A fine balance between wisdom and courage

Oasis

It is often assumed that wisdom and courage go together when one is facing a difficult situation. The pandemic has shown us otherwise. It has thrown up stories of wise and intelligent people losing their nerve while uncalled for bravado has resulted in avoidable transmission.

The Mahabharata captures this kind of situation. On the battlefield, Arjun’s despondency and the bravado of Duryodhana and Karna capture the essence of this issue with poignancy.

No one, not even Krishna, questions Arjuna’s wisdom. It is derived from the commitment to learn, long experience and the humility that comes from knowledge and discipline. A warrior par excellence, Arjuna was the backbone of the Pandava army. Yet, even as the forces were aligning for battle, compassion overwhelms him and the thought of committing fratricide and patricide becomes repulsive. He makes rational and touching arguments against the war and even offers to give up the desire for the kingdom. Krishna is dismissive and points out that once hostilities have been declared, these thoughts are not wise options but cowardice. Such wisdom at the given point of time only prevents the right action, which is to fight. Courage is the need of the hour.

Karna and Duryodhana, on the other hand, have no such issues. Their preoccupation with power makes these heroes immune to the wisdom of avoiding conflict and saving the Kuru race. In fact, the very courage that Arjuna is hesitant to use made them arrogant. The fact that their army was numerically larger made them insensitive to the consequences of the battle, even for themselves. Self-interest motivates but when it dominates, judgements fail and there is self-destruction.

While wisdom prompts one to look at the larger good and remain unaffected by personal gains and losses, courage without wisdom may push a situation to the brink from where there is no return. While the wise need the courage to take the right action, the brave need the wisdom of restraint. The wise, when forced into a situation, must have the courage to do what is demanded. Bravado must stop, to consider the common good.

The pandemic has reinforced this truth. There are those whose bravado encourages them not to wear masks, even as experts pursue their wisdom without much emphasis on the need for the poor to earn a livelihood. What is needed is the wisdom to take adequate precautions alongside the courage to face a setback or adversity.