What is cowardice in Orthodoxy. Depressive syndromes
Many people today do not consider cowardice to be a sin at all. They think weak-willedness is forgivable for man. In fact, cowardice can lead to very serious consequences, especially if this quality is inherent in a person holding a responsible position. Why is cowardice so dangerous? How to overcome this quality in yourself?
Video: How to overcome cowardice before tests for faith?
What is cowardice?
Cowardice is a trait of a human character that manifests itself in mental weakness, instability, susceptibility to other people's influence, cowardice and fear of acting in accordance with one's beliefs and concepts. This quality is not a temporary condition. human psyche... If it is inherent in an individual, then it accompanies him constantly throughout his life.
Faint-hearted people constantly need approval and support from others. They are ready to easily adapt to other people's interests, to do what will be beneficial in this situation. In conflicts and disputes, a faint-hearted person always takes the side of the majority.
Why do people become cowardly?
Since cowardice is one of the character traits, it can be assumed that his inclinations are inherent in a person even at birth. Some are naturally brave and courageous, while others are timid and cowardly. For one person, it is not so difficult to accomplish a feat, while for another it is an overwhelming task.
Video: Cowardice
In early childhood, parents can both suppress the beginnings and contribute to the development of cowardice in the child. The value of upbringing in the formation of this personality trait plays huge role... If you constantly strive to protect and protect the child from all troubles and problems, extinguish the manifestations of independence, leave the kid's misdeeds unpunished, you should not be surprised that, having matured, he will become a faint-hearted person. People brought up in this way are not capable of noble deeds, they always expect someone to do all the work for them, they do not know how to make decisions and take responsibility for themselves.
The social order also has a significant impact on the formation of cowardice in a person. The environment in which money triumphs over justice, initiative is punishable, bribery and unprincipledness flourish all around, contributes to the strengthening of lack of will and cowardice in a person.
How to identify a faint-hearted person?
Very clearly, the first signs of cowardice are manifested in adolescence... During this period, children are more susceptible to the influence of others. The future of the young man depends on which company he gets into.
Many teenagers, because of their cowardice, begin to smoke, use alcohol or even drugs just because everyone around them is doing this. They do not want to lose the respect of their peers, to be an outcast and "black sheep".
For an adult, cowardice is not just a bad character trait, but also a great sin. It manifests itself in a reluctance to make important decisions, shifting responsibility for their actions to others, a constant search for the guilty, the desire to avoid conflicts through flattery and hypocrisy. Cowardice is closely associated with indecision, fear, selfishness. Such people are ready for anything, just to shield themselves, to appear for others in the right light.
Do you need to fight faint-heartedness?
Faint-heartedness is, first of all, a sin, therefore it is imperative to fight it. It can lead to very dire consequences that people cannot even imagine. If a faint-hearted person occupies a high position and the fate of other people depends on him, the consequences of a decision made not in good conscience can lead to tragedy.
An example of cowardice is the deliberately wrong sentence of a judge, as a result of which an innocent person will be sentenced to long years of imprisonment. This can happen if the person making the verdict received a bribe, or felt the threat of losing his position from higher-ranking people. Unfortunately in modern world this is not an uncommon situation.
Cowardice interferes with Everyday life even the most an ordinary person... Due to indecision, such people find it difficult to create families, fail at work, and have problems communicating with others.
Video: Met. Sergius - Cowardice
How to overcome cowardice in yourself?
If you understand that you are a cowardly person, you should not let the problem take its course and ignore this sin. Faint-heartedness must be done by all means to eradicate in oneself, to exert diligence and to show patience in the fight against it.
Video: Andrey Panasovets "How to overcome cowardice and go through defeat"
First you need to understand what exactly you are afraid of and why, what are your fears based on? Strengthening faith and daily prayer can help fight faintheartedness. However, in addition to this, a person must develop in himself qualities that are opposite to cowardice, overpower himself, try to act according to his conscience. Defeating this quality in yourself is not at all easy, but if you do this, then your life and the lives of those around you will become much better.
Attention, only TODAY!Conversation with Priest Alexy Zaitsev, priest of the Holy Trinity Church in Chelyabinsk
If a person has no willpower, then he cannot do anything ... A person spiritually flies with the help of two wings: the will of God and his own will. One wing - His will - God has forever glued to one of our shoulders. But in order to fly spiritually, we also need to glue our own wing - human will to the other shoulder. If a person has a strong will, then he has a human wing, the resultant with the divine wing, and he flies.
Elder Paisiy Svyatorets
- Father Alexy, what is cowardice?
It is very important to understand the meaning of the concept of “cowardice” at the very beginning of our conversation, since it does not have such a clear and unambiguous expression as, for example, despondency, love of money, lies, vanity.
The Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language, edited by SI Ozhegov, defines cowardice as “lack of firmness of mind, determination, courage”. This kind of cowardice is reduced to indecision, cowardice and affects mainly the emotional feelings and abilities of a person.
V.I.Dal in his explanatory dictionary tries to reflect the deeper spiritual nature of cowardice, defining it as "despair, discouragement." In this case, cowardice turns out to be a consequence of the action in a person of passions such as sadness and despondency, and is synonymous with them.
If we try to look into other dictionaries, we will find new shades of the meaning of this word, and they will all have a right to exist.
That is why it seems to me justified to give the following expanded interpretation of the concept of “cowardice” within the framework of our conversation.
