest need in life is to feel absolutely, totally, loved. Completely loved. Not for something you could be, not for something you should be, but loved just as you are. That's why perfect love casts out fear.

Guilt causes us to run from Krishna instead of running to Krishna. "If you feel far from Krishna, guess who moved?"

“O brahmana, I cannot act independently, for I am completely under the control of my pure devotees. The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the core of My pure devotee’s heart. Indeed, My devotees do not know anything but Me, and I do not know anyone but them.”

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to them. Bhagavad Gita 9/29

Getting people's approval Making money Getting married Success Reputation

If you try to get from other people what only Krishna can give you, you're going to be disappointed, let down. Only Krishna can give it to you. If you never get to know Krishna, or if you just have a religious belief about Krishna, or if you drift away from having this close relationship to Him you're going to deal with these fear issues the rest of your life. It's not dealing with the source, the tap root. If you don't get to know Krishna, there will be a giant, gaping cavern in your soul. It will fill up with fear if you don't have love in it. Only Krishna has enough love to fill it.

But some of you say, "But you don't know what I've done! I've blown it too much. Krishna can never love me." Wrong. Doesn’t mean He approves of what you have done, bit if you approach Him, he’ll never reject you.

Valmiki

It's one thing to know about Krishna ’ s love. It's another thing to accept it. You're never going to feel it until you first accept it. That means saying "Yes, I don't want to just know about You. I want to know You." And He wants you to know Him. He wants to have a relationship. The Lord of the universe wants to have a relationship with you. Not you on your side of the fence, I'll stay on mine. When you love somebody, don't you want them to love you back?

In this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul. Gita 13/23

"Lord". That's not a word we use a whole lot. We don't have lords and ladies and counts in America. This is a democracy. What does it mean to be Lord? It says honor Krishna as Lord. It means let Him be the manager of your life. Let Him be the boss. Let Him call the shots. Let Him be the chairman of the board. He doesn't want to be resident in your life, He wants to be president in your life. “ Krishna, You be number one." That's what it means to be Lord. Let God be God! To honor Krishna as Lord means He's the only person you ultimately have to please.

If you really make Krishna Lord of your life, then He becomes the only person ultimately you have to please, do you think that might simplify your life? Do you think it might reduce the stress? Do you think it might release the tension? If you weren't trying to gain the approval of 50 people, but instead focused on one person, knowing if you do what He says to do, it's always the right thing to do. Doesn't that make sense?

Let God be God. Resign as general manager of the universe and you'll be a whole lot more relaxed. The world does not depend on you or me. God is God and you're not! As long as you try to be God, you'll be filled with fear. You'll be filled with worry. You can't handle it all yourself. Worry is a warning light that says two things. One, it says, something has become too important to me, so I'm worrying about it. It's more important than it should be. It's taking first place in my life. Two, it means I'm trying to solve it. I'm trying to play God. I'm trying to control the issue. Neither of those work.

There's a God-shaped vacuum in each of us. Nothing else can fill it. If you don't fill it with God, it will fill with fear. Then you wonder why you're stressed out, why you worry, and why you're up tight all the time, why things just don't seem to go the way you think they ought to go. Nothing else can substitute for Krishna. It doesn't matter how much human affirmation you get, it doesn't matter how many awards you put on your shelf, how many achievements you get, how many possessions you tend to stockpile, nothing can substitute for God in your life.

My prayer for you is that you’ll have increasing freedom from fear & anxiety. For a moment block out all the stuff that's going on in your life and realize this: You're not here by accident. Krishna says to you, "You matter to Me!" Pray this prayer in your heart, "Dear Krishna, I realize You've never stopped loving me. You’ve never given up on me. Today I want to commit my fears and my life to You.” Om Tat Sat