Courage

Wisdom Teachings
The Journey Inside

A baby chick develops within the protection of an eggshell. If the shell is broken too early, the baby chick cannot survive. When the baby chick is ready to be hatched, its first attempts to break the shell are half-hearted and weak. It takes repeated effort to generate the necessary will and courage to break the shell and enter into a larger life.

Instincts, originating from experiences of earlier times, provide humans and animals a necessary protection. Because of the instinct of fear, parents are able to protect their offspring, defend themselves and/or flee from unfamiliar elements in the environment. We are usually reserved, inhibited and hesitant towards new situations. But when an inner impulse drives us, we go beyond our feeling of insecurity, limitation and fear. As soon as the inner impulse becomes stronger, we develop will and courage, overcome old habits and engage in dares and experiments. When we do not dare to try something new, we do not grow into a greater light of understanding.

The inner journey to the light is full of obstacles; these obstacles show up as our unskilful traits: Illusions, pride and prejudice, greed and desire, possessive attitude, uncontrollable anger. As spiritual aspirants, we must be prepared to gradually sacrifice all our undesirable and unskilful traits. For inner transformation to occur, it is helpful to set before ourselves an ideal and strive towards it. Remaining steadfast and courageous in our goal gives us inspiration.

Inspiration is a divine impulse that needs to be cultivated, nurtured, and nourished. However, being inspired is just the beginning step to walk the spiritual path and serve the Masters of Wisdom. As long as we only read and talk about the wisdom teachings without working on ourselves, we remain impractical wanderers. We do not have to be heroes or have the qualities of heroes. If we put in our best, we are more likely to be a hero, however little that best may be.

To walk the spiritual path, courage is required. This courage comes from fiery aspiration. Fiery aspiration is self-generated strength to tread the path to spirit. The true source of courage is the inner divine spark. It ignites the fiery aspiration and gives us the courage and willingness to offer ourselves fully to the Plan without hesitation. Stories of extraordinary people who have shown bravery and courage and achieved high goals inspire and ignite the hidden fire within. In the scriptures there are numerous stories of initiates who have courageously expressed divinity. These great souls have become role models for the aspirations of many people.

Helena Blavatsky is one of the true initiates who had access to the visible and invisible worlds. With the help of the Vedic keys of wisdom, she was able to understand occult scriptures and subtle sciences, such as the science of astrology and of the cycles of time. She had the courage to speak the Truth in its original form and destroy dogmas of the East and the West.

To see through the subtle levels of the scriptures and recognise the underlying truth, purity and the qualities of heart, love and compassion are required. In people with a great intellect, the keys of wisdom do not work and the subtle truths are held to be illusions. Without an inner guidance and without a most refined character, these people end up with their concepts of truth but it is not the Truth. Blavatsky gave the message, “There is no religion higher than Truth”, which is a saying from the Vedas. Master EK said, “Please do not create a religion after me”. Even a spiritual organisation is only an institution to express the Truth and organise the work.

Only when we courageously transcend the sense of boundaries of religion, skin colour and ethnicity and are able to sense the same existence within all beings - human, animal, and plant – will we have realised the Truth and developed compassion. Only through compassion, sacrifice and oneness with other beings can the supramundane levels of consciousness be opened and the powers locked in the depths of the inner being be released.

Blavatsky, like other initiates, was severely criticised and attacked. Disciples have to be able to withstand a lot of judgements, incomprehension and criticism. In our society, criticism is a common reaction to every conceivable action. Out of fear of criticism, many well-meaning persons do not bring forth acts of goodwill. If we are convinced that what we are doing is for the common good, we must overcome the fear of social opinion. This is why Madame Blavatsky said in the “Golden Stairs” that courageous endurance of personal injustice is necessary on the path of Truth. We need the courage to show by our actions what we think is good. And then there is more to consider along with kindness and goodwill. That of the “will.”

To will, to dare, to know and to be silent are the four essential qualities of a true aspirant. Gratitude, even for small acts of cooperation, is a fundamental quality for a life of goodwill. Listening to criticism discourages us from taking action. As we continue to act in goodwill, a group gathers and the work may be increased to engage others in action. Goodwill is magnetic.

Blavatsky enlightened the whole humanity through her work. She revealed many secret cave temples and also the knowledge preserved there. With much courage, she also discreetly mentioned in her writings the village of Shambala and stated that all members of Shambala are persons with bodies of light. She encouraged humans in order to transform themselves to gain a subtle golden body so that they stand a chance of experiencing Shambala and cooperate with the energies of Shambala. Inspired by Blavatsky's teachings, Alice A. Bailey and Nicholas Roerich also related to Shambala through their will and self-transformation. While Alice A. Bailey described Shambala as the spiritual truth of Earth, Nicholas Roerich gave a visual presentation of Shambala and also of beings related with Shambala. Many miracles of life and light were revealed to him. He had the darshan (vision) of groups of beings of light and was able to physically experience the legendary figures of the Himalayas. For those who do not know what sacrifice is, Shambala is unthinkable and verily unreachable. Those who offer themselves entirely to a noble goal can stand in the light of the sacrifice of Shambala.

There is much glamour in relation to Shambala. However much the adepts try to bring the disciples out of delusion, they do not succeed. Humanity neutralises the good efforts of the Hierarchy, and Shambala dares not transmit any further teachings; the poor state of reception and understanding of the already transmitted teaching discourages them from any further teachings. Unity is the keyword of Hierarchy while disbanding such unity has been the activity of unskilful and unawakened humanity. The residents of Shambala carry out effective meditations to neutralize the negative thoughts emerging from the world which hinder the general progress of the world.

Many people are very afraid of the future, and this is exploited commercially by banks and insurance companies also. The insecurity arises from the fear that something might happen in the future. Today, we can insure ourselves against many things but we cannot avoid the course of events. On the spiritual path we have to accept a truth of life: What we have sown, that we will reap. Everything is under the law of the Master whom we call Time. Nothing comes to us without our having done something for it in the past. To realise this is the courage we need.

We should walk the path with courage and trust in ourselves. To read something in the wisdom teachings every day can fill us with courage, willingness and inspiration. Through the teachings we breathe fresh thoughts of enthusiasm and joy. When the inner fiery flame burns, we begin to grow beyond ourselves.

The path to Spirit, to Truth, to Light is for the brave and courageous, not for the fearful. We inspire people through our good deeds and goodwill. When we have really helped a person without any expectations, this is not forgotten. There is an occult statement: “Every person is good at heart. Remember him through your good deeds.” May we have enough confidence and courage to spread goodwill in our daily lives.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Shambala; div. seminar notes. Dhanishta Publications, Visakhapatnam, India (www.aquariusbookhouse.com).