Cowardice is the weakness of a person's soul, which is characterized by a lack of firmness, determination and consistency in actions, up to cowardice and betrayal. Various manifestations of cowardice are most often noticed by us in the sphere of human earthly activities, but they are always the result of those spiritual weaknesses and shortcomings that are hidden in the depths of the human heart. The development of cowardice inevitably leads to discouragement and despair.
In the aspect of spiritual life, by faint-heartedness we mean the absence of determination, the proper attitude of a Christian to follow the commandments of God.
How does strength of mind differ from strength of will? Who, from the Orthodox point of view, can be called a person with a strong spirit?
The specific meaning that is embedded in the words "strength of mind" and "willpower" by different people, can be very ambiguous. Let's define these concepts as follows.
The power of the spirit is the power of the highest sphere of the human soul, which in Orthodox asceticism is called spirit. The spirit by its nature is always turned to God, and it cannot be considered strong if the human heart is not filled with the light of Divine grace, if in its depths coarse passionate urges have not yet been overcome. The action of the spirit is always guided by the Providence of God and is directed only at good deeds pleasing to God. How closer man to the knowledge of the true God, the more his heart is sanctified by the action of Divine grace, the more free it is from passions, the stronger the spirit of man. According to the Orthodox understanding, it is impossible to be a strong spirit outside the true faith and the Church.
Willpower is one of the innate, natural forces of the human soul. It is not directly related to the spiritual and moral perfection of a person and can be aimed at both good and evil. A person with a strong will can be outside the Church, outside the life of grace. During the period of socialism in the USSR, millions of people showed a strong will for the sake of serving the communist ideals. However, outside the action of Divine grace, a person is far from always able to use his strong will to serve the good and for the good of others. Lack of spiritual judgment can gradually bring a person with a strong will to such perverted forms as tyranny and cruelty. Even attackers demonstrate something like willpower when they are ready to sacrifice their lives at the time of the crime. In addition, if a strong will is not strengthened by the action of Divine grace, it can easily be lost by a person. I know a lot of examples of people who in their youth had a strong will, were ardent adherents of high values and ideals, but already in adulthood turned out to be weak-willed and disillusioned with life.
So the person strong spirit om, will also have the power of will, since the spirit, supported by Divine grace, subjugates all the forces of the soul, directing them to serve God and neighbors. A person with a strong will does not always have the strength of the spirit and is not always able to show a strong will as a positive quality of his soul.
Saint Nicholas of Serbia said: “Crime is always weakness. The perpetrator is a coward, not a hero. Therefore, always consider that the one who does evil to you is weaker than you ... For he is a villain not because of strength, but because of weakness. " How to understand these words correctly? What weakness are they talking about?
We noted above that the entire will of a person, as the natural power of the soul, can be directed both to do good and to do evil. The extreme manifestation of ill will is crime.
Nowadays, largely thanks to cinema, criminals are often perceived as role models - courageous, consistent, strong-willed. However, if you look closely at the circumstances of the crimes they commit, then in reality everything will turn out to be completely different. If you look at a rapist who chooses a weak woman as a victim, look at a robber who suddenly attacks a defenseless person with a weapon, look at a thief who sneaks into an apartment at night while no one sees him and the owners are not at home, look at the killer (killer) who fires his ominous shot from hiding - we will see that there is no courage here. For some, it seems like a hero an adulterer, ready to do anything for the sake of "love" for a vicious woman. But if we remember how much suffering and pain this man inflicted on his lawful wife and children for the sake of low passion, we will understand that this man is not a hero of love affairs, but simply a traitor.
Therefore, in criminals and sinners there is only a semblance of courage and willpower. Cowardice and weakness are more characteristic of them. The weakness that they repeatedly fell victim to in their lives: both when they allowed vicious thoughts to captivate their souls, and when shamefully succumbing to this captivity, they embarked on a criminal path, and when they chose the methods of committing their crimes peculiar only to cowards and traitors.
This weakness of the criminals is pointed out by St. Nicholas of Serbia in the statement you quoted - so that people would not be deceived by their false courage and heroism.
The well-known answer of the Lord to the Apostle Paul reads: "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12: 9). What infirmity is there in question? Not about our laziness, despondency, cowardice.
In Orthodox asceticism, the word "weakness" can be understood in two ways. It is necessary to distinguish, firstly, the inner weakness of a person, which manifests itself in the captivity of his soul by various passions, including despondency, and laziness, and cowardice. And secondly, external weakness, which manifests itself in diseases of the body, sorrows and temptations that come from outside, regardless of the will and desire of the person himself.
However, these external weaknesses, on the one hand, for ordinary sinful people, and on the other, for the righteous, marked by God with gifts of grace, have a fundamentally different character. For an ordinary person, bodily ailments, external misfortunes and sorrows are the result of the defeat of his soul by sinful ailments, the action of which has a destructive effect both on his physical health and on all circumstances of life. It is possible to get rid of these infirmities through the healing of the soul from the infection of sin.
For the righteous, marked with gifts of grace, such infirmities are sent by God for the purpose that His saints do not become proud, but always remember Whose power they perform wonderful deeds; so that they are always aware of natural weakness human nature who can easily fall and lose great gifts, deprived of divine grace. The experience of spiritual life shows that a righteous person, to whom much has been given from God, cannot preserve either his gift or the height of life if everything in his fate develops easily and cloudlessly and if various external infirmities, according to the Providence of the Lord, do not temper his heart. It is in these weaknesses of the righteous that the power of God is made perfect.
