Fools Happen to be Courageous

No matter how many inspirational movies he watched or how many inspirational stories he read; if he chooses to show valour at wrong time, then he’s surely a stupid. The 288th Chanakya Sutra says:

मूर्खेषु साहसं नियतम्  | i.e. मूर्खो में साहस तो होता ही है  |

“Fools happen to be courageous.“

*  Discretion Is Advised

Usually the terms like courage, valour, and bravery are used to express positive thoughts, but there also exists a version of bravery well known as  stupidity and rest of the article is about the fine line that differentiates valour from foolishness.

Initial Clarification: I never said nor I want to convey the message that fools are courageous.

It will be hard for me to define a foolish person, but I will try. So far there isn’t any exact definition in my knowledge base. I can mention a few traits of not so intelligent man.

• For sure he is someone who acts without thinking about the consequences.
• Fool is someone who lacks competitive intelligence.
• He is someone who isn’t interested in learning.
• He’s the one whose knowledge is confined to books.

On looking around you will find a lot of men with similar traits and with a strange confidence. The confidence that helps them in gathering the courage to perform unplanned activities in life.

Mistakes and accidents do happen in life, but it is stupidity that should/can be avoided. What I mean to say is that in most of the situations, we are quite aware about the outcome. If someone chooses to procrastinate, then the failure achieved afterwards should not be termed as an accident. Instead, it must be considered as an act of foolishness. What else it can be called?

In same manner any business without a proper business plan is nothing, but stupidity. It’s not that big deal (actually it is) to set up a new business, but to operate it successfully for long term. Business continuity plan is a must and if you don’t have one, then you are surely on a high dose of destructive courage or destructive confidence.

On considering the points being stated in previous paragraphs  it can be concluded that fools are full of courage. As wise beings we must understand that we don’t need that destructive confidence for success, but the planning, patience, and determination to achieve what we desire.

Martial arts appear to be very violent from outside. However, majority of the top instructor don’t talk much about aggression, but instead they emphasise a lot on awareness of the situation and surrounding. No self defence instructor will tell you to opt for the fight when there exists a path for flight.

No man or machine (even the one with infinite artificial intelligence) can tell you about what to do and what not to do each and every time.

Words of wisdom are of no use if we fail to adopt & implement them in our real lives. I can keep bombarding you with spiritual quotes, but none will work until and unless you are in correct mindset.

Don’t be fooled by the television and movies where they present totally or partially unrealistic things. It is necessary to do things for right reasons. Don’t join the sheep walk. Using mind is not that difficult or it is?

The quote mentioned at top has multiple valid interpretations. If I missed something then let me know by commenting below.