Talk:Shraddhā or Deep Faith in the Lord
By Vishal Agarwal
Many great deeds in this world are accomplished when the doer takes a leap of faith. There is a limit to our knowledge and ability to rationalize. Deep faith (Shraddhā) plugs the gap resulting from the incompleteness of our knowledge or direct experience. For example, a child who cannot walk leaps into the arms of his parents because the child trusts that his parent will catch him and prevent him from grievous injury that will result from falling to the ground. If the child lacks that faith and loving trust in his parent, he will never dare to leap.
Faith is like a mother for the Yogi. Just as a mother does not let her baby fall while he is learning to walk, so does faith does not let a Yogi give up, and keeps supporting him till he becomes adept in Yog. Vāchaspati Mishra’s Tattvavaishāradī on Yog Sūtra 1.20
Most of us who are on our spiritual journey to reach the Divine have not yet experienced the Lord. Nor do we understand his unfathomable, transcendent nature. Till we experience and see the Lord, we must have faith in the teachings of our scriptures and our Gurus so that we can keep marching on towards the Divine without stopping and truncating our journey. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that one who has neither knowledge nor faith perishes-
But the ignorant person, who has no faith, and who is doubting perishes. For the doubting soul, there is neither this world, nor the next, nor is there happiness for him. Gita 4.40
A Hindu Guru explains why faith is important for one’s spiritual progress- “You must have faith in the words of great men or else, to know the truth of such matters, you must practice yog strictly observing its rules. It may not be practicable for all those who ask questions or harbor doubts about the Vedas to practice yog in this manner. Even if you are prepared to accept the words of a true yogin, how are you, in the first place, to be convinced that he is indeed a true yogin and not a fraud? Altogether it means that you must have faith in someone, in something. Later such faith will be strengthened by your observations, inference, and experience. There is no point in speaking to people who have either no faith or refuse to develop it through their own experience.”[1]
Therefore, faith is the first step towards greatness. The following story illustrates this-
Vinoba Bhawe’s Mother Instills Faith in Her Children
When Sant Vinoba Bhawe was a little child, his mother told him one morning, “I want you to worship this Tulsi plant in our courtyard every day, and worship it as a symbol of Devi Lakshmi.” Vinoba laughed and said, “A plant is not God. Why should I worship this plant? I think it is a waste of time.” The mother replied, “It is a sacred Hindu tradition that our family has followed for several generations. Therefore, I want you to water and worship the Tulsi plant with Shraddhā every day.” To keep his mother happy, Vinoba did as told. His mother taught him and his siblings many other simple activities to be performed daily with Shraddhā. It was a result of her teachings that Vinoba and his siblings all grew up to be great individuals. Vinoba Bhawe himself is worshipped as a Sant. When he was dying, the Prime Minister of India cut short her trip to Moscow and returned to India to be next to the Sant on his deathbed out of regard for him. This example from Vinoba’s life shows that parents should plant the seeds of faith in their children through the performance of simple acts from a very young age in their lives. Over time, these seeds of faith can germinate and blossom to become giant plants of greatness. Keeping faith is of utmost importance not merely in the initial stages of our spiritual journey, but throughout. Krishna declares that anything that is performed or practiced without faith does not bear fruit at all, Bhakti not excluded- O Pārtha, whatever is offered during Yajna, given in charity and whatever austerity is performed without faith, it is called ‘asat’ (false or fake), because it is of no consequence in this world or the next. Gita 17.28 Throughout one’s spiritual journey, even after one attains spiritual greatness, it is important to keep faith. In Gita 12-13-19, Krishna enumerates the qualities of his dearest Bhakta-s and then adds another verse at the end saying that of all his Bhakta-s, one who practices these qualities with full faith is the one dearest to him- Indeed, they who, with faith, follow and honor the path of this Immortal path consistent with Dharm described before, regarding Me as their Supreme goal – those Bhaktas are extremely dear to me. Gita 12.20
The following story illustrates the importance of faith in the path of Bhakti-
Rāmānujāchārya teaches the Importance of Faith to His Students
Some street urchins were playing a game on a sandy stretch of a sidewalk. They fashioned a Mandir on the sand and crafted a Murti of Bhagavān Vishnu inside it. Then, the kids conducted a Pūjā with great faith and love. After the Pūjā was over, the kids picked small amounts of sand and offered it as ‘Prasād’ to passers-by. But most passers-by merely laughed at the kids’ game and threw the sand offered to them mockingly. However, when Shri Ramanuja walked by and saw the kids’ Mandir and their devotion, he prostrated down on the street and bowed to the sand Murti and the Mandir. His disciples were amused and asked him, “They were just playing a game. Why did you take the trouble to prostrate to their sculpture?”