-Is cowardice related to false humility? If so, how?
We speak of false humility if outwardly a person behaves humbly, but his internal state does not correspond to the external one, and often turns out to be the exact opposite. For example, when a person outwardly shows respect for another, but internally feels hatred and contempt for him; shows humility and solidarity, and he makes insidious plans; he says compliments in the eyes, and exudes curses behind his back.
False humility has various manifestations, and all of them are somehow connected with cowardice.
False humility can be expressed in hypocrisy towards superiors. In this case, a person can easily compromise his opinion, neglect truth and justice; he is ready to endure any humiliation, to make any compromises with his conscience, so as not to spoil relations with stronger and more influential people, not to be left without their patronage. However, in relation to the weak and defenseless, such a person often behaves tyrannically and cruelly. For example, it is not uncommon for a husband, after humiliation and troubles at work, to come home and take out his negative emotions on his wife and children. The Holy Fathers quite rightly insisted that a person's true humility is manifested in relation to those who are weaker than him, and true courage - in relation to the stronger. So, in relation to the boss at work, it would be courageous to express your opinion in order to defend the truth, and in relation to the wife and children - to accept and tolerate their shortcomings.
False humility can manifest itself in hypocrisy towards peers, when a person wants to appear kind and courteous in the eyes of others. If he does evil to other people, it is secretly and surreptitiously. Nowadays, many believe that it is beneficial to appear downtrodden, weak and gray - this way you can better settle in life, as well as avoid many troubles and conflicts. However, people who reason in this way forget that for such a comfortable life they will have to give up their honor and principles, they will have to cowardly keep silent in those circumstances when truth and justice are violated. Such a state has a destructive effect on the spiritual and moral life of a person, finally depriving him of both willpower and fortitude.
False humility can also be manifested in relation to subordinates, when, for example, the boss indulges the sins of his subordinates, is in no hurry to punish them for various disadvantages and blunders in order to win the honor and praise of the people entrusted to his care, to enlist their benevolence and support, as well as to avoid conspiracies and malicious intent of those who may be dissatisfied with his exactingness and firmness.
As you can see, cowardice associated with false humility can be expressed in different ways - from obvious cowardice to more subtle manifestations associated with the passion of vanity.
The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said: "If they had determination, then they would have lived like the fathers who shone forth in antiquity." In other words, there is only one difference between a person who is perishing and a person who is being saved - determination. What should this determination be based on?
There are a lot of temptations and temptations around us, which hinder our spiritual and moral development, constantly throw us back on the path to salvation and eternal life. We often tend to regard these temptations and temptations as harmless and innocent, and therefore do not show the proper determination to avoid them for the sake of the immaculate service of God. Often, the strength of the spirit is not enough for this. The ancient fathers, unlike us, had such a determination, and therefore reached the heights of spiritual life. I think this is how one can briefly express the meaning of the quoted saying of the Monk Seraphim.
Father Gennady Nefedov said: “The first question that a priest should ask a parishioner at confession is: 'Child, what do you believe?' And the second: 'What prevents you from believing and living by faith?' about which the believer informs the priest in confession, and not always deeply repenting of them. " What do you think, if priests always conducted confessions like this, we would have more strong lay people in the faith?
Many priests can take note of this form of confession, but in no case can it be considered universal.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that the clergy performing the sacrament of confession have significantly different experience of spiritual life, and the level of knowledge in matters of faith, and personal disposition. Confessors who bring their repentance are also very different. Therefore, each experienced priest has his own forms of confession in his arsenal, his own approaches - depending on the state of the penitent and the circumstances under which the sacrament is performed.
The main thing is that confession should not be reduced to a formal enumeration of sins, but should encourage the repentant to work on himself incessantly, to really correct his vices and shortcomings, to grow in goodness.
St. John Chrysostom taught: “If all the weeds are torn out in the field, but the seeds are not sown, what is the use of labor? In the same way, there is no benefit to the soul if, cutting off evil deeds, one does not plant virtues in it. " Why do you think today the majority of believers, paying much attention to the search for their sins and shortcomings, at the same time show negligence in the development of virtues (merits of the soul)?
The repentance of a person always begins with the knowledge of the depth of his sinfulness. However, it is possible to eradicate the revealed vices and shortcomings only if, expelling evil, we begin to plant virtues in our hearts that are opposite to our previous sinful inclinations. If you neglect the development of virtues in your heart, evil will return with even greater force. The Savior also warned us about this: “When the unclean spirit leaves a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none; Then he says, I will return to my house from whence I left. And, having come, he finds [him] unoccupied, swept and cleaned; Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and for that man the last is worse than the first ”(Matt. 12: 43–45).
Why does a modern believer too often stop at the stage of knowing his sins and not take the next step towards spiritual and moral perfection? The problem, it seems to me, is that the path of implanting virtues today requires a great deal of sacrifice from a person, giving up many earthly joys and comforts that feed the vices in our hearts. It is very difficult for a modern man in the street, completely enslaved by the material side of life, to renounce part of his earthly wealth for the good of the people around him, which is invariably required by the path of a virtuous life. We can also say this: often there is not enough fortitude to sacrifice part of their earthly well-being.
But here it is important to take the first step. After all, a person who has firmly decided to plant virtues in his heart will soon understand how great the spiritual joy is from doing good deeds, how much closer God becomes to him both in spiritual and in earthly life.
