“What’s the biggest insecurity of your life?” A question that touched me deep from inside
and sparked a number of conversations between my mind and my inner-self in order to
know the answer that satisfies me the best, for it was a question that had a huge
meaning in it and I hoped for a answer that explains it best to my inner- consciousness .
The craze and curiousness to know the answer forced me to go through a number of
books, watch lectures of various learned people and go through the concept of
insecurity thoroughly in the last one month. But unluckily, none of these could help me
get the answer that could silent my burning desire.
But today I got the answer!
A book that contains all answers that one needs. Open this holy book ,randomly pick
any verse and you’ll find answers to all your questions. Reading deeper meaning by
‘Swami Paramarthananda’ of Chapter 17 Verse 20 of the Bhagwat Geeta gave the
answer that satisfied me the most. Here shall I keep my opinions and understanding of
the same.
A sense of insecurity whether it be a basic need insecurity, job insecurity, insecurity in
relationships accompany us throughout the life. This list is endless.
The problem starts right from birth. A child feels insecure without his mother, even within
a few weeks he is able to distinguish his mother from the rest. The baby who feels
insecure otherwise finds a sense of security in his mother’s lap. He clings to her
everytime, in a hope never to leave her. As one grows older his bad life experiences
enables his critical inner voice to remind him everytime “Don’t trust anyone”. The person
now feels a sense a insecurity and tries to find someone or something who can help
provide him a sense of security, a sense of oneness. This can be either his family, best
friend or even wealth with which the person feels secure.
So, basically we can say that insecurity is an emotion, an anxious one, within ourselves,
about ourselves, about what we feel is inadequate in ourselves. One may experience
lack of self-confidence and self-worth in an insecure environment which his mind has
created around him. Let me explain it to my readers through an example. A girl may
have a feeling that “I am not pretty enough” or “I am not thin enough”. These feelings
and thoughts are slowly and slowly creating an insecure environment for her in which
she may feel insecure. Overcoming this insecurity isn’t easy , it may take years but
ultimately one has to realize that everyone is attractive in their own way and this is how
this sense of insecurity can be removed.
Keeping my inclination towards philosophy ,Now I shall put my thoughts on ways to
overcome insecurity.
When we feel insecure, we seek security from external factors that can be either a
materialistic thing or a person with whom we share some or the other form of
relationship be it our family member, best friend or life partner. We are ultimately turning
outwards from ourselves in search of security. When I say the word ‘outward’ we need
to understand that anything which is not me is what comes under the category of
outward. Even our body is not ours. Let’s keep this topic for future posts where I shall
share the thoughts on the same. So, in a way we are seeking help of the outside world
to provide us with a sense of security.
The biggest question that arises here is :
“How can we expect the outside world to provide us security when the inside world with
us is insecure ?”
“How can we expect others to fell secure when we ourselves are in a state of
insecurity? Are they creatures of some other creator or are we ?”
A child does find security in his mother’s lap but that security doesn’t allow him to be
independent. It never allows him to realize his own strength and discover security in
himself. If the child wants to be independent then he has to learn how to walk alone.
The mother has to drop her child’s hands and allow him to walk. Falling will teach to
walk , to be independent.
What we need to understand is that nothing in this world can provide us security more
than ourselves. An insecure object cannot provide a sense of security to anyone.
After all everything in this world is perishable! Finding security in what is non-perishable
can help.
So, the biggest question that arises here is “What is non-perishable?”
About the Author–
Ravindra Mauni writes about policy-making, governance, life, and philosophy. With a wealth of experience, Mauni’s insightful articles grace numerous publications. Additionally, a speaker and debater on current events, Mauni is an undergraduate student at Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi.