Ramanuja said, “Bhagavān dwells wherever there is innocence, faith, and devotion. Did you not see these qualities in the eyes of the kids? They genuinely believed and saw Bhagavān in their sand Murti. And therefore, Vishnu indeed exists in the Murti and I bowed to Him.” While practicing Bhakti, one may suffer temporary setbacks. But if the Bhakta has sufficient faith, he will regard his misfortunes as a part of a Divine Plan for him and use the circumstance to enhance his Bhakti even further. The following story illustrates this- Nanda’s Misfortunes Enhance his Bhakti and Shraddhā There was a trader named Nanda. He was a devoted worshipper of Bhagavān. He lived his life happily with his wife and son. Nanda had a neighbor named Satyavrat. Now, Satyavrat was an atheist and had no belief in Bhagavān. Outwardly, he was very polite and kind to Nanda. But in his heart, Satyavrat always thought, “When will I get an opportunity to prove to Nanda that his belief in Bhagavān is a waste?” One day, the only child of Nanda suddenly died of illness. His wife could not bear the shock of her son’s death. She too passed away after some time. Nanda was greatly grieved, and Satyavrat came to console him. After some time, Satyavrat said to Nanda, “Friend, I have wanted to say something to you for a long time. I think that you have wasted all your life in the worship of Bhagavān. If there was any use of worshipping, then why would your wife and son die? I think that all these religious ceremonies and rituals are an invention of crooked priests, who want to squeeze money out of gullible people in the name of Dharm. If there was any value in practicing Dharm, then why would people who practice Dharm die, or why would their family members die? Look at animals like cows, goats, and birds. They never worship Bhagavān, and yet they seem to be happier than most human beings. And I think that there is no Bhagavān at all. There are no Devas at all. If they had existed, then why don’t we see them?” Nanda replied, “It is foolish to say that we should stop practicing Dharm just because I have lost my family members. People die in every family. The death of everyone who is born is the rule of Bhagavān. I disagree that Bhagavān or Devas do not exist because we cannot see them. Just because a blind man cannot see the sun does not mean that the sun does not exist. Thousands of Rishis and Saints have seen Bhagavān and Devas. If we follow their path, we will surely see them one day too. Moreover, I disagree that all Dharm and religious ceremonies are a fraud. It is the command of our Rishis and saints, who lead very pure and good lives, that we should perform these worship ceremonies. Just as every Kingdom needs a King, just as every complex machine has a creator, similarly Bhagavan is the King and the Creator of this Universe. I will not lose my faith in Bhagavān because of the misfortune that I have lost my family. Now that my son and wife are gone, I am freed of my worldly duties. Now I can devote even more time to spiritual matters. I practice Dharm not to gain power, wealth, children, wife, home, or any other worldly object. I practice Dharm out of faith in Bhagavān, in our scriptures, and the words of our Rishis and Saints. Whatever Bhagavān has done to me must have a reason behind it. And I think the reason is that Bhagavān wanted to free me from all my worldly duties so that I can come closer to Him faster.” Saying this, Nanda gave his entire possessions to charity. Then he left the city and went to a forest to devote his entire time to meditation and worship.[2] Faith in Bhagavān also inspires us to do the right thing at every moment. He who has no faith in the scriptures, in his Guru, or Bhagavān will compromise with his values and forsake Dharm and Bhakti towards the Lord at the slightest temptation and opposition. The following story illustrates how a powerful King, who had faith in Bhagavān, emulated Him and showed kindness to even an animal-
The Faith of Maharaja Pratap Singh
Maharaja Pratap Singh (1848-1925) of Jammu and Kashmir was a very religious Hindu King. Every day, he had Brahmanas perform various Pujas in his palace and gave charity to scholars. Some of his family members objected and said, “What is the use of wasting money on all these activities?” The Maharaja replied, “By the blessings of Bhagavān, I have a lot of wealth. There are many other people in this world who too have a lot of wealth, but most of them use it for wasteful purposes. At least, I am doing something good with my money.”
The Maharaja had utmost respect for the Brahmanas and cows. He got several temples constructed in his kingdom and banned the slaughter of cows. Once, he was walking on a street accompanied by many government officials. They saw a cow ahead, partially blocking the road. A courtier of the Maharaja promptly rushed forward and shooed the animal away. The Maharaja was not pleased. He said, “I could have just walked around the cow. If Krishna could roam naked feet in forests to take care of his cows, why can’t I just walk around a cow that is resting peacefully on the street? Henceforth, do not trouble the cow for my sake.”