What do you think, maybe one of the reasons for cowardice is that a person does not realize the omnipotence of God, His strength and power?
Yes, absolutely. A person who does not believe in God or has an imperfect faith has to rely only on his own strengths and abilities, to be guided only by the calculations of earthly logic. However, we know perfectly well that a person's own strengths are very limited, and quite often situations occur in life, from which there is no chance to emerge victorious, if we rely only on earthly means. For many, this becomes a reason for cowardice.
Moreover, if people did not trust in God, then many great events, both in personal destinies and in the destiny of our Fatherland, would not have been allowed to happen. Take, for example, the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 by the people's militia of K. Minin and Prince D. Pozharsky. This miracle became possible only thanks to the people's faith in God's help. Indeed, in 1610, Moscow Russia practically ceased to exist: there was no tsar, no government, no system in it. government controlled, no army, no state treasury ... On the side of the Polish garrison in Moscow was a well-trained army of a powerful state - the Commonwealth. If the Russian people relied only on their own strength, the gathering of the militia would seem like a completely insane undertaking, there would be no chance of victory. However, our people strongly trusted in God, and the victory was achieved, contrary to the calculations of earthly logic.
When a person has a living faith in God, constantly realizes the presence of the Creator in his destiny - this is a very good basis for combating cowardice.
Paisiy Svyatorets taught: “When a person is disposed to asceticism, when he prays and asks God to increase his willpower, God helps him. A person should know that if he does not succeed, then [this means that] he either does not apply will at all, or does not apply it enough. " It turns out that in order to prosper spiritually, we must pray for the strengthening of willpower. Besides prayer, what should you do to develop your willpower? How can you avoid becoming overconfident?
In order to prosper spiritually, we ask the Lord for many blessings: for the gift of prayer, repentance, humility, knowledge of our sins ... Including that the Lord would strengthen our will in the struggle against passions.
We have already said that one should distinguish between willpower and fortitude. Willpower is associated with the innate, natural abilities of the soul, and the strength of the spirit - with how much our heart is sanctified by the light of Divine grace, how free it is from passions, how much it can serve as an instrument of God. The stronger the spirit of a person, the more he strives to God, the more he subjugates the power of the will of a person, directing it to serve good.
Therefore, there are two ways to strengthen willpower itself. First, the spiritual path is through cleansing the heart from sinful ailments, through drawing it closer to God. Secondly, the path is natural - through proper upbringing, through the awareness of responsibility for all your actions, through love for your homeland and people, through serving your neighbors, through physical development body, etc.
Only with the help of spiritual exercises, neglecting, for example, education and physical training, the will cannot be made strong. But the neglect of spiritual life in favor of active training makes a person's will defective, and its strength limited. History bears witness to how, even before Christianity, the Roman Empire knew many worthy warriors who showed great courage and heroism on the battlefields. But the same warriors after the battle could become weak-willed slaves of depraved women, capable of the most pitiful and unseemly acts for the sake of their mistresses. The same warriors could become slaves of gluttony and drunkenness, remaining in their pleasant captivity even when it became a threat to their health and life. Therefore, from the Orthodox point of view, if a person's heart is filled with passions, if the natural forces of his soul are not subordinated to the spirit, it is too early to talk about a strong will.
Now let's touch on one more aspect of the question you asked. What does it mean when they say that a person's will is not enough, that willpower is not enough, etc.?
Let me give you a simple analogy. Imagine a young man who is able to lift a barbell weighing 80 kilograms. What if he is asked to lift 150 kilograms? He will be unable to do this, since at this time he does not have enough strength for this. One desire, an effort of will is clearly not enough here, it is necessary to spend a lot of time, to make a lot of efforts in order for lifting a weight of 150 kilograms to become a reality. And if a young man stops training, indulges in bliss and relaxation, then he will not be able to lift the previous 80 kilograms. So it is in the spiritual life. When we apply little diligence to developing willpower, to educating our souls, in difficult life situations our willpower may not be enough, and we will fall into cowardice. If you work hard on the development of strength of mind and willpower, then after a while a lot will become possible for us; and if we indulge in neglect after the first setbacks, we will fall into even greater cowardice and lack of will.
Every Christian is a warrior of Christ. He may be worthy of it high rank, only overcoming cowardice. Unfortunately, the fact that now is the time of weak men is an obvious fact. What should be an Orthodox man, and what prevents him from being such?
In short, an Orthodox man, first of all, must be a faithful child of his mother Church. He must have a living faith in God, actively fight his vices and shortcomings, strive to prefer the spiritual over the spiritual, the eternal over the temporary, the high over the low. He must develop in himself the strength of spirit, which is nourished and strengthened by the grace of God.
At the same time, he, of course, must be a worthy citizen of his homeland, capable of serving her, sacrificing his personal property for the common good; he has no right to compromise his principles, his high values and ideals, either because of cowardice and cowardice, or because of earthly self-interest.
It is also very important that he be a loving husband and father who will never act dishonestly towards his closest people, will not betray them for the sake of windy passionate desires, a comfortable life and personal gain.
The problem of weak men in our society is connected, first of all, with the wrong upbringing. In modern families, practically nothing is done in order to raise the boy as a future father, courageous and responsible for his actions. Increasingly, the child becomes the center of the family, where everyone, starting with the parents, indulges his weaknesses. Among other things, today we have very, very few strong, prosperous families.
Is it worth it in such a situation to be surprised at the weakness and cowardice of modern men, because willpower must be nurtured for a long time and consistently from birth - it does not develop spontaneously.
