The deeper is your dependency, the deeper is your fear || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2014)

Listener: Why are we always scared? In a class if I’m sitting and I’ve to ask question to our teacher, then why do we always think that what people will think of us if I ask this question?

Acharya Prashant: What’s your name?

L: I’m Kiran.

AP: Kiran. Sit Kiran. First of all it’s a little amusing that the one who’s confidently getting up and asking the first question is saying why am I hesitant to ask question. Kiran who’s hesitating to ask, you?

L: Now I’m confident to ask. But few years back I was not so confident. I just wanted to know that reason.

AP: Leave that Kiran. That Kiran is gone. This Kiran is no more nervous. Is she nervous? In front of everybody she’s interacting, sitting right in the front seat. The moment I say ‘Ask’, she shoots the question. If anybody is not nervous here it’s you. The others should ask, “Why are we hesitating? Why can’t we just come forth and speak?”

It’s simple. There is no great secret in this. You’re afraid. You should ask, “Who’s there to be afraid of?” You’re afraid from the audience. It’ll become very simple for you to ask the question if there were nobody here, had this hall been vacant. There would have been no problem in your mind. Is there anybody who hesitates to speak even in a vacant room? Is there anybody who gets nervous even in front of the mirror when nobody else is watching? Does that happen? It’s just that the mind is very afraid of others.