Swami Kripalvananda
Swami Kripalvananda Quotes about Courage
Unfortunately, you cannot do away with mental unrest by meditating for a day or a month; you must make regular and untiring efforts for many years. As the sadhaka (one who practices meditation) goes on eliminating and removing the causes of mental unrest, states of mental peace are generated. When the sadhaka attains higher states of meditation, streams of peace start flowing into the sadhaka’s mind, generating such qualities as modesty, enthusiasm, courage and patience. Subsequently the sadhaka becomes addicted to meditation.
The path of yoga is so completely full of innumerable difficulties that the sadhaka who cannot fight against those difficulties with enthusiasm, faith, patience, and courage will never tread the yogic path.
On the yogic path, various experiences occur which help increase the sadhaka’s faith, courage, knowledge, enthusiasm, devotion to his Guru, devotion to yoga, and finally his or her devotion to God. Initially, the sadhaka gains an understanding of the lower chakras; later the understanding of the middle; and finally understanding of the higher chakras unfolds. Besides this, the understanding or various asanas (postures), mudras (gestures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal from sense objects) and jyoti darshana (vision of divine light) is accessible through experience. Thus the practice of yoga itself unfolds the knowledge of more advanced states of yoga.