A well-known Orthodox hand-to-hand instructor said: “Some priests do not bless me to practice martial arts at all. Not understanding the peculiarities of the military path, they deprive today's young generation of physical and military training. And our boys cease to be men already under the wing of the Church. " What can you say about this?
It seems to me that military-patriotic clubs based on Russian military and cultural traditions are little of what today is capable of saving our country from decay, and its male component from degradation. These clubs are needed for boys who need to learn how to defend their homeland and their loved ones. If education in the club is properly set, if the spiritual needs of students are not limited, then this can lead to success in the spiritual life.
Archpriest Igor Shestakov, rector of our church, organized several years ago and still heads the military-patriotic club "Voin". Some guys even came there unbaptized and unbelievers, but in the club, thanks to the church's nourishment, they gained saving faith and received holy baptism. Currently, many of them are active parishioners of various churches of the Chelyabinsk diocese. Thus, the correct upbringing of boys in military-patriotic clubs can lead to birth in spiritual life. I am sure that every priest who cares for such clubs and organizations will give many concrete examples of the above.
Among other things, military-patriotic clubs can make a significant contribution to the power and defense capability of our Motherland, educating its worthy defenders. Their development should be one of the priority areas in the programs state support... Unfortunately, such support is practically non-existent today. Regarding the fact that “some priests do not bless to practice martial arts in general,” I will note: our Orthodox Church has never shared such views. Moreover, in many monasteries Ancient Rus there was an arsenal of weapons, and monks trained in military affairs.
The monasteries themselves were often reliable fortresses capable of repulsing in the event of an enemy attack and sheltering behind their walls not only the brethren, but also defenseless civilians. I'm not even talking about the fact that the mastery of the martial art in Russia was encouraged in every possible way for the laity, regardless of their origin and nobility. After all, the beginning of a regular army was laid in our country only in the 18th century.
However, in more than 12 years of my priestly ministry, I practically did not meet priests who would have been so rigorous about martial arts.
I have heard similar "pacifist" judgments from some priests ... Holy Scripture, nor in the patristic writings, we will not see a ban on self-defense without weapons.
Father Alexy, it is known from the New Testament that cowardice left the apostles after they received the Holy Spirit. Can we say that cowardice is a consequence of a person's non-acquisition of the Holy Spirit?
It has already been said that the grace of God nourishes the strength of the spirit, and a strong spirit directly strengthens the will as the natural strength of our soul. The more graceless a person is, the weaker will is in him, the more he is subject to cowardice.
In addition, the grace of God can impart such strength to the spirit, so strengthen the will of the believer that the ability of the latter can exceed the natural human strength. The era of persecution against Christianity clearly testifies that those who had a pure heart endured the suffering for Christ most courageously and worthily. Those who, by virtue of unresolved sinful inclinations, were little strengthened by the power of Divine grace, turned out to be unable to endure torment and denied the Lord. It also happened that a weak, defenseless woman with dignity endured all the most monstrous tortures, and a strong man-warrior repudiated the Lord in shame and humbly asked for mercy from his tormentors.
The apostles should not be considered faint-hearted people in comparison with their foreigners. However, before the descent of the Holy Spirit, their willpower was within the limits of human nature. The grace of God subsequently allowed them to accomplish what exceeded natural human strength.
If someone knows what decision he must make in order to produce something good or prevent something bad, but does not do it, then this is called cowardice.
Cowardice is the lot of the insignificant. The one whose heart is strong, whose actions are performed in accordance with his conscience, will defend his principles for the rest of his life.
Among the influences that shorten life, fear, sadness, despondency, melancholy, cowardice, envy, and hatred occupy a predominant place.
In a glass, melancholy seeks relief, cowardice - courage, indecision - confidence, sadness - joy and finds only death.
Cowardice as a personality trait - a tendency to show weakness of the soul and, as a result, lack of firmness, willpower, decisiveness, confidence and consistency in behavior, up to cowardice and betrayal.
In the battle of the Trebbia River, in Italy, our troops were commanded by Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. The enemy was four times larger. One of the regiments trembled, lost heart and ran in panic. Suvorov was just there. What can a general do when he sees terror and madness in the eyes of his soldiers? Shoot? Shouting: "Stop?" Suvorov acted differently: “Well done! Lure! ”He shouted. Having caught up with the soldiers running in panic, he galloped ahead, as if leading the soldiers, shouting “Don't lag behind! It's good that you guessed it! Lure, faster, faster, lure! " Having succumbed to cowardice, the soldiers at first did not pay attention to the commander's behavior, behind the French, bullets whistle, you never know what Liaxandra Vasilich is shouting, but Suvorov was already commanding more and more persistently “Smoothen step, let them not lag behind, lure. Lure! " They no longer ran, but retreated in an organized manner. Panic flight and shameful cowardice turned into a cunning maneuver. Suddenly Suvorov commanded "Stop!" The soldiers stopped. "Forward, miracle heroes, hit with a bayonet, stab with a butt!" The soldiers' mood changed, not a trace of cowardice remained. Nearby was their idol - beloved Suvorov. The French had moved too far from the main troops and were now not in the very better position... And they did not expect at all that the frightened Russians were capable of a dagger counterattack. The battle went on for three days. The Russian army won. Our losses are a thousand killed. The French - six thousand killed and twelve thousand prisoners.
