Moral courage is ‘Courage to encounter odium contempt etc., rather than abandon a right course.’ In making a man spiritually sound, moral courage is needed. A person who without fear of being jeered at, mockery from others treads the right path, displays moral courage. On the other hand persons lacking moral courage bow to the will of others, because they cannot face truth boldly. It is the moral courage in a person that forces him to admit his mistake at the very first moment. This action of him makes him popular with the people. He is respected and commands credit in the society.
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Mahatma Gandhi, the’ Father of the Nation,’ was a person with-a frail structure, but he immortalized himself by virtue of his moral courage. He was non-violent even in the face of violence. This was only due to his moral courage. People lacking in moral courage are harmful for themselves as-well-as for the society. They display cowardice because they are afraid of owning their mistakes. They do a great harm to their fellow beings because they wear a veil of truth whereas in reality they are liars.
Moral courage gives impetus to physical courage. However brave a person may be, he cannot do a brave act until and unless he has moral courage. Social service, welfare of fellow beings and rendering help to the weak and the needy require moral courage. To save a child from the stormy river or blazing fire moral courage is needed. Physical courage can only be used for the service of others, if one has moral courage to do so. It is only the inner voice of the soul that urges a person to undergo risks and dangers for the sake of others. This urge comes due to moral courage.
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Regular habits—cleanliness, devotion to duty, obedience to rules of the society—are helpful in developing a clean soul. It is the purity of our soul that is the real source of moral courage. In other words to develop moral courage, development of characters is a must. Character makes a right man and a right man has moral courage that helps him tread the right path of life.
True patriots displayed moral courage and did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives at the altar of their country’s freedom. Swami Dayananda while touring foreign countries showed his love for Swadeshi. This was his spiritual or moral courage that forced him to shun western ways and clothes. When we try to ape others in their style of life, we show a slavish tendency and thus reveal that we have no moral courage.
In student life moral courage plays a great role in making a student in the good books of his lecturers. A student who readily admits that he is in the wrong becomes dear to his teachers. Even for his greatest blunder he is forgiven if he has the moral courage to admit his mistake. For a sportsman moral courage is a boon. He can become a true player only when he has the moral courage to play the game in the spirit of the game. It is the moral courage that ensure victory for a soldier. He faces the foe undaunted under all odds, when he is morally sound or has strong moral courage. In whatever profession a person may be, moral courage is a must to get success and prosperity of life.