FAITH – SHRADDHA
“He who has faith has all, he who lacks faith lacks in all.” ancient Hindu sages claim!
Faith is a supreme power in the universe. It is a strong conviction, not to be confused with mere belief. It implies total trust and confidence, giving rise to faithfulness, devotion and loyalty. Marvelous genuine faith is ‘Shraddha’, the greatest virtue. Spiritual life begins with faith. It is the life and soul of all scriptures; the foundation of all religion.
Faith is inherent in all human beings. Man is merely what faith makes of him. As his faith, so is he! Each soul carries the experiences of past lives. Every act, good or evil leaves impressions, the resultant becoming manifest at the time of death as faith. The soul will be reborn with this faith. The nature of this faith will fashion that person accordingly.
It is the intensity of faith that matters. Faith brings hope, brings salvation. Some may show faith towards objects of the world; others, in God. It hardly makes any difference. Faith, strong faith in oneself, staunch faith in God, this is the secret of greatness. Having faith in anything else, be it God, yet having no faith in oneself will not bring salvation. Time has shown that those who had faith in a particular name or form of God achieved wonders through that faith. When faith touches the mind it makes the mind pious and enlightens it. It gives birth to superior thoughts.
Those who have faith in themselves can go to any extent. Those who have lost faith in themselves are as good as dead! Faith makes one strong and another weak, depending on its intensity. Have faith in yourself. Be proud of yourself. Never hate yourself or feel ashamed of yourself or it will be the end of you. Have faith in the perfection of humanity, in your destiny. Faith in God can achieve wonders. It is the only means to attaining salvation.
Faith is of two types, blind faith and genuine faith. Blind faith is not guided by reason. It is based on assumption. Genuine faith is guided by reason. Believers all over the world display faith, accepting the scriptures and worshipping gods or an absolute God. They follow the ‘divine laws’. But these are beliefs based on assumption. They do not try nor are allowed to analyse the veracity of these words. They just accept it. They don’t desire to get to the Truth. They are being preached a religion of blind faith; fanaticism being an offshoot!
The Hindus believe in the Vedas as the revealed word of God. They have as much faith also. But those who want to arrive at the Truth to satisfy their reason are allowed freedom to experiment. This is genuine faith. Hindu religion as expounded by the Vedanta, denies blind faith. According to the Vedanta, religion is science, philosophy and rational. Nothing is to be accepted unless proven scientifically and founded upon Universal Truth.
Vedanta has nothing to do with blind faith. Faith based on rational arguments; the conviction based on the experiences and writings of those ancient sages who have realized the truth; mental conviction is supported by evidence. Conviction that can never be altered, being founded upon Universal Truth! And which may be confirmed by each and every person provided rules are followed. As in every discipline or science, it has its own principles that have to be adhered to meticulously for the best results.
Faith is part of our being, of our consciousness. Without faith nothing can be accomplished. Faith is at the root of our life and our earthly existence. Whatever we do with faith succeeds, otherwise failure ensues. Without conviction of our ability we cannot progress. Absence of such self conviction makes us helpless and end up as weaklings.
Faith is at the root of God consciousness. It is at the very foundation of every religion. It is a kind of self knowledge or self conviction. Each person is the result of all thoughts, deeds and ideas gathered during many lifetimes. The individual soul carries these impressions gathered in previous incarnations. Our faith in this life is the result of all that we gathered in previous lives. At the end of each incarnation, just before death, these impressions come up in the form of faith, giving one a certain conviction that will influence the next life.
Faith is threefold: Sattvic, (genuine & wise), Rajasic (passionate & worldly) and Tamasic (sense attachment; dark & dull, sloth & stupidity; superstition). Sattvic faith is based on goodness, pure knowledge arising through the worship of Gods. It leads to the realization of the highest ideal. Rajasic faith arises from passion or emotion, results in the worship of supernatural beings and leads to selfishness and desire for worldly fulfillment, wealth and power. Tamasic faith arises from ignorance and illusion. There is worship of disembodied spirits of departed ancestors or hosts of ghosts. Believing in their existence, some are ready to invoke them and pray to them. It either brings harm to the individual himself or to others, or leads to torture, pain and misery, without any good results.
Faith being threefold, it follows that methods of worship are threefold. Sattvic faith offers worship to God and deities. All religious ceremonies are performed out of respect, in the name of righteousness, as an act of worship without expectation of reward or desire for the fruit of action. The individual pays respect to gurus, preceptors, scholars. Prescribed gifts (Dakshina) are duly given to them as a token of appreciation, an expression of gratitude for the spiritual knowledge received and its value. Food is offered to holy men and the poor. The pure disciplines of cleanliness, guilelessness, humility, chastity and non violence are followed. The sattvic person does not offend by words, thoughts or deeds. Purity of speech, thoughts and deeds is achieved through self discipline. The person of sattvic faith worshipping God is guided by the deities in life and will attain the bliss of God-union.
