Are you Brave?

I have been inspired to write on this by the various situations that life put me into and those that happened around me. The inspiration had actually come many times before but the idea took shape when I witnessed an altercation between young boys in my neighborhood.

 

Such things happen almost every five minutes in different parts of the world. The winner of such altercations is declared brave by the people. Hooliganism by the youth is dangerous for any society. The sad part is that many people think that if a man yields muscle power over others and wins the fights he enters into, he is a brave individual. (I used the word ‘many’ because there are some people who have an intellect.) The people who avoid such confrontations or squabbles are eventually branded as cowards. I have always avoided unnecessary fights or arguments. This has resulted in some people taking me to be a coward. Interestingly, these people will not come forward to stand beside me if I get involved in any such stupid fight. I believe that a brave man should always fight for his right, for the right of the meek, the elderly, the women, the children and the country. In fighting between sections of the society should always be avoided and especially between the youth.

Bravery or courage doesn’t have a perfect definition. This is the reason why people have misconstrued the whole meaning. Swami Vivekananda had said, “If you really want to judge the character of a man, look not at his great performances”. When surrounded by enemies even a cat wouldn’t give up without a fight. This doesn’t mean that the cat is as brave or courageous as the Lion. Fate plays a very important role in the great performances a man puts up. The real character of the man comes to light only by proper observation of his most common actions. The common actions include everything from walking, talking and treating other people of different classes. 

Chanakya, in his Arthashastra, mentioned four elements of polity. They are: saam, daam, dund and bheda meaning speech, money, punishment and planting respectively. The idea is to use any or all of the techniques in such a way that the desired work is done when dealing with another person or group. The elements can be interchanged according to the circumstances but it has been historically recommended that saam should be used first and the last should be dund. 

On a personal note, I wouldn’t like to boast of my acts of courage but in short I can say that yes, I have helped the elderly and my friends from both sexes in times of danger. However, I never entered a fight. I might not be an astute politician but I prefer to use my brain before my muscles. It is known as a fact that the brain is the most powerful weapon and God gave it to us all. Fortunately, he didn’t tell us how to use it and ultimately left it for us to figure out. I might be able to hit four guys at a time and there is a higher chance that I might get bashed up. Whatever the result be, if the fight is for unnecessary reasons then none of us is brave. 

Courage comes from the inside. In the animal world, there are many animals physically larger and stronger than the Lion but it the Lion who is considered King of the Beasts. Do you know why? The reason is that all the big and strong creatures will flee if they see their prey charging towards them in large numbers but the lion will not. If he is hungry, he will try to hunt down his prey from amongst the many charging towards him even if it means risking his life. Wildebeests always move in herds and there have been incidents when the lion had to face the herd head on, still he managed to kill one of them for food while the others gave up the fight. The Lion draws his courage from his mind and heart. We should learn from him.

How a person deals with pressure situations, how he/she faces all hurdles and emerges victorious; these and such other questions will decide how bold the person actually is. Life is hard and most of the times problems are worst in their non physical forms. The courageous fights such unforeseen situations or the invisible enemy and conquers it. The mind of a person is both the enemy and the friend. There has been enough news on students or people taking an extreme step when they failed in their examinations or in some endeavour. According to me, they may not have failed had their mind not failed them.

Here I am reminded of a saying in the Bhagvad Gita:

“One should save oneself by oneself;

One should not lower oneself;

For oneself is verily one’s own friend;

One is verily one’s own enemy”.

- Bhagvad Gita (6:5)

Before claiming to be a brave individual, just answer these questions:

Have you ever helped a needy or an elderly or a woman?

Have you saved anyone’s life (even if it is an animal) with or without risking your own?

Have you opposed injustice?

Finally, do you have the guts to give up your life for your country?

If the answer to anyone of the above is no, then you are not brave.