Acharya Prashant explains that the nature of one's fear is determined by what one identifies with. He categorizes individuals into three types based on their level of awareness and the quality of their fear. The first type, 'A', operates purely at the level of instinct. This person's wants and fears are instinctual, and they are not conscious of them. Their fear is a dark, general fear without a specific object, making them afraid everywhere and at all times without knowing why. This is described as a poor quality of fear, characteristic of a caveman. The second type, 'B', operates at the level of thought. This individual is afraid of losing specific things they desire, such as social standing, prestige, or material possessions. They can articulate their fears and experience intermittent relief, unlike the continuously tense state of person 'A'. Their happiness is short-lived as one challenge makes way for another. The third type, 'C', represents a conscious choice. This person is afraid of only one thing: falling back to the levels of 'A' and 'B'. Their fear is of making a wrong choice, which is a deep and liberating fear. They are fearless regarding everything in the domains of instinct and thought because they have already discarded them. The quality of one's fear determines the quality of life, as what one is afraid of losing reveals what one holds as important. The difference between an ordinary person and a sage is that the ordinary person is afraid of ordinary things, while the sage is afraid only of losing their sageness. This 'right fear' is a blessing and is another name for fearlessness. Acharya Prashant quotes Kabir Saheb, who said, "My only concern is for the name of God, the servant thinks of nothing else. Whatever is thought of without God is a noose of death." This kind of worry (chinta) is actually remembrance (chintan). The most important thing is life itself, this present, fleeting moment, which is priceless. The only rightful fear is the fear of wasting this life. When one is afraid of the one central thing, everything else becomes casual. The more illumined and focused one's fear is, the closer one is to fearlessness. Therefore, the advice is not to be fearless, but to choose one's fears wisely.