“Cowardice will always find a philosophical justification,” wrote A. Camus. Who wants to admit weakness, cowardice, self-doubt, fear of incurring adverse consequences? It is much easier to justify the weakness of the soul by the insurmountable obstacles, the evil fate of fate, the intrigues of others, the changeability of fortune. The faint-hearted does not have a powerful excuse for the unemployed. Petty calculations turn into a hopeless situation in which cowardice could not do otherwise. Detrimental outside influence becomes adherence to principles and commitment. The loss of firm confidence in achieving a goal is due to prudence, agility and a new purposefulness. Faint-heartedness, as a rule, leads to conformism, ingratiation, hypocrisy, servility, fear of open conflict and surreptitious actions.
Often people are faint-hearted, but when they engage in self-deception, they think they are showing humility. Yielding to pressure is not humility. For example, the teacher cannot cope with the audience, is faint-hearted and says to the students: "Do what you want, just attend the lectures." A humble person will fulfill his duties, but he will not allow students to "walk over their heads." He will tell them: “Lack of discipline and humility will prevent you from assimilating the material. I respect you, I understand how tired you are, so I am ready to lecture in an extremely simple way. I am ready to answer your questions. In a word, at your request, we can change the form of presentation of lectures, but I will not let anyone joke with discipline. " Such a person, in contrast to the faint-hearted, will be truly respected.
In the book of G. Belykh and A. Panteleev "Republic of ShKID" just such an episode is described. A literature teacher comes to school. Realizing how dangerous a contingent of students was in front of him, he lost heart, did not dare to reach out to the minds of former street children and immediately began to curry favor with them. Arriving in the classroom, he said: “- Your teachers do not correct me. It hurts too much they are strict with the pupils. There is no camaraderie. The class was surprised to be silent, only one Gorbushka muttered something like "uh-huh". The conversation did not go well. All were silent. Suddenly the teacher, walking around the room, suddenly said: - But I'm a good singer. - Well? - Gromonostsev was surprised. - Yes. I sing arias well. I even performed in amateur concerts. - Oh, you! - Yankel exclaimed with delight. - And you sing to us something, - the Japanese offered. - Right, sing it, - the rest supported. Pal Vanych chuckled. - Say, sing? Um ... And the lesson? .. - Okay, lesson later. Will succeed, - reassured Mom, who did not have a great love for lessons. - Well, okay, be it your way, - the teacher surrendered ... - What can we do with you, you scoundrels! So be it, I'll sing you student verses now. When I used to study, we always sang them. He cleared his throat again and suddenly, beating time with his foot, crumbled in a fervent motive: Do not marry the students, They are fat as sausages, If you want to marry, Find your wife earlier, Eh-eh trully-la ... Find your wife before ... The class giggled and squealed ... Mommy, quietly sobbing with short chuckles, kept repeating, admiringly: - This is great! Sausages. The stormy beat of the song spun the pets. Gorbushka, having fallen from the desk, suddenly began to shuffle in the middle of the class, beating off the Russian. And Pal Vanych sang: Look for a wife in the doctors, They are thin, like matches, But they are as playful as birds. Everybody marry the medic. The guys cheered up and sang the chorus already in chorus, clapping their hands, rattling desks and whistling. The class was rushing about unrestrained: Eh-eh, trully-la ... All marry the medic ... "
John Chrysostom said: "Faint-hearted, not enduring insults, faint-hearted, not enduring temptations." Faith is absent in cowardice. Faith is a connection with someone. A faint-hearted person does not find support in himself and therefore is constantly dependent on the support of others. He will be saved by a society of brave and determined people. Here he can get lost and not discover his vicious personality trait. But when he is deprived of connection with strong people, when he is left alone with himself and with difficult situations of life, fear becomes his master. Cowardice is a consequence of fear, behind which there is no faith.
At the beginning of the reign of the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220), enemy troops made a night raid on the location of Wu Han, the chief of the military order. Everyone around was in confusion, only Wu Han calmly continued to lie on his bed. When the soldiers saw that their warlord was maintaining his presence of mind, their confusion subsided, and they soon came to their senses. Now Wu Hanyu had no time to waste. He ordered his chosen units to launch a retaliatory sortie that same night. Soon the enemy was put to flight. Wu Han influenced his subordinates indirectly, for example, by threatening to severely punish the confused warriors, but extinguished the flame of fear that gripped them. Cowardice was crushed in the bud.
Petr Kovalev
With the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Merciful!
ABOUT YOUNGER
Probably cowardice is the very character trait that unites in itself a whole group of other negative traits, which in turn can be combined with the word "bad temper". But at the heart of this group, of course, is a single source that serves as the cause of the rest of the vices.
On the one hand, the meaning of the word is obvious - the union of the word "small (or in the sense of" weak ") with the word" soul ". On the other hand, it will be useful to define what is meant by a “small” or “weak” soul.
Explanatory dictionary Ushakov DN defines cowardice as "indecision, lack of will, discouragement."
Ozhegov's dictionary: "Lack of firmness of mind, determination, courage."
That is, definitely cowardice is associated with a lack of will, fortitude. But what are the particular traits that represent cowardice?
