“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave only,” rightly said Mahatma Gandhi. Those who are not brave stop at what nature has given them. At most, they explore new ways of enjoying their sensuality. Sexual pleasure, for example, becomes pornography; food is made more attractive and tasty. Anger is easily expressed and thrown on people. Who knows about forgiveness? We are all seeking peace, love, bliss and freedom, but we do not know the way. And even if we know a little about it, we are not ready to take the path as it demands much courage, patience and a lot of virtues, which are not easily achieved.
Great courage is needed to tread the path of virtue, which is acquired only from the depth of our being. To reach there, one needs to be a revolutionary and that demands much bravery. How much courage was needed by Jesus to declare, “I am the son of God” during his epoch! Today anyone can proclaim it, at most he would be a subject of mockery. But in his time, the state, the church and the stupid and orthodox masses were not ready to accept it. And that led Jesus to the cross. There he demonstrated and confirmed that virtue is indeed the prerogative of the brave and said, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they are doing.” People often say, “I forgive you,” but how many can express it sincerely when they are being turned down by their worst enemy?
It is easy to answer to provocation, but a little bit difficult to suppress it and only cowards do that. But how much courage is needed to watch one’s anger, be wise, forgive or find the stupidity of answering to provocations! Peace, bliss, love, forgiveness and intelligence are like hidden treasures in the depth of our being. One needs much patience, courage and wisdom to get them. People talk of peace as if it is something that can be achieved by mere negotiations. One must live in truth to have it and that means the determination to change one’s mind and heart so that one can live in harmony with nature.
Tremendous energy is required to do that as it cannot be done by living in isolation from society or the environment. Society, however, by its very nature is against peace, love, intelligence and freedom. Look into the annals of history and see the fate of lovers. See how those who have wished to build up a peaceful, loving and free society have been treated. Jesus, Mohammed, Kabir, Gandhi and many others have all known fierce opposition and hatred. The reason is that when a society becomes peaceful, loving, free, blissful and intelligent, it is no longer possible to dominate and to exploit people. That is why the so-called leaders of society have always in some way or the other, at times in a very subtle way, opposed revolutionaries.
The Bible says to love thy neighbour as thyself, but is that an easy thing? If it were so, then the world would be more beautiful and enjoyable than paradise. People would not wish to die, because who would want to go elsewhere, especially when there is no tangible proof of its existence and when the earth itself is lovelier than paradise? People are hypocrites, thus without any shame they do not hesitate to use that commandment to exploit, possess and dominate one another and yet call it love.
People easily give vent to their animalistic nature, thus murder, rape, violence, theft, corruption, lies and so on have become daily news in the media. They easily kill innocents – animals and human beings (who are not so innocent) – but do they dare to master the inner animal and kill it? Kill the inner beast, not the outer one! What will you gain apart from negative reactions by so doing? Here we are not talking of physical but essentially of mental bravery. The courage to speak, listen, accept and live in truth is the greatest virtue and only such a person can be at peace with himself and others.
Who lies? Why do people lie? And who speaks the truth? Cowardly people lie and the brave speak the truth. Man’s life itself is a big lie. To change that lie into a big truth, how much courage is needed! To get an idea, just recall how often you have lied and hesitated to acknowledge a simple truth. Are you brave enough to tread the path that leads to inner peace, bliss, freedom and love? To know or to get an answer to this question, try a little experiment. When you are all alone, look into yourself and reflect on how much you have lied, are continuing to lie and will probably continue to do so. How often you have refused to listen, accept, speak and go deeper into a matter to know the truth about it? The answers will indicate where you stand.
Are you brave enough to tread the path that leads to inner peace, bliss, freedom and love?
By Swami Paramananda
Great courage is needed to tread the path of virtue, which is acquired only from the depth of our being. To reach there, one needs to be a revolutionary and that demands much bravery. How much courage was needed by Jesus to declare, “I am the son of God” during his epoch! Today anyone can proclaim it, at most he would be a subject of mockery. But in his time, the state, the church and the stupid and orthodox masses were not ready to accept it. And that led Jesus to the cross. There he demonstrated and confirmed that virtue is indeed the prerogative of the brave and said, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they are doing.” People often say, “I forgive you,” but how many can express it sincerely when they are being turned down by their worst enemy?
It is easy to answer to provocation, but a little bit difficult to suppress it and only cowards do that. But how much courage is needed to watch one’s anger, be wise, forgive or find the stupidity of answering to provocations! Peace, bliss, love, forgiveness and intelligence are like hidden treasures in the depth of our being. One needs much patience, courage and wisdom to get them. People talk of peace as if it is something that can be achieved by mere negotiations. One must live in truth to have it and that means the determination to change one’s mind and heart so that one can live in harmony with nature.
Tremendous energy is required to do that as it cannot be done by living in isolation from society or the environment. Society, however, by its very nature is against peace, love, intelligence and freedom. Look into the annals of history and see the fate of lovers. See how those who have wished to build up a peaceful, loving and free society have been treated. Jesus, Mohammed, Kabir, Gandhi and many others have all known fierce opposition and hatred. The reason is that when a society becomes peaceful, loving, free, blissful and intelligent, it is no longer possible to dominate and to exploit people. That is why the so-called leaders of society have always in some way or the other, at times in a very subtle way, opposed revolutionaries.
The Bible says to love thy neighbour as thyself, but is that an easy thing? If it were so, then the world would be more beautiful and enjoyable than paradise. People would not wish to die, because who would want to go elsewhere, especially when there is no tangible proof of its existence and when the earth itself is lovelier than paradise? People are hypocrites, thus without any shame they do not hesitate to use that commandment to exploit, possess and dominate one another and yet call it love.
People easily give vent to their animalistic nature, thus murder, rape, violence, theft, corruption, lies and so on have become daily news in the media. They easily kill innocents – animals and human beings (who are not so innocent) – but do they dare to master the inner animal and kill it? Kill the inner beast, not the outer one! What will you gain apart from negative reactions by so doing? Here we are not talking of physical but essentially of mental bravery. The courage to speak, listen, accept and live in truth is the greatest virtue and only such a person can be at peace with himself and others.
Who lies? Why do people lie? And who speaks the truth? Cowardly people lie and the brave speak the truth. Man’s life itself is a big lie. To change that lie into a big truth, how much courage is needed! To get an idea, just recall how often you have lied and hesitated to acknowledge a simple truth. Are you brave enough to tread the path that leads to inner peace, bliss, freedom and love? To know or to get an answer to this question, try a little experiment. When you are all alone, look into yourself and reflect on how much you have lied, are continuing to lie and will probably continue to do so. How often you have refused to listen, accept, speak and go deeper into a matter to know the truth about it? The answers will indicate where you stand.
Are you brave enough to tread the path that leads to inner peace, bliss, freedom and love?
By Swami Paramananda
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