Courage.
Fear.

Don't be afraid of death, nor of the storm of water and fire. This life itself is water and fire. Don't try to stop it, but rather become like lions. Teachings of Babaji, P.9.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows. Matthew 10:28-31

The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world! John 16:33

I want to make everybody brave. Man's blood has become like water. So many attrocities are done, and people let them happen in the name of non-violence. Non-violence is not for this. I do not want people to be blind when they have two eyes in their heads. Teachings of Babaji, P.25.

You all think devotion is fun. Some day you will have to jump without fear of life or death; then you will be able to make progress. When the time comes, you will have to walk through fire and water. Only the man of courage can live through this time. Teachings of Babaji, P.26.

(...) You should be brave and courageous - afraid of nothing. You should not be afraid of being burned by fire or drowned by water. If you are brave and courageous, nothing will harm you, not even the atomic bomb. You must be fearless for yourself and for all humanity. Teachings of Babaji, P.32.

Your faith must be as mighty as Mount Meru. Even the sun and the moon can move from their course, but the faith of a devotee should not be shaken. A true devotee will be ready to shed his life for God and will have faith to his last breath. Never be moved by false doctrines. You are protected in every moment. Teachings of Babaji, P.37

Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. Matthew 7:24-25

Walk on with courage and bravery. Go on working to improve humankind and establish the Path of Truth. (...) Fight for truth! To face life you must have great courage every day. Teachings of Babaji, P.46.

I want to weed out the prevailing non-violence in the world. It is a cause of apathy and idleness. This non-violence has cooled the blood of men so that it has become like cold water. This attitude of non-violence produces a lack of discrimination between good and evil. Everyone should lead a life of bravery and courage. A man without courage is like a dead man. Life without courage is no life. At present, many atrocities are being committed in the world. Human beings are treated like animals. No one has had the courage to stand up against these atrocities but everyone should be brave and resist them. Everyone must be of firm determination and stick to what he believes to be true. Be constant in your actions and dutiful. Teachings of Babaji, P.55.

Now, you brave ones, be ready for work! Be brave. I like brave people. I dislike cowards. Now people with courage are needed. It is better to die, facing life with courage. To live as a coward is shameful - it is better that the coward drown himself in the river. There is no place for cowards. Awake! Arise! Be brave! (...) Teachings of Babaji, P.66.

What I want to instill in man is courage. I want to have a creation of courageous people.(...) Only courageous people can survive such critical times. I have spoken to you many times about the extent of the calamities to come. They will be so terrible that people without courage will die instantly from heart failure. We have to have courage to face floods, fire and storms. We have to go beyond the fear of death and the hope of life. Teachings of Babaji, P.93.

There is no place for fear; people must work fearlessly in the world.(...) when a man is fearless, no man can stand against him in battle - either a battle in material life or in spiritual life. He is victorious in all the battles of life. Teachings of Babaji, P.99.

Peace is what I leave with you; it is my won peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid. John 14:27

In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world. John 17:33

Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health. Matthew 9:22

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Ps 118:6

"I am a servant of God. God gives me his protection. Why should I worry about anything?" Shri Prabhupada, the founder of Krishna Consciousness Movement

So do not let your heart be distressed, or play the coward. Trust in me, and have confidence in my mercy. Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, III.30

What you need most in this dark journey is an unfaltering trust in the Divine guidance, as well as the courage to risk everything for Him.  In many ways the journey seems to be a foolish gamble.  And you may well make many mistakes. (...)  If God calls you to Him, then He implicitly promises you all the graces you need to reach Him.  You must be blindly faithful to his promise. Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. PP. 243-244. Submitted to L-Center Discussion Group by Gary Horn ghorn@uswest.com

My angels, do not be afraid of injustices. They have always existed. Our Lady of Medjugorie, June 27, 1981. Words from Heaven, P.90.

Be in peace and take courage. Our Lady of Medjugorie, June 27, 1981. Words from Heaven, P.90.

There is only one God, one faith. Let the people believe firmly and do not fear anything. Our Lady of Medjugorie, June 29, 1981. Words from Heaven, P.91.

Be without fear. I am close to you everywhere and at all times. Our Lady of Medjugorie, August 30, 1981. Words from Heaven, P.100.

Be persevering and courageous. Do not fear anything. Pray and do not pay attention to others. Our Lady of Medjugorie, February 25, 1982. Words from Heaven, P.125.

