1999 Ohso International Foundation. St. Martin’s Press
“IF enough Americans were to read the brilliantly provocative words in this book, we might actually become ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave.’ Imagine that!”
Tom Robbins, author of “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”
I love books. I have found treasures in used book stores, tag sales, thrift stores, antique stores, etc. “Courage” I found in an antique store in Pittsfield, Mass. For $5.00. As Mr. Robbins indicates this book is a blessing for anyone fortunate enough to find it. I love it. I could quote the whole book, but here are a select few.
“Looking at the moon, don’t say it is beautiful—unless it is your inner sense. You will be surprised that ninety-nine percent of the stuff that you carry in your mind is all borrowed. And within that ninety-nine of stuff, useless rubbish, the one percent of inner sense is lost; is drowned. Drop that knowledge. Recover your inner sense. . . It is through the inner sense that God is known.”
“Nobody is what he was meant by existence to be. The society, the culture, the religion the education have all been conspiring against innocent children. They have all the powers—the child is helpless and dependent, so whatever they want to make out of him, they manage to do it. They don’t allow any child to grow to his natural destiny. Their every effort is to make human beings into utilities. Who knows, if a child is left on his own to grow, whether he will be of any use to the vested interests or not? The society is not prepared to take the risk. It grabs the child and molds him into something that is needed by the society.”
“In a certain sense, it kills the soul of the child and gives him a false identity so that he never misses his soul, his being. The false identity is a substitute. But that substitute is useful only in the same crowd that gave it to you. the moment you are alone, the false starts falling apart and the repressed real starts expressing itself. Hence the fear of being lonely.”
“You cannot be truthful if you are not courageous
You cannot be loving if you are not courageous
You cannot be trusting if you are not courageous
You cannot inquire into reality if you are not courageous
Hence courage comes first
And everything else follows.”
“Courage means going into the unknown in spite of all the fears. Courage does not mean fearlessness. Fearlessness happens if you go on being courageous and more courageous. That is the ultimate experience of courage—fearlessness. That is the fragrance when courage has become absolute. But in the beginning there is not much difference between the coward and the courageous person. The only difference is the coward listens to his fears and follows them, and the courageous person puts them aside and goes ahead. The courageous person goes into the unknown despite all the fears. He knows the fears, the fears are there.”
PEACE