Food, sleep, fear, and coition for procreation or pleasure are common to humans and animals. Among these tendencies, fear is so engrained that it remains for a longer time in the mind and heart. We humans, with our naturally fearful attitude, develop a "fear complex" in our minds. A fear complex is a psychological state. Human beings sometimes use this state to exploit and manipulate other human beings individually, socially, politically, and even religiously. In childhood I saw how mothers sometimes do not hesitate to use fear as a means to direct their children to eat their dinners or go to bed. Unfortunately, they did not know that creating fear in the mind of a child could have a long-term effect, which is sometimes detrimental and harmful.
Often little children fear darkness or loneliness. Nonetheless, when they are with their near and dear ones, they feel fearless. The fear of ghosts, the fear of water or fire, or even the fear of animals and unknown faces, can often be found in the minds of children. Animals are afraid of humans, and also, humans are afraid of animals. When we were young, we found that some children had a fear of going to school or even taking examinations. As people age, they begin to nurture the fear of becoming sick or experiencing death. People not only fear the demise of near and dear ones, but they also fear their own mortality. Indeed, throughout our lives, we carry with us a fear of uncertainty and countless insecurities.
How can we be free from fear? As a child growing up in a village in India, whenever we went out late at night, we carried a few items to support us, to help us feel safe and be free from fear. We had a lamp or a flashlight, a bamboo staff in hand, and often a companion. This experience from my childhood reveals a few ways to be free from fear.
Life is a book, and each one of us is the author of our book of life. Although most of this book of life is invisible and personal, some parts of it are seen by our near and dear ones. On the other hand, our book of life is entirely open to the eyes of God, Who is omnipresent and omniscient. Prayer is the art of purposely opening our book of life in front of God as an act of confessing our weakness and surrendering to Him.
On the journey of life we often need a helpful guidebook, which can be the sacred book of any religion such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah, the Bible, the Quran, or the Dhammapada. These books can help us travel safely and reach the goal of life.
However, for the moment let us focus on the Holy Bible. The first thing we will consider is "What is a bible?"
The Bible The word "bible" is an interesting one that can be used in many different ways. Nowadays, any authoritative book on a subject can be called a bible; for example, a comprehensive and informative book on economics might be referred to as the "Bible of Economics."
Now let us look at the etymological meaning of "bible." The origin of the word "bible" can be traced to the Latin and Greek word biblion, which means "the book." The plural form of this word is biblia, or "the books." Hence, the word "bible" refers merely to books without any specific qualifications. It can refer to a collection of books or books in a library. Nonetheless, the Holy Bible of the Christian religion explicitly refers to a set of sacred books that were written with divine inspiration.
The Holy Bible is divided into Old and New Testaments, so it is a collection of forty-six and twenty-seven books, respectively. The literal meaning of testament is "last will or agreement," but in the biblical perspective, it is the covenant and the central fact of salvation, the old covenant of Mount Sinai and the new covenant of Jesus Christ.
The first five books of the Old Testament are the history books of Moses, also known as the Torah, and the first four books of the New Testament describe the life of Jesus and are known as the Gospels. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, whereas the New Testament is believed to be written first in Greek and then later in Latin. The Old Testament is the sacred book of the Jews, and the New Testament is the sacred book of the Christians.
The Holy Bible begins with the book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Old Testament, and it ends with the last book of the New Testament, which is the book of Revelation. Genesis means "the origin" or "the beginning," and Revelation is the "self-manifestation of the Divine." Thus, when taken as a whole, the Holy Bible signifies that the beginning and end of life are both perfect.
Vedas (1295)
Upanishads (482)
Puranas (612)
Ramayana (839)
Mahabharata (328)
Dharmasastras (162)
Goddess (474)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1312)
Gods (1268)
Shiva (344)
Journal (144)
Fiction (52)
Vedanta (334)
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