Spiritual Courage
By
Karmayogi
Of the eight attributes of
Lakshmi, courage stands out. Indian mythological stories are SUBTLE in their
instruction. They reveal the TRUTH by hiding
it.. This subtle knowledge is spiritual. It is there in all walks of
life as the Power resides in what is left unsaid. We see now teachers
encouraging students, parents patronising children. The earlier tradition was NOT to encourage or even recognise..
Their experience was that the boy would stop progressing if the teacher or
parent encouraged him. So, in the past, encouragement was the exception, not
the rule.
What is spiritual courage? What is courage? Our tradition always indicates,
never explains. The opposite of courage is fear. In the story about Lakshmi, it
is said, all the eight Lakshmis stayed with a man for long. Then they desired
to leave him. He requested them to leave at least one with him. He chose
courage. The seven lakshmis who left him came back one after the other, as they
could not exist without courage. The story
thus reveals the significance of COURAGE. Still, it does not explain..
Courage is force. Lakshmi is Prosperity of several types. Prosperity of no type
can survive without the COURAGE of
the individual. Here it is human courage. Spiritual courage is more powerful. When
threatened, fear increases. Spiritual courage
increases when intimidated. The Spirit acts exactly in the opposite fashion of
human nature.
When all Europecapitulated to Hitler, he expected Englandto hasten to surrender. What happened was the opposite. Churchill declared,
“We shall fight, fight to the end. We shall fight the enemy on the land,
let us fight him on the high seas. Let us give fight in the air. We shall fight
him in the streets, we shall fight, fight and die fighting.” It inspired
every man in the factory, every woman in the kitchen. England won, NOT Hitler. England won FREEDOM. Englandsaved democracy. Englandsaved the world. That is the courage of the collective. Churchill received the SPIRITUAL FORCE from Sri Aurobindo and
exhibited spiritual courage, which spread all over Englandand all over the world. It is true not only in the subtle plane but in the
warfront too.
Anything of the Spirit increases. The Spirit
knows no failure, no decrease. Genius is spiritual knowledge. It is
ever-increasing by itself. I plead for Spiritual Prosperity, as it knows no
decrease. It increases by itself.