Fearless, no fear. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

When you have steady faith and an integral vision, and when you constantly think of the indwelling divinity, you will not become elated by joy nor shrink away from sorrow, it is only then that you will become completely fearless, or abhaya. Bhaya means fear, Abhaya means fearlessness. The other word Nirbhaya, which means the absence of fear. Although they appear to be the same, there is a big difference between Abhaya and Nirbhaya. Nirbhaya is the removal of fear. An example of this would be if you happen to see a rope lying on the ground after dusk, although it is only a rope, in the failing light you might think it was a snake. Fearing that the snake might harm you, you would switch on your flashlight to get a better look at it and see if it is a poisonous snake. But immediately when the light shines on it, you realize that it is not a snake at all, but a piece of rope, and with this realisation your fear disappears instantly. Becoming subject to fear and then becoming free from fear are both momentary experiences they come and go.

You should consider this quality of Abhaya as just the absence of fear. In fearlessness one is not aware of any second entity. One gets fear only when there exists a second object, but for one who has Abhaya there is never any second at all. Therefore; fearlessness is associated with unity consciousness, it refers to Advaita; where there can’ be no two but always just the one. Only when you are in such a state of Advaita will you be truly fearless. (DBG, p. 207)