Pedigree of cowardice
This is, first of all, fear of people, and not of the Almighty. This is self-doubt, manifested in exposure to someone else's opinion, influence. In other words, this is a form of dependence on others, when a person's attitude is determined by human opinion, approval or rejection, but in no way a sense of responsibility to the Almighty or devotion to Him. Porleev S. V. in the "Encyclopedia of Vices" writes:
“Consider a faint-hearted person stupid - and you will not see more absurd actions than those that follow from him. Tell him that he is ordinary, mediocre, cowardly - and for sure: all his manifestations will become unbearably boring, primitive and disgustingly timid. However, for the same reason, if you treat a faint-hearted person with respect, he will demonstrate rare examples of intelligence, dedication, courage. Inspire him that he is brave, and a hero will appear before you, astonishing with his valor and courage. Looking at him, you will not be able to believe that you yourself, by your own influence, caused such vivid manifestations of the human character to be born. Cowardice means that a person has no support in himself and therefore constantly needs the support of others. Only from someone else's opinion and suggestion does he gain faith in his own strength. But if the faint-hearted received the support he needed so much, where does everything come from in him! It is difficult to find a more inspired person then. His thoughts become flexible and witty, his actions become daring and courageous, and his character becomes persistent and strong. Therefore, we have the right to conclude that it is not a cowardly person who is guilty of his shortcomings; it is not in itself that his mental defect leads to constant compliance, weakness of spirit and degrading actions. In the unsightly manifestations of a cowardly character, those around are guilty first of all, using for evil the natural pliability and softness of his mental make-up. Surround a faint-hearted person with brave, smart and worthy people; believe that he, the faint-hearted, possesses the best moral qualities - and then you will witness a miracle. By the power of your persuasion, the ugly duckling will turn into a strong, beautiful bird that will rush off in free flight! "
If we take into account the significance of the sincerity of a person's intentions, even in the most outwardly lofty deeds, then the successes and deeds of a faint-hearted person become not so valuable - because they are made to please others, there is no depth in them, there is no sincerity. In such cases, you understand that it is worth this person to be in another company, and he can do completely different things to please them. Because in different groups there are different systemic values: what is wildness for one, for another may be a manifestation of a creative nature. So, the next quality of cowardice is hypocrisy, ingratiation, conformism. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) defined a hypocrite as a sheep that rushes from one flock to another. Such is the case with a faint-hearted person: his beliefs change with the situation, the group of people or the circumstances in which he finds himself. It follows from this that his own "map of the world" is devoid of clear contours.
Allah Almighty says in the hadith of Qudsi that "the best thing that comes to the heart is deep conviction." A faint-hearted person does not have firm, deep convictions. And his behavior is governed by the instinct of self-preservation.
I would define the essence of indifference to such a property as cowardice. Cowardice to have his own point of view, to defend it, to defend his interests or the interests of the cause to which he is devoted. Avarice is a trait of the faint-hearted. But stinginess is the same cowardice. This is the fear that charity will impoverish him. Or that the debt will not be returned to him. Or what kind word and sincerity will make him vulnerable.
In a religious and spiritual context, cowardice is a lack of determination in serving Allah, following the path of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which includes many signs, both psychological and behavioral. In other words, cowardice is a child of weak faith.
Greenhouses of cowardice
How a person becomes faint-hearted. First of all, upbringing affects. Upbringing in which the child is suppressed, is not allowed to develop, to be sincere, open. When he is put in such conditions that he can get what he wants only by deception, pretense or cunning. Such children grow up smart, nosy, "diplomatic". But these qualities, in the light of cowardice, do not do him credit.
The second is social education. Especially in traditional societies. When, for example, behavior or beliefs that are at variance with traditional ideas about morality and ethics are condemned. Even if a person's actions are absolutely correct.
The third is personal passivity, lack of self-education. Each person in one way or another faces rejection, danger, fear. Faint-hearted people in such situations surrender without a fight, do not make efforts to protect themselves, their cause. Gradually, they get used to living in fear and obeying out of a desire to avoid danger. Thus, they only strengthen this quality in themselves.
It is noteworthy that, despite the fear inherent in them, they are still not safe for others. Because when the situation of fear disappears, they can become the most vile, cruel and inhuman. This only once again underlines their hypocritical nature.
Prayer and Struggle
Man is a slave of the Most High, whose needs, prayers and deeds depend on His will. If someone recognizes cowardice in himself, and Allah will bestow him with a desire to get rid of this quality, then he can turn to the Almighty with a prayer, which was recited by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Its meaning is as follows: “O Allah, I seek Your protection from feelings of anxiety and sadness, from manifestations of weakness and laziness, from cowardice and cowardice, from avarice and the burden of debt, and from oppression from others. "
Another prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, is also quoted:
“O Allah, verily, I resort to You for protection from powerlessness, laziness, cowardice, greed, decrepitude, cruelty, distraction (absent-mindedness), depending on someone, from deviation and being in need. And I run to You for protection from poverty, unbelief, wickedness, misery, hypocrisy, show. And I resort to You from deafness, dumbness, madness, leprosy, decay and the worst of diseases "
A person does not always possess all the qualities of cowardice. Sometimes his cowardice manifests itself in stinginess. Sometimes - in indecision. Sometimes - in pretense. To conquer cowardice, you need to develop qualities that are opposite to it. For example, if a person is stingy, then give alms for the sake of Allah; if he is deceitful, then become truthful; if he is hypocritical, then become sincere and honest.
Along with this, a person should deepen knowledge, increase worship, practice of meditation, because due to interconnection, the improvement of one part of the soul sheds light on others. This is a work that requires patience, endurance, sincerity, and trust in Allah. But how wonderful is the reward of Allah for labors for His sake!
