“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”
- Rabindranath Tagore.
Faith is the reason we persist; the
reason there is order in humanity; faith keeps one grounded and steady. Faith
is the reason we still exist as a race. Faith differentiates between the strong
and the weak. Faith can make and misplaced faith can break.
Human
civilization has come a long way from the cave dwelling hunter-gatherers through
being agriculturists and industrialists to the modern day man. This tremendous
development of the species was possible not only due to the ingenuity of
the human brain or its bipedal, multi-tasking physique, but also to the ability
to believe; its faith in itself and the elements.
Faith
is not an isolated singular attribute. It is but a derivative of numerous
little events. Faith gets conceived and shaped in an individual from birth. The
values passed on by the family, those learned from peers, values taught at
school, form the ‘pig iron’ for building a person’s faith. It is but the wide
world that forms the furnace for forging this pig iron, through experience, into
steel. Endeavour on the path of self realization adds sheen to this faith and
makes it stainless.
The
present day world poses numerous challenges to man. The least conspicuous of
these, is the lack of FAITH. Today’s ‘competitive’ world is driven by lust for
material pleasures. Everything and every action are valued in gold or paper.
Our materially conditioned souls crave no more for knowledge of the infinite,
but for meaningless gains. There is no time or intent for inward contemplation.
Malnourished faith degenerates and leaves one in distress in the face of
adversity.
At
a certain point in life our body signals its inability to put up with our cravings
anymore. It is only then, that we look out in despair for our moorings. Then we
realize how much we are disconnected from our ‘selves’. In a desperate attempt
to reconnect, we start looking for short cuts. We place our faith in god men
and their ilk. Faith in the god man is like a boat tied to the pier. The
turbulence of the water tests the strength of the knot. But what if the pier
itself goes down? More often than not, god men have been seen to have feet of
clay. This is true especially in a country like India, where religion has
turned into a shameless business for some and gullible electorate for others.
True
faith in oneself is like a sailor’s anchor. It is like a direct connection to
one’s ‘ground’, one’s own self. However strong the storm may be, faith keeps his
ship from sinking. Even in the face of the wildest hurricane, the sailor says
to himself, “Just hang on, this too shall pass.”
True
faith comes from within. It does not require external embellishments. No temple
or shrine can give true faith. It comes from belief on one’s own self; from random
acts of compassion. Faith comes from renunciation. When one comes to realize his
true ‘position’ in the creator’s grand scheme of things, faith comes to the
humble. True faith is manifested in active detachment.
“karmany
evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani”
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani”
(Translation by Bhagvad Gita As It Is : You
have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the
fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of
your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.)
- Bhagvad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 47.
