Cowardice – In Gita Verse 1.45 Better for me if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.
Arjuna, a warrior destined by lineage, stands amidst the throes of Kurukshetra, where the path of duty once lay unequivocal and resolute before him. Yet, the Bhagavadita’s profound narrative, witnesses a crucial juncture where tussles with trepidation in the depths of one’s spirit. Here, in the unvarnished expanse of the battlefield, the essence of fearlessness unfolds – not as the denial of apprehension but as its acceptance, woven into the fabric of our lived reality.
Cowardice, the insidious shadow of the ego, thrums in tandem with the pulse of fear, driving us into the alluring yet deceptive refuge of bravado. This bravado is but an ornate mask, a grand performance specially constructed by the ego in its denial of life’s inevitable impermanence and our own mortality.
Within us, cowardice and fearlessness are kin, not adversaries. A retreat into cowardice is a submission to the intimidation of fear, an evasion of the authentic self and the essence of who we are meant to be. Fearlessness, conversely, is the acknowledgment of fear as an integral element of the human condition, coupled with the audacity to look beyond it with eyes wide open, stepping willingly into the promise of our uncharted potential.
This ritual of charade, of playing parts to hide our true selves, is a drama as old as time. Below layers of feigned courage, insecurity lurks; beneath the facade of wisdom commonly rests undiscovered ignorance. In this masquerade, our concealed frailties dictate the roles we play.
The path to transcending fear doesn’t lie along the avenue of analysis but in the quiet space of observation and experience. To truly understand fear is to encounter it directly, devoid of judgement or notions of rightness, embracing the vulnerable process of introspection and growth.
Reflecting on Arjuna’s tale of valour and reluctance, we observe his descent from determined warrior to a man desiring defeat without resistance – a journey marked profoundly by the light of consciousness. Fear and duty entwine, but it is awareness that serves as the guiding star, liberating us from the ego’s tight grasp.
The demarcation between the timid and the intrepid is illuminated by the radiance of awareness. Fearlessness is realised in the acceptance of fear as a companion in one’s journey. It is a beacon that guides our sense of duty, driving us forward, free from the shackles of our illusions.
Arjuna’s inner transformation offers a powerful testament: courage is not the vanishing of fear but its metamorphosis. It’s about actively engaging in the multifaceted battles of life with genuineness and integrity, not to dominate our fears with delusion, but to meet them openly, shoulder to shoulder with our truest selves.
It is time to drop the guises of cowardice and bravado and to assume our roles with sincerity, just as Arjuna ultimately did. Let us confront our vulnerabilities and recognise that our strength manifests in witnessing our true selves, in living with conscious presence, and in tackling our fears head-on. In doing so, we step into the authenticity of our being, aligning with our deepest duties to self, society, and the sublime thread of the universe.
Tags: Cowardice
