Faith, belief and Shraddha.
Many at times, we face the question, Is faith
necessary?
The answer is that we are surviving every second
because there is something called Faith. Every moment is moving from the known
to the unknown. The known is minuscule compared to the unknown dimension.
In nature, every life happens with faith as its
foundation. The plant grows roots with the faith that it will find water. A
creeper holds on to a big tree with the faith that it will support the creeper.
We all go to sleep with the faith that we will wake up the next morning. Every
moment, as the unknown unfolds, we move on in life with faith only.
Faith comes within the sphere of logic. Faith is
built based on enquiry. For example, we have faith in one doctor because he
seems to have treated a disease very well. We have enquired about the doctor
and built faith on him.
Faith is very functional and is focused to that
particular function only. I may prefer to learn Yoga from a particular teacher
as I have done the necessary enquiry and have concluded that the teacher is a
good yoga teacher. Faith is focused only for the yoga teacher role of that
person. Applying this faith when the teacher gets angry and saying that she is
not a good yoga teacher, does not make any sense.
The Sanskrit equivalent for faith can be related as ‘VISHWAASA”.
All of us have a set of beliefs that does not
come under the purview of logic. We create a world within us with Our beliefs.
A beautiful analogy shared was that the waking worlds that we see is like the
day part of the Earth and the unknown subconscious world, created by our own
belief systems is like the night part of earth and the entire Brahmand. The
known and the seen is very small compared to the unknown in the subconscious
that includes the fantastic dream world also.
We are often
stuck in life with such unknown situation and we cannot find any solution for
that. For example, you have prepared very well for the exams and but you are
anxious because you are not sure that you will be able to write all answers
right. You may not get the questions what you have prepared, or you may forget
all that at that moment, or the time given to you will not be sufficient. There
is no way you can do something to verify for anything. That is the moment you
have to have something on which you can surrender which is like Lord Ganesha
and in your heart say to Him, “Oh Ganesha, take care of me”. This Ganesha
cannot be verified and also cannot be established by logic. How can a God be
there with elephant head? A person with other religious or cultural background
may not accept it. But it is important for you personally. This is called as
belief and we believe that one unknown power will help us in anxious moments.
This is called as Matha in Sanskrit. In the world every culture has its own
stories regarding its belief system. But this is to be able to function in the
world outside.
Belief is very personal to an individual and
cannot be explained rationally. People with similar beliefs come together to
celebrate life. Society and culture is built on such belief systems.
The Sanskrit equivalent for belief can be related as “Matha”.
For an individual, both Vishwasa and Matha are
for the existence in the outer world.
Shraddha is
turning to our inner world.
Shraddha is for inward journey to find an answer for spiritual journey ‘Who am
I? ‘. Shraddha is quoted in scriptures or seen in such persons who appear to
have treaded this path of self-discovery. Shraddha helps us to adopt the bhava
of surrender in order to proceed into this unknown called spiritual journey.
“Shradhavaan labathe jnanam” – as SriKrishna says in
Bhagavad Gita, an individual with Shraddha is the one who gains knowledge.
When one surrenders his unknown to the bigger
unknown, Shraddha sets in. To cultivate Shraddha is a sadhana in itself. The
following qualities help one nurture shraddha.
Pranipatena – Humility, where we are at the feet of the master.
Pariprashnena – Question with the complete
surrender attitude of “I don’t know”.
Seva – Service bhava.
Jitendriya – rising above the level of senses.
Hence, in whatever action we do, when we do with
Shraddha, we are aware that the bigger unknown sails us through this life of
samsara and we totally surrender to the supreme reality.
- Yogashree Raghuramji
September 9, 2018