If you think, by having faith in God, you are doing a favour to God, you are mistaken. Faith gives you strength instantaneously. It brings you stability, centredness, calmness, and love. You having faith in the Guru or God does not do anything to the Guru or God
There is a story about a Japanese newlywed couple who were on their honeymoon in a boat and suddenly a big storm arose. The lady got perturbed, but the man was very calm and continued to smile as usual. The lady asked him, ‘I am so nervous and so afraid that this boat may capsize, but you are so calm. We may drown and die.’ Suddenly, he took out his dagger and put it to her neck. She started laughing and said, ‘Is this the time for mischief? Think about our future.’ He said, ‘Why are you not scared? I have a knife!’ She laughed, ‘When the dagger is in your hand, why should I be worried? I know you won’t do any harm to me.’ He replied, ‘I have the same relation with nature and God. When my life is in His hands, I know He won’t let me down. I am not afraid because the strings of my life are in His hands. So why should I worry?’
And the story goes, in that very moment, she also became prayerful like her husband, and the sea calmed down immediately.
There are two types of faith. One is the faith born out of fear, greed, and insecurity; and the other is the faith born out of love — like the faith of a child towards his mother, or the disciple towards the Master. Whereas faith out of love cannot be broken, faith out of fear and greed is always on shaky ground.
During the time of reaping the harvest, the farmer holds a broad sieve and puts all the grains into it, and stands on an elevated platform and shakes the sieve. The husk flies away in the air and is lost. But the grain falls to the ground and remains there. If your faith gets shaken very quickly and too often, then your faith is like the husk. If your faith gets shaken quickly when the slightest difficulty strikes, you will not be able to face the situation with your smile intact. If you do not have faith, you will go into fear and depression. You will not have anything to hold on to. If you have faith, you will be able to find a ground. And when you have faith that everything will be all right, everything will settle down.
People lose faith when they need it the most. That is why even faith is a gift. It is not your making. It is a gift given to you. Not having faith is a misery because faith brings you instant comfort. It is only with faith that you can work through the struggles and difficulties in life.
When you lack faith, happiness is neither in the inner nor the outer world. Happiness springs forth from faith.
If you think, by having faith in God, you are doing a favour to God, you are mistaken. Faith gives you strength instantaneously. It brings you stability, centredness, calmness, and love. You having faith in the Guru or God does not do anything to the Guru or God.
While reasoning keeps you sane and grounded, no miracle can happen without faith. Faith takes you beyond limitations. In faith, you can transcend the laws of nature provided your faith is pure. Faith is beyond reason, yet you need to have faith in your own reasoning! Faith and reason cannot exist without each other. Whenever reason or faith breaks, confusion and chaos prevail, and that makes you grow, too!
An atheist goes by reason alone, and a believer goes by faith. Sometimes, believers use God as an insurance policy! An atheist rationalises everything to keep his eyes shut to reality. Death shakes them both! When someone close dies, an atheist’s eyes are opened, and a believer’s faith is shaken. Only a Yogi — a wise one — remains unshaken. For that person has transcended both reason and faith. We need a balance between faith and reason.
The mind wants to reason everything out, find out all the answers. The first thing we have to understand is that the mind is so small and insignificant in relation to this vast creation that it is impossible to know all the secrets of the Universe. When you know you know so little, then faith dawns. Shraddha in Sanskrit means that which you don’t understand, cannot understand. Shraddha is to fall in love with the unknown.
In Science, you know first, and then faith follows. For example, people learnt about chemical fertilisers and started trusting them, applying them in their fields. This faith and understanding change when science evolves. But in spirituality, faith comes first, and then knowledge follows. For example, when you meditate daily then the knowledge of consciousness comes to you. This is the beginning of one’s journey towards the infinite.
Faith is a Quality of Undivided Consciousness
That in which you have faith, do not make it an object of knowing. Faith is the nature of an undivided mind, undivided Consciousness. You have faith in God, do not try to know God; you have faith in Self, do not try to know the Self. You can’t have faith in that which you make an object of knowing. For example, a child does not make the mother into an object of knowing; it simply has faith in the mother. You cannot make love an object of knowing; if you try to make love an object of knowing, if you try to know it, it will disappear. In the same way, you cannot make the Self or God an object of knowing. God, love, sleep, and Self are beyond knowing.
During the pujas and homa ceremonies, so many mantras are chanted; many of which you do not understand, but you have faith that they are working, and then it becomes your experience — you feel the energy, you feel the calmness descend in you.
The moment you make something an object of knowing, then analysis begins, and then doubt follows. Analysis creates a distance, synthesis brings it together. Faith is synthesis, knowing is analysis. Consciousness cannot exist without faith. Faith is a relaxed, stable quality of consciousness. The nature of consciousness is Faith.
Three types of faith that you need
You need to have faith in yourself, faith in the world, and faith in God. You need to have faith in yourself; otherwise, without it, you end up thinking, “I can’t do this. This is not for me. I will never be liberated in this life.” Then, you must have faith in the world. Without this, you can’t move an inch in the world. Banks give you loans with the faith that you will pay it back. You deposit money in the bank with the faith that it will be returned. If you doubt everything in the world, you will never be able to relax. The same is the case with faith in the Divine — have faith in the Divine and you will evolve. All these three faiths are connected. You must have all three for each to be strong.
Confidence is the result of faith, and faith is the beginning. Faith in yourself brings freedom. Faith in the world brings you peace of mind. Faith in God evokes love in you.
When you are calm within and have your faith, then you have a formula to face any situation. Having faith is to realise that God’s protection is there for you. Having faith is to realise that only the best happens for you. This much faith is enough to move ahead in life.