Rajasic faith is moved by egoism, hypocrisy, lust and greed. Worship is offered with desire for rewards, boons, powers, phenomenal experiences. They can go to any length to fulfill their ambitions, bribing officiating priests or lavish donations to the holy men and poor with the intention of getting a large reward in return. They worship such beings that can grant wealth and worldly prosperity. By worshipping these beings, they may attract these giants of great power and aggression to them and become their slaves.
Tamasic faith offers worship in opposition to scriptures. They are unholy and attract evil. The prayers are not properly performed. Priests are denied their fees. No food is offered to the holy men or the poor. There is practice of black magic, sorcery and other practice that serve to beguile and mesmerize others. This type of worship attracts the darkest elemental beings, with dire consequences. They can go to any extent of hardship and mortification, practice austerities and indulge in rigorous tortures detrimental to their body as well as the divine presence in them. They become slaves of their superstition and ignorance.
We are what we eat. While the food provides for our physical growth and health, the quality of the food and its preparation affects the mind. It can make the mind calm, excited or degenerated. The types of food too are threefold.
Sattvic food is soothing, wholesome, of pleasant taste that promotes health, longevity, serenity and calmness, mental and physical strength. Such food is for the sattvic temperament: Sweet fruits, vegetables, raw or properly cooked, whole grains, legumes, fresh dairy products, etc. Their nutrient values should remain unaffected or be enhanced. They should be pleasant to the eyes and tasteful, in keeping with body requirements. They promote health, vitality and longevity, goodness and spiritual thoughts. The meal is always offered to God before eating.
Rajasic temperament is fond of food that is bitter, sour, too salty, otherwise strong flavours, hot and pungent. They lead to mental agitation and distress. They arouse pain, suffering and ill health and do not promote a long life. Even Sattvic food may turn Rajasic or Tamasic through improper preparation or preservation.
Tamasic temperaments enjoy food that is not well cooked; either half cooked or overcooked. They are burnt, tasteless, putrid, foul smelling, fermented and impure. They lack the essential nutrients and are not conducive to good health. Food cooked and kept for days, unfit for worship and unwholesome for consumption. Tamasic food poisons both body and mind, leaving no place for a healthy body or spiritual progress.
It follows that donations or gifts are also threefold. A pure or sattvic gift or donation is one given with a pure heart and virtuous mind, to the right person at the right time without any expectation of return. Generally it is made to someone who cannot make any return for it, or even if the recipient can make a return, the gift is offered without such considerations. Being of selfless nature, it brings the donor the greatest spiritual benefit. Sattvic gifts are of three kinds, material in terms of food and money; mental, education for upliftment; and spiritual, for acquiring spiritual knowledge, divine wisdom and god consciousness. The spiritual gift is the highest form of gift.
Rajasic gift is made with selfish motive, the expectation of return, in terms of some future advantage, or the expectation of some favourable result. It is given unwillingly and regretfully. The rewards will be in accordance! However, although defective and negative, more of barter, it is better than absence of charity and might sooner or later lead to unselfish giving.
Tamasic gift is made to unclean people, robbers or doubtful persons; bribes to win favours or advantage. There is no respect on either side. There is no gratitude from the recipient and may be made by the donor insultingly. No religious merit can be expected from such an act. It is detrimental to both donor and receiver.
These three classes of faith prevail worldwide. At different times a person might display any one of the three types; their nature and their spiritual evolution may reveal the predominance of one type. Everything a person does reveal the stage of their spiritual evolution. Their way of eating, thinking, worship and the way they fulfill various duties reveal their real nature.
We should constantly analyse the kind of faith we have: whether it arises from selfish motive or governed by ignorance; whether our faith is rational and founded upon universal truth, the highest ideal. If not, we should strive to improve our spiritual awareness and follow the path of righteousness, of Dharma. Having the ideal of faith in ourselves and practicing it will help avoid all the hardship, bitterness, miseries and evil of life.
The great ones have always revealed faith as the most potent motive power in their life. They succeeded because they had faith in themselves. The difference between who fails and who succeeds lies in the existence or non-existence of faith. Having faith in oneself and standing up to that faith will make us strong. Spiritual advancement should be the prime goal of an ideal human life.