What the Bhagavad Gita says about fear
The Gita opens with a frightened man. Arjuna's hands shake, his mouth goes dry and his bow slips, and he gives excellent reasons for leaving. Nothing in the book treats that as weakness, which is part of why it has lasted.
What the Gita does with fear is unusual. It does not promise that frightening things will stop happening, and it does not recommend courage, which means acting while afraid. 16.1 puts abhaya, the absence of fear, at the head of the divine qualities, before giving, discipline or honesty. The order is deliberate: most of the ugly things people do are frightened things, so taking the fear out removes a great deal else on its own.
18.30 adds the piece people miss. Knowing what to fear and what not to fear is listed as part of good judgement. Fear is treated as something aimed rather than something measured, which is a more useful idea than trying to have less of it.
The verses 14
1.29
my limbs give way, my mouth goes dry, my body shakes, my hair stands on end.
1.30
Gandiva slips from my hand, my skin is burning, I cannot keep standing, and my mind is reeling.
2.40
On this path nothing you begin is wasted, and nothing goes backwards.
2.56
Not shaken by pain, not hungry for pleasure, past attachment and fear and anger - that is what a settled sage is called.
4.10
Freed of wanting, fear and anger, filled with me, taking shelter in me, made clean in the fire of knowing - many have come into the way I am.
5.28
… the sage with senses, mind and understanding held steady, aiming at release, with wanting, fear and anger gone: he is free already, always.
6.14
… at peace, his fear gone, firm in the vow of a student, holding the mind in, thinking of me, he should sit, joined, with me as the highest thing.
10.4
Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from confusion, patience, truthfulness, restraint of the senses and quiet of mind; pleasure and pain, coming into being and passing away, fear, and freedom…
11.45
I am glad to have seen what was never seen before, and my mind is shaking with fear.
11.49
Do not be shaken, and do not be bewildered, at having seen this fearful form of mine.
12.15
The one the world is not disturbed by, and who is not disturbed by the world, who is free of delight and resentment and fear and agitation - that one is dear to me.
16.1
Fearlessness.
18.30
The understanding that knows when to act and when to hold back, what should be done and what should not, what to fear and what not to fear, what binds and what frees: that one, Arjuna, is c…
18.35
The steadiness by which a dull-witted person will not let go of sleep, fear, grief, low spirits and conceit: that steadiness, Arjuna, is dark.