Psychology of COURAGE
The courage-to-be, therefore is the manifestation of a union with being itself. Courage is not merely a moral concept, a virtue, it is a clue to the nature of being. ... (Journal of Religious Thought) Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear. (Mark Twain) Our discussion of courage opened the last chapter and came full circle to courage again. ... However, it requires courage. ... This takes a great deal of courage. ... This also takes courage, however. ... And if the social system in the community of devotees will not allow us to achieve our personal fulfillment, then we must have the courage to part from the herd and get on with the business of our development. ... However, as Becker goes on to say, we require courage to pursue it practically, . ... while I was resting in bed it occurred to me what really was (or is) "Beyond Psychology. ... " The question of courage, then, is really a refusal, against all odds, to be stupid. Even if all the world would reward us for being foolish, we must have the courage to refuse. Again we find that courage is the crucial point in purification of our existence. ... In this context, strength (or courage) means being able to stop trying to get everyone else to feel what you are feeling, and stand up for what you believe. ... We must have the courage to do what is truly favorable for our spiritual growth. ... Clearly following this wisdom takes courage, especially in a system that imposes external authority more than the freedom of the individual to decide what makes sense and to follow the dictates of conscience. ... As Krsna indicated, abhayam or fearlessness, is the root of sattva samsuddhi, purification of one’s existence, so we should not be confused about the value of developing our courage. ... We cannot develop courage by practicing fear; rather achieving fearlessness requires us to practice courage. The cumulative exercise of courage in facing our little fears leads to the capacity to face bigger fears, such as isolation and ultimately death. ... It is the gurus function to help us attain this stage, not to institutionalize us, not to reinforce the social prison walls, but to impart the courage to face reality as it is and to renounce stupidity or gullibility. ... The guru imparts the courage to stand alone, without the fallible supports of society. ... The guru invigorates us with the courage to stand and fight; to see clearly what is truth and what is illusion; to make us firm and free from doubt and ready to act; and inspires us to respond creatively and productively to the circumstance in our lives. ... He imparts courage for the adventure of being, along with the capacity to distinguish truth from illusion. "As soon as there is bureaucracy the whole thing is spoiled" means, among other things, that the courage to individuate from the herd gets squelched. ... The whole business of being a disciple is to develop our courage to be more fully who we are, to achieve the full unfolding of our creative and productive powers, and to use spiritual life as a vehicle for self-expression by offering our talents, our gifts, to the Supreme Lord. ... Once we agree that developing this courage for independent thoughtfulness is our responsibility, the next stage is to practice courage. How does one practice courage? ... The author of The Road Less Traveled has expressed the close connection between truthfulness and courage while answering the question "What rules can one follow if one is dedicated to the truth? ... As we shall see, it is not only intrinsic to developing our sense of love and trust but to developing our courage, which is vital to our success in Krsna consciousness. ... We opt for a soft version, not because it needs to be softened, but because we don’t want to exercise the courage to practice satyam as per the definition of Srila Prabhupada in Bhagavad-gita. ... We don’t have the courage to deal with the truth ourselves so we cannot imagine that anyone else can face it. ... This is certainly a great austerity requiring us to muster all our courage. ... " Honesty therefore is integral to our success in Krsna consciousness, and as we have seen, it takes courage; and courage comes by practice. ... By their openness, people dedicated to the truth live in the open, and through the exercise of their courage to live in the open, they become free from fear. Lord Krsna goes further in explaining the merits of living life in the open, exercising courage at every opportunity (Bg.