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Faith and Courage Represent the True Attitude for Facing Life and for Spiritual Progress · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  One of the qualities that Swami Vivekananda emphasized is
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  fearlessness. We may wonder why courage and
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  fearlessness are such important elements in our lives.
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  If we live a relatively safe external life and don't engage
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  in extremely risky behaviour. We may also wonder why they are
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  important elements for the spiritual seeker.
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  First, with respect to the external life, there's really no
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  truly safe existence. If we constantly spend our time
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  and energy worrying about whether we will be able to earn
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  a living, whether the food we eat is healthy, whether we are
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  taking care of our bodies correctly.
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  If we can approach other people and socialize with them without
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  being rejected or even made the butt of humor, we will quickly
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  find that we live in a state of what the existentialists call
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  nausea. This is a state where we are
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  constantly afraid, anxious, and unprepared to deal with the
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  situations that arise in our lives.
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  This does not have to go to the level of life and death
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  experiences such as soldiers face in warfare or dealing with
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  a pandemic. In our town, we're even dealing
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  with local bullies who haunt our schools and neighborhoods,
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  threatening violence if we do not do what they demand of us.
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  Yet it might rise to that level of existential fear,
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  particularly if we have not taught ourselves how to face
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  these uncertain or even dangerous situations.
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  Fear tends to call upon us those things which we fear as we set
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  up a vibratory pattern that attracts the object of our
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  fears. With respect to the spiritual
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  seeker, many people believe that meditation, deep contemplation,
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  inward spiritual focus cannot be a cause of fear and therefore
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  they cannot appreciate why courage is a desired and even a
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  required element in the spiritual practice.
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  They imagine spirituality to be filled with peace, joy and
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  well-being. And of course, there are such
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  times that come to spiritual seekers during the development
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  of the sadhna. But spirituality also requires
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  us to confront old habits, face down tendencies that have driven
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  us in the past, and may bring about tension between the
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  spiritual seeker and those people with whom he has built
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  his past external life. But it can go even further.
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  As new energies pour into the seeker, as chakras open, as new
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  insights arise, there can arise serious imbalances that can lead
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  to mental imbalance, emotional disturbance, vital disruptions
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  and physical breakdowns which can lead to illness or death.
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  It is one reason that the guidance of an experienced
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  teacher is highly recommended so that the seeker can more or less
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  safely traverse the inner landscape and find some kind of
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  balance at each stage. One of the elements of achieving
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  fearlessness or courage is the element of faith in the divine
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  power and grace that is actually carrying out the
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  transformations. The more we can accept that they
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  are working for the long term result we aspire for and are
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  there to provide us guidance, support and protection, the
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  easier it is to develop the kind of fearless attitude needed,
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  Sviro Bindu observes quote. Faith and courage are the true
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  attitude to keep in life and work always and in this
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  spiritual experience also in moments of trial.
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  Faith in the divine protection and the call for that protection
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  at all times. The faith that what the divine
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  wills is the best. End Quote reference Sri Orobindu
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  and the Mother looking from within.
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  Chapter 5. Attitudes on the Path, page 131.