Tarcisius Toppo
Salesian College | Dimapur
Many activities require courage, a human trait which we all admire. We admire the courage required to explore the wilderness and that is the reason why great explorers become famous. We honour statesmen and leaders like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Gorbachev, who fought all odds to achieve their goals. We admire religious reformers like, Gautama Buddha, Mahavira, Swami Vivekananda, Guru Nanak, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sankardeva, Mother Teresa etc. We also have the social activists like Arundhati Roy, Kiran Bedi and many others who are the voice of the voiceless, supporting the causes of the underprivileged and exploited.
These people exhibited remarkable courage by way of their ideas, interventions and reforms. They sailed against the current and fought through to achieve their aims and objectives. Instead of conforming to the norms, they thought and acted differently for the greater good of humanity. The February issue of *India Today* highlighted the 24 brave hearts who were awarded the National Bravery Awards and honoured with a royal ride on the Republic Day parade 2007. These ordinary children showed extraordinary qualities and remarkable courage and certainly inspire all of us. Their bravery proves that heroes can be ordinary, everyday people. Courage sometimes, takes strange forms as shown by these children - courage of speaking the truth, of taking the road less traveled, of defying odds, and of course risking one’s life to save others.
We may, at this point ask ‘what is courage?’ Courage can be defined as fortitude, the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. It can be divided into physical courage – in the face of physical pain, hardship, and threat of death, and moral courage – in the face of shame, scandal, and discouragement.
Changing to something new, willing to leave our comfort zone and move past those that stand our way in taking another road requires personal courage. It is taking risks and moving forward to the next level, in doing a new thing, in a new way. Occasions always arise when we have to display our courage. Courage to share individual gifts, to heal, speak out against exploitation and injustice, to stand up to peer pressure, to speak out for something one cares about, to think differently, speak out for someone, to express oneself, transform oneself, travel into an explored path, discover the impossible, combat the problems, leave bad habits, etc. However, one should not forget the fact that heroism is all about taking risks with ideas, with conventions, sometimes with life itself.
Having courage is a choice that we make. And fear is the enemy of courage. As Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of Burma and presently in house arrest, says, ‘the only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.’ We can either live in fear or be willing to accept that we are fearful but not allow that to paralyze us into not moving forward. Because courage is not the absence of fear as most of us conceive and imagine of it. It is neither the absence of failure nor always getting everything right or being perfect. For Noah of the Bible, courage was to build the Ark in spite of ridicule, for David, it was to fight Goliath in spite of his size, for Peter the Apostle, courage was to step out of the boat in spite of the rising waves, for Gautama Buddha it was getting out of the family, for Mother Teresa it was leaving the Loretto convent. As John Wayne says, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
Living in an age of rapid social and technological change, shifting values, powerful interests groups, choosing to go in the right direction can be a tough job. Their influence and hold on us can be very powerful that it may sometime seem impossible to break the fetters. But as we travel through life there are times when decisions just have to be made. Choices can be hard and solutions scarce. We may find ourselves drenched and soaked with problems of all kinds. However, one should not forget that the process of change is always a tough one. But if we are courageous enough to take risks, things to come surely will be different and more exciting.
The need for good and courageous citizens is a concern of modern democratic societies, especially when democratic systems are misused or used for selfish motives and purposes to increase violence and racism and attack human rights. But it is only when we are convinced and committed that change takes place. If you carry on going marching ahead boldly, there will surely be a brighter tomorrow. If we aren’t of the same mind, aren’t committed, don’t have conviction in our hearts, then we set ourselves up for failure. As good citizens of a great nation let us all resolve to work with courage to achieve success in all our missions.
