Fear of Imaginary Ghosts: Sapne Vs Everyone
What a hard-hitting line Ambrish Verma has written about ‘fear’ in his superhit web series, “Sapne Vs Everyone.” Let’s read it first, and then we will get into it.
“Umar bhar khayali bhooton se agar main na darta… Khuda main kya zor se jeeta? Khuda main kya chain se marta?” (If I hadn’t spent my whole life fearing imaginary ghosts… God, how fiercely I would have lived! God, how peacefully I would have died!)
We all have some kind of fear. As humans, we experience many emotions, and fear is one of them. The problem with fear is our conditioning. From childhood, we are taught that the opposite of fear is courage, and a person who lacks courage is not a real man.
Rethinking Fear: From Weakness to a Metric for Growth
Later in life, we learn two things. First, human emotions have no gender bias. Second, emotions are not an end result, but a tool. They are a metric that tells us what we lack and where we need to improve. As Ambrish profoundly explains in his series, beyond fear lies victory.
Take a person who is good at acting, but leaves his job for his parents. He works to earn money while simultaneously following his passion. Still, when life goes against you, you feel fear—the fear of the unknown. It shatters a person’s courage, and the mind starts building imaginary ghosts.
The Illusion of “Imaginary Ghosts” and the Trap of Comparison
Even though ghosts are imaginary, many people still believe they are real. Osho has a very good take on this: if the whole world is created by God, then the devil is also created by Him. If the devil is created by God, then the devil is not truly a devil, because God doesn’t create evil things. If the devil is not created by God, it would mean the devil is more powerful than God.
Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji closed this argument with two words: ‘Ek Omkar‘ (There is only one God, not two). Even Shirdi Sai Baba said, ‘Sabka Malik Ek Hai‘ (Everyone’s Master is One).
These imaginary ghosts start creating doubt in the human mind. This leads to a sense of inferiority because we don’t live in an isolated world. When our chips are down, we constantly start comparing ourselves with others. Keep in mind that only an insecure person wastes time on comparison. A secure person doesn’t even think about comparing themselves to others. They are so secure in themselves that they do not care what others are doing.
This sense of inferiority, powered by self-doubt, insecurity, and comparison, leads to an inferiority complex. When this complex takes over, a person is not able to think clearly. This happens because they accept defeat and start blaming God, life, and destiny.
Living Fiercely vs. The Fear of the Unknown
The imaginary ghosts have now become an excuse to stop living the life they always wished for. “Umar bhar khayali bhooton se agar main na darta…”
What a beautiful thought it is: “If I hadn’t spent my whole life fearing imaginary ghosts.” In this situation, the character in the series, or anyone who asks this question, begins to notice the small joys and silver linings in life.
When a person is tired of losing and living an unfulfilling life, a question arises. What would have been different if I had chosen to face the things I feared the most? Would I have lived a better life?
“Khuda main kya zor se jeeta? Khuda main kya chain se marta?” (God, how fiercely I would have lived! God, how peacefully I would have died!)
When humans think, they often think in extremes. Here too, the character imagines only two extremes to fearless living: first, living fiercely, and second, death. Death is the ultimate truth, and we all know it. But as humans grow older, their attachment to life increases day by day. No one knows what happens after death. We know material things will not go with us, yet we spend our whole lives collecting them in fear of bad days—and those bad days eventually come.
Doing the Right Thing and Waking Up to Reality
We also don’t know if heaven or hell truly exists. What if your good deeds don’t help you in the afterlife? What if, after death, both good and bad people go to the same place? This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do good deeds or aspire to be good people. The problem lies in our conditioning—we believe that in return for good deeds, we will go to heaven. This makes the intention behind the good deeds impure. It becomes slightly immoral because we are only doing good to get a reward.
All I am saying is simple: the way society has conditioned our minds stops us from seeing things clearly. There are no ghosts in reality, just ‘Ek Omkar‘. We need to stop fearing our imaginary ghosts and start using our fear as a metric to improve our lives.
Fear has gotten a negative reputation because of how we talk about it, but it is not inherently a negative thing. We need to understand that there are no “good deeds” or “bad deeds” in a transactional sense. There is only karma and its consequences. We must do the right thing, not for a reward, but simply because it is the right thing to do.
In the same way, when life hits hard and you fear your future, just narrow your focus. Keep doing what is in your control, and do it well. That is all you have in your hands, and that is all you need in life. There is no place for regret. We all have different situations, upbringings, opportunities, and thoughts. But the moment you realize this truth, start from there—because Jab Jago Tab Sawera (Whenever you wake up, it is morning).
What did you think of this article? Do you agree that we let our “imaginary ghosts” hold us back? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and please share this with someone who might need to read it today!