Fear, Vairagya and the True Sadhu
When Bhagavan Nityananda was asked how one may recognise a true Sadhu, He replied in His characteristic simplicity:
“Fakir hai to Fikr nahi; Fikr hai to Fakir nahi.”
“If one is a Fakir, there is no worry. If there is worry, one is not a Fakir.”
At first hearing, these words appear simple. Yet within them lies an entire philosophy of renunciation, fearlessness, and spiritual freedom.
A Fakir is not merely one who owns little or wears simple clothes. True fakiri is an inner state of freedom from attachment. A person may possess nothing externally and yet remain full of anxiety, desires, ambitions, and fears. Such a person is not a Fakir in the spiritual sense. Conversely, one may be entrusted with responsibilities and possessions, yet remain inwardly unattached and free.
Bhagavan’s test for a Sadhu was therefore not his robes, learning, miracles, or followers, but the absence of fikr—worry, anxiety, and fear.
Why does worry arise?
Worry is born from attachment. We fear losing what we possess, and we worry when we do not obtain what we desire. Fear and worry are, therefore, the natural offspring of attachment.
It is here that Bhagavan’s teaching meets the teachings of Shree Adi Shankaracharya.
In the Vivekachudamani, Shankaracharya repeatedly emphasises Vairagya—dispassion or detachment—as an indispensable qualification for spiritual realisation. Vairagya does not mean hatred of the world. It means freedom from dependence upon the world for one’s happiness, security, and identity.
A person established in Vairagya understands that all worldly objects are temporary. Wealth may come and go. Relationships change—the body ages. Reputation rises and falls. Since he does not seek permanence in the impermanent, he is not shaken by their loss.
Thus, where there is true Vairagya, fear cannot survive.
Fear always points towards some attachment:
- Fear of poverty indicates attachment to wealth.
- Fear of criticism indicates attachment to reputation.
- Fear of loneliness indicates attachment to companionship.
- Fear of death indicates attachment to the body and individuality.
The greater the attachment, the greater the fear.
For this reason, the sages have often said:
“Attachment is the mother of fear.”
A true Sadhu is therefore fearless, not because he is courageous in the ordinary sense, but because he has relinquished that which generates fear. Having surrendered himself to God, Guru, or the Self, he no longer depends upon external circumstances for inner peace.
This is the meaning of Bhagavan’s statement:
“Fakir hai to Fikr nahi.”
The Fakir has nothing to protect, nothing to prove, nothing to accumulate, and nothing to lose. Having surrendered everything at the feet of the Divine, he lives in trust. His security comes not from possessions, influence, or social standing, but from the certainty that the Divine Will governs all.
Conversely:
“Fikr hai to Fakir nahi.”
If worry, anxiety, insecurity, and fear continue to dominate one’s mind, they reveal the presence of hidden attachments. One may appear outwardly detached, but inwardly one remains bound.
This does not mean that a Sadhu is careless or irresponsible. Rather, he performs whatever actions are necessary while remaining inwardly free from anxiety regarding their results. He lives in the spirit of surrender described in the Bhagavad Gita—acting diligently while resting in the Divine.
The lives of great saints bear testimony to this truth. Bhagavan Nityananda, Shree Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar Mauli, Shree Swami Samartha, and countless others demonstrated extraordinary fearlessness because they had transcended personal attachment. Their Vairagya gave birth to serenity, and their serenity revealed their union with the Divine.
Thus, the relationship between these three can be understood as:
Attachment →
Fear →
Worry
Vairagya →
Fearlessness →
Peace
A true Sadhu is therefore not recognised by external appearance, but by the absence of fear and worry born of attachment. His life silently proclaims that he belongs not to the world, but to the Divine.
In this light, Bhagavan Nityananda’s simple statement becomes a profound criterion for recognising genuine spirituality:
“If there is Vairagya, there is no fear.
If there is no fear, there is no worry.
And where there is no worry, there resides the true Fakir.”
This theme is also echoed by Shankaracharya in Vivekachudamani when he teaches that the seeker must develop Vairagya toward all impermanent objects, for only then does the mind become free enough to abide in the Self. Bhagavan expressed the same truth in the language of the common man: the measure of renunciation is not what one has given up, but what one no longer fears losing.