(To Mirjana - one of the visionaries of Medjugorie) Now you will have to turn to God in the faith like any other person. (…) You must remain courageous. You have quickly grasped the messages. You must also understand now that I have to go away. Be courageous. Our Lady of Medjugorie, December 25, 1982. Words from Heaven, P.140.

Do not be afraid. Confide yourself to the Father. Pray until you are sure that he guides everything. Our Lady of Medjugorie, 1986. Words from Heaven, P.389.

(Commemoration of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095) See that you buy the field where the Pearl is; sell all,  and make a purchase of salvation.  Think it not easy: for it is  a steep ascent to eternal glory: many are lying dead by the way, slain with security. [Samuel Rutherford (1600-1664)]. Submitted to CQOD Discussion Group by Bill Blake at pilgrimwb@aol.com.

I have written a lot abut the perilous journey.  My intention is not to make people scared.  'Pay no heed to anyone who tries to frighten you or depicts to you the perils of the way', writes Teresa.  'What a strange idea that one could ever expect to travel a road infested by thieves for the purpose of gaining some great treasure without running into danger!' (Teresa (3), ch.21)  The treasure is the thing.  And it is worth any effort and risk.  But the thieves are there too, and it would be unrealistic to overlook them in one's journey towards wisdom." Johnston, William. Silent Music:  The Science of Meditation. PP. 102-103.

(...) gird up your loins; stand up and tell the people everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the kings (...), princes, priests, and the people of the land. Jeremiah 1:17-19.

Wisdom, compassion and courage - these are the three universally recognized moral qualities of human beings. Confucius, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom, P.126.

God grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), an influential Protestant theologian, quoted after: Novak Philip, The World's Wisdom, P.277.

(...) when your heart becomes paralyzed by fear, your vitality is low and disease germs get a chance to invade your body. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.94.

Fear was given to man as a cautionary device to spare him pain; it is not meant to be cultivated and abused. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.94.

Do not paralyze your will and nerves with fear. When anxiety persists in spite of your will, you are helping to create the very experience you are dreading. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.94.

Whatever it is that you fear, take your mind away from it and leave it to God. Have faith in Him. Much suffering is due simply to worry. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.95.

Be fearless. It is the only way to be healthy. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.95.

Fear is constantly haunting you. Cessation of fear comes with the contact of God, nothing else. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.95.

Be afraid of nothing. Hating none, giving love to all, feeling the love of God, seeing His presence in everyone, and having but one desire - for His constant presence in the temple of your consciousness - that is the way to live in this world. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.128.

Danger and you were born together, and you are the elder brother, more dangerous than danger! Do not lose the courage and determination (...). Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.191.

Let us proclaim to every soul: Arise, arise, awake! Awake from this hypnotism of weakness. None is really weak; the soul is infinite, omnipotent, and omniscient. Stand up, assert yourself, proclaim the God within you, do not deny Him! Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, A Biography, P.120.

Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. (...) And it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment. Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, A Biography, P.190.

If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bomb-shell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word fearlessness. And the only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness. (...) It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignorance of our own nature. Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, A Biography, P.191.

(...)
In the battle the cowardly, from fear of their lives,
have chosen their means of escape.
But heroes are borne forward by their fear and pain.
From fear, too, the weak soul dies within itself.
Tribulations and fear for one's life are touchstones
to distinguish the cowardly from the brave.

Rumi, Mathnawi IV, 2881, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.77.

What really matters is openness, readiness, attention, courage to face risk. You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope. In such an event, courage is the authentic form taken by love.
Thomas Merton.(1989). Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander. N.Y.: Image Books. P.208.

The fear of change is the fear of disruption, disintegration of one's own inner unity and the unity of one's accustomed world. (These two are inseparable.) Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, P.208.

(...) I don't trust people who claim that literature uplifts them by displaying noble sentiments, people who want the theater to give them a show of heroism and purity. What they really want is to be persuaded that it's easy to do good. Well, no! It isn't easy. (...) Heroism, greatness, generosity, abnegation, I agree that there is nothing better and that in the end they are what makes sense out of human action. (...) The Writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vol.2. P.160.

It isn't at the moment of our torments that we can invent the courage to resist them. If we find we have courage, it's because it was already there. It's faithfulness and hope and love that give it to us. (...) We'll become heroes if we've simply learned to do our job as men, that is, if we are able to love what we love all the way. The Writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. Vol.2. P.215-6.


Last updated: 2006/11/08

See the related subjects: Discipline, Faith, Fear of God, Leadership

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