Depressive syndromes are characterized by three main symptoms, the so-called depressive triad: low mood, slow thinking, and motor retardation. The most constant and important component of the triad, especially in mild depression - hypothymia, most often leading to suicide, is a low mood. Therefore, it is so important to start treatment for depression as soon as possible to eliminate the risk of suicidal attempts.
At hypothymia low mood is usually manifested by complaints of weakness, lethargy, laziness, impotence, depression, sadness. Patients do not believe in their strength, exaggerate real difficulties and at the same time reproach themselves for cowardice, inability to "pull themselves together." Many of them simultaneously complain of a painful feeling of their mental change. They say that they have lost the opportunity to enjoy various personal or social events, perceive their surroundings less fully, and have lost interest in many things. It - melancholic depersonalization... Mild depressive states are often accompanied by tearfulness, irritability, grumpiness, resentment. Cognitive activity with them is slowed down, impoverished, the figurative component of thinking is lost, in consciousness involuntarily arising thoughts, painful in their content, prevail, in which the past and present are presented only as failures and mistakes, and the future seems aimless. It is difficult for patients, and sometimes even completely impossible, to concentrate, think, remember anything else that has nothing to do with their real state of health.
With hypothymia, patients are inactive, movements are slowed down. The consciousness of the disease, sometimes exaggerated, is always preserved in these patients.
With the intensification of painful disorders, the affect of melancholy appears, and often accompanied by pain in the chest area or, - the so-called atrial melancholy. Most often, patients describe their melancholy mood with the following words: “the soul hurts,” “the soul is squeezed,” “burning in the soul,” “melancholy presses,” “aching melancholy,” “tears the soul apart from melancholy”. Melancholic depersonalization also changes. Patients begin to complain of a feeling of inner emptiness, complete indifference, the disappearance of all feelings, even in relation to loved ones - the so-called painful mental anesthesia. In this state, patients say that they have become petrified, numb, become dull, ruthless. It - anesthetic depression.
In other cases, patients talk about a feeling of change. outside world- "the light faded, the foliage faded, the sun began to shine less brightly, everything moved away and stood still, time stood still" - the so-called melancholic derealization... Often, depersonalization and derealization disorders coexist at the same time. As depression deepens, self-esteem also changes. Self-reproaches are replaced. Patients begin to accuse themselves of various crimes, debauchery, selfishness, callousness, demand a "fair trial" and "deserved punishment", say that they are unworthy of attention, in vain they take their place in - depressive delirium of self-accusation and self-abasement. A type of depressive delirium is also the delirium of ruin and impoverishment, especially frequent among sick elderly a reason, but always insignificant, not corresponding to what the patients are afraid of or blame themselves for. Movement disorders can reach in these cases the intensity of a depressive sub-stupor and even stupor. The appearance of such patients is characteristic - they are inactive, silent, inactive, they sit for hours in a bent position or lie motionless. The expression on the face is mournful and monotonous. If they turn to them with a question, they answer in monosyllables, often in a whisper, after pauses. It is necessary to distinguish an apathetic state from a depressive stupor. Apathetic (adynamic, aspontaneous) syndrome is a lack of motivation for activity combined with powerlessness and indifference both to the environment and to one's own state. With apathetic syndrome, there is no delirium, melancholy, as it can be with a depressive stupor. Patients can lie motionless and silent all day or sit, almost without changing their posture, not paying attention to those around them. Questions are usually answered with “yes, no” or with a monosyllabic question. Often the patient is vaguely aware of the abnormality of his condition.
The symptoms of depression are especially intense - both in the lungs and in severe cases - in the morning hours, while in the afternoon or in the evening there can usually be an objective and subjective improvement in well-being. This distinguishes them from, in which the state of health always worsens in the evening.
Along with the listed variants of depressive syndromes, which are typical, there are a number of atypical depressive syndromes.
Dysphoric depression(dysphoria) is characterized by a combination of a low, dreary or dreary-anxious mood with variously expressed irritability, often turning into anger with aggressive actions. In a state of dysphoria, patients do not find a place for themselves, experience an irresistible need for movement, become obsessive and annoying, picky, impatient, and unhappy with everything. Often during dysphoria, sufferers try to commit suicide. Usually, mood changes with dysphoria are acute and may also disappear. Their duration usually ranges from several hours to several days - a week. Occasionally, dysphoria continues for months.
In agitated depression, anxious and melancholy mood is combined with speech and motor excitement.
About availability agitated depression First of all, such statements of patients testify, in which it is said that either themselves or their loved ones will soon suffer misfortune or catastrophe. Anxiety can be pointless - the patient, remaining in the dark about the future, is waiting for trouble all the time; in other cases, the alarm is specific - “they will shoot”, “kill”, “throw out into the cold”. Patients usually talk a lot. Their statements are extremely monotonous, their content reflects the prevailing mood and delusional ideas. The speech consists of short phrases, individual words, often accompanied by groans, groans, lamentations. There is a constant tendency of patients to repeat with anxiety many times in a row without interruption any word or short phrase - anxious verbigeration. Motor excitement (agitation) is manifested by restlessness, constant walking, and frequent change of posture. Many patients say that they cannot find a place, that something "tempts" them to walk. Reverse motor excitement increases when talking with patients. Sometimes agitation suddenly takes on the character of frenzied excitement with self-torture and attempts to kill oneself - melancholic raptus. With mild agitation, an important sign indicating its existence is the wringing of the sick fingers of the hands.
