Self-Confidence

Consider a tiny bird which has come and landed on a branch where it continues to sit for some time afterwards. Now, suppose a wind comes up and the branch starts to move, swaying back and forth. The little bird will not get frightened by this movement of the branch. Why? Because it does not depend entirely on the branch for its support. It depends on its wings and so it has strong self-confidence that no amount of movement of the branch would disturb it. Even if the branch were to break, this would not threaten it or cause it to fall. But today's man gets easily frightened by the smallest difficulties in day-to-day life. He does not have the self-confidence which even a little bird has. What is the reason for this? The reason is too much food. He takes in food which is full of dross and which, in turn, generates feelings that are saturated with the quality of rajas, excessive nervous energy and activity, which promotes apprehension and anger. As a result, he has no chance to experience his true nature which is even-minded and pure.

The youth of today have many doubts. They see animals and birds relating to one another in all kinds of ways, enjoying a great deal of freedom. The youth wonder why they should not have the same freedom and independence that the animals enjoy. The proper answer to this question is, "Yes, you are also entitled to freedom, but it is the freedom appropriate to a human being, not that of an animal." Animals enjoy the freedom which is natural to animals. You should enjoy human freedom, the freedom that is natural to human beings.

Live as a true human being; develop the qualities appropriate to a human being. Calling yourself human but trying to enjoy the freedom of an animal will not get you far. The human characteristics are sacrifice, love, compassion, generosity, sympathy, nonviolence and other such noble qualities. Do not develop the qualities associated with an animal. And even worse than that, do not succumb to qualities much lower than an animal, namely, the qualities of a demon such as selfishness, anger, hatred, lust, jealousy and the like. These demonic qualities have no place in a human being.