Faith and Courage Represent the True Attitude For Facing Life and for Spiritual Progress

One of the qualities that Swami Vivekananda emphasized as ‘fearlessness’. We may wonder why courage and fearlessness are such important elements in living our lives, if we live a relatively ‘safe’ external life and don’t engage in extremely risky behaviour. We may also wonder why they are important elements for the spiritual seeker.

First, with respect to the external life, there is really no truly ‘safe’ existence. If we constantly spend our time and energy worrying about whether we will be able to earn a living, whether the food we eat is healthy, whether we are taking care of our bodies correctly, if we can approach other people and socialize with them without being rejected or even made the butt of humor, we will quickly find that we live in a state of what the existentialists called ‘nausea’. This is a state where we are constantly afraid, anxious and unprepared to deal with the situations that arise in our lives. This does not have to go to the level of life and death experiences, such as soldiers face in warfare, or dealing with a pandemic in our town, or even dealing with local bullies who haunt our schools and neigborhoods, threatening violence if we do not do what they demand of us. Yet it might rise to that level of existential fear, particularly if we have not taught ourselves how to face these uncertain or even dangerous situations. Fear tends to call upon us those things which we fear, as we set up a vibratory pattern that attracts the object of our fears.

With respect to the spiritual seeker, many people believe that meditation, deep contemplation, inward spiritual focus cannot be a cause of fear, and therefore, they cannot appreciate why courage is a desired and even a required element in the spiritual practice. They imagine spirituality to be filled with peace, joy and well-being, and of course, there are such times that come to spiritual seekers during the development of the sadhana. But spirituality also requires us to confront old habits, face down tendencies that have driven us in the past, and may bring about tension between the spiritual seeker and those people with whom he has built his past external life. But it can go even further. As new energies pour into the seeker, as chakras open, as new insights arise, there can arise serious imbalances that can lead to mental imbalance, emotional disturbance, vital disruptions and physical breakdowns, which can lead to illness or death. It is one reason that the guidance of an experienced teacher is highly recommended, so that the seeker can more or less safely traverse the inner landscape and find some kind of balance at each stage.

One of the elements of achieving fearlessness, or courage, is the element of faith in the Divine Power and Grace that is actually carrying out the transformations. The more we can accept that they are working for the long-term result we aspire for, and are there to provide us guidance, support and protection, the easier it is to develop the kind of fearless attitude needed.

Sri Aurobindo observes: “Faith and courage are the true attitude to keep in life and work always and in the spiritual experience also.”

“In moments of trial faith in the divine protection and the call for that protection, at all times the faith that what the Divine wills is the beset.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pg. 131