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Is there a past-life connection to current life fear phobias?

[Smt. Priyanka asked: Pādanamaskāram Swami, Is there a past-life connection to current life fear phobias?

This question is regarding fear phobias in worldly matters. We commonly hear about people's fear phobias since childhood. It does not go away even in adulthood. We hear about people having fear of heights, fear of needles, fear of darkness, fear of enclosed rooms and many more. Sometimes, it is not connected to something that happened in this lifetime itself. Are such fear phobias connected to past-life experiences or this life itself? We commonly hear that the only way to get over the fear is to face the fear directly. Swami, I myself have a few fears, out of which I had to directly face one of them due to circumstances. If I was not forced into it, I would never have attempted to get over that fear in the first place. Even though it felt like a difficult process, today I am not that scared of it anymore. I thank You Swami for creating such a circumstance for me to teach me valuable life skills and to help me overcome that fear. But, when I face the other fears over and over, I still cannot get over them. Why is it like that, Swami? I am still very uncomfortable and very scared of certain things. It has not changed since childhood. Should every person make efforts to get over these phobias or ignore them?]

Swami Replied:- Fear is said to be one of the nine Rasas, which are useful in entertainment. If you take everything in the life as entertainment without any seriousness, you will be always continuing in the state of bliss and this is Yoga. Through this way, you will not be affected by any fear. Such phobias can come from this birth or even from previous births if they are very strong.

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