Sunday, November 25, 2001		Books

For the Soul — Faith: A Book on Self-Empowerment
compiled by M.M. Walia, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
Pages 63. Price not mentioned.

FOR any kind of submission, faith in own’s self is the first thing which one must develop. It leaves no room for doubt and scepticism. Even in doubt, always try to find its utility to achieve the ultimate through the unknown. Once doubt disappears and trust is established, it is shraddha which leads to success in life.

Another name for faith is trust. For Rabindranath Tagore, "Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark." It is the secret of greatness. It is a prerequisite for success in every undertaking. So first establish faith in yourself. Swami Vivekananda rightly points out. "Losing faith in oneself means losing faith in God." In simple words, it is the "substance of things hoped for". That is way St. Augustine says, "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of faith is to see what we believe." The dull (mind not awakened but fear personifies faith); passionate (moved by power of intellect and cleverness); and the good (worshipper of the beneficent forces) are characteristics of faith.

For God’s sake, never think that faith and rationalism are opposed to each other. In fact they supplement each other because reasoning results in knowledge and it is knowledge which establishes faith. So it is trust in the ultimate reality, which uplifts the mankind. It becomes "a dynamic and constructive force" in our life.

We should also understand the difference between "faith" and "belief". Belief is "superficial and easily shaken" whereas faith makes us "strong and steadfast". So remove the shackles of doubt if you want to gain what Swami Parmananda attained in his life. For him, "faith constructs something beautiful even in the midst of chaos". But doubting mind always destroys even that which has been created for happiness. Doubt also "scatters and dissipates" our energy. "A doubting mind is a diseased mind".

At the same time never try to disturb the faith of anyone because faith is always shape by the background of a person. It changes with the growth of an individual. Faith has to be the essential part of life. Faith in self and God would mean faith in humanity and only then one can do good or nobel deeds for society. Moreover, always keep in mind that scepticism is nothing but a habit. "Then why should we not adopt or cultivate something constructive?" asks the inquisitive mind. Also listen to what the Bhagwad Gita declares: "The ignorant, the faithless and the one with a doubting mind perishes.". Yet the role of doubt should not be forgotten. It has a place in probing the truth because when we are obstinate in knowledge and ignorant belief, we cannot escape errors.

Faith also brings in confidence. Faith comes first and then comes confidence. Faith is the seed, confidence the sprout and devotion the fruit. It means trust in the words, will and work of God. That is why faith and trust are necessary. Thus neither any question is asked for nor any result is sought. Therefore faith must be complete and in certain terms blind too. It should be as total as the "faith of a child in his parents". Moreover, Ramakrishna believes that "blind faith is the only kind to have", otherwise it is something else which may be "a seasoned inference, proved conviction or ascertained knowledge".

Sathya Sai Baba has a different reason to believe. For him, there is nothing like faith. Truly speaking, there can be no reason or season. Like spirituality, it is beyond reason. In fact it is the foundation for the realisation of God. The man of faith is said to be free from fear and anxiety. It is certainly a gift given by divine grace. Your sufferings are mitigated.

Faith without optimism is not possible and any kind of dejection "distorts our vision". But unfortunately faith is often misunderstood. It is considered to be a thing for those who are "ignorant, uneducated and unable to investigate". We should also listen to Abu Hanifah. For him "there is no faith without submission, no submission without faith".

Faith is surrender to the unknown. The latent divinity is awakened within us. In the words of Vivekananda, it is shraddha that "makes one man great and another weak". Nothing can be better summed up thasn what Gandhi glorified the significance of faith. According to him, "A man without faith is like a drop thrown out of the ocean, bound to perish."