The greatest courage is to let go of pride
and admit to our mistakes.
"Hanuman Burns Lanka "
by Harish Johari
(Click the picture for a larger image)
Veera or Courage is the Rasa of fearlessness, self-assurance, determination, heroism, valor, and perfect control of body and mind.
In ancient India, Veera people were warriors and kings who fought in accordance with the rules of dharma. Still today, the Veera Rasa lives in many people who are modern-day heroes, who serve as great examples to others and young people in particular. Courage aids everybody when challenges need to be faced in life. In doing sadhana, Veera is essential.
There is only a thin line between Courage and pride or arrogance. For real Veera, the ego must be in control and controlled at the same time.
Mastering Courage
To become a real Veera person requires a lot of patience and training. The required neural patterns need to be developed step by step until they are real brain highways that can be taken without effort.
Double-click on this video link to watch a free teaching clip on Courage
(more rasas teaching clips)
Competition is a main aspect of the Veera Rasa and it is very useful to test and improve one's abilities. But if one takes losing or winning too personally it becomes a problem.
Whatever courage and strength or skill one has developed, talking about it will reduce it. In these days of competition, commercialization and promotion, that is a very difficult fact to deal with.
The Courage Rasa Veera may also bring a desire for freedom or independence, which is an illusion. Everybody and everything in this universe is interdependent. Dependence only becomes a problem when we have insufficient courage to do our duties and stick to our basic needs. Then we become dependent on others who are not depending on us.
