When the true Self is known the jigsaw puzzle of the world gets solved, doubts end, and all misery vanishes. In Atmabodha, a lyric of sixty-eight mellifluous verses, Shankara gives us a lucid analysis of the nature of the Self and explains step by step how it can be realized. Swami Nikhilananda prefaces his delightful English translation with a masterly survey of the Upanishadic view of life.
The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is the fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
-Swami Vivekananda