Realm of faith

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Realm of faith

 

CHENNAI : Faith is indispensable for spiritual progress. In the 9th

chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna makes this very clear when

He states that those who have no faith in the sacred and sovereign

knowledge He imparts to Arjuna follow the cycle of birth and death

without attaining Him while those who have faith in His teaching get

freed from the miseries of worldly existence.

 

Though the human intellect is a valuable tool in one's spiritual

quest, its usefulness is availed only up to a certain point, since

the profound nature of spiritual matters can be realised only through

absolute faith, pointed out Swami Mitrananda in a lecture.

 

Lord Krishna asserts His Supreme Reality when He says, "This entire

universe is pervaded by Me, the unmanifest Brahman. All beings depend

on (or remain in) Me but I do not depend on them." Thus, for people

in general, the Supreme Being is not visible, though in reality

everything exists because of Him. He is the cause of all existence,

but transcends it in all aspects.

 

The divine paradox is that though He is the sustainer and creator of

all beings, He does not remain in them. A similar situation governs

human life as well. The understanding that one's thoughts or emotions

are present in one's self though the self is not attached to or

associated with them leads to self-knowledge and self-realisation.

 

Only then, the Self is able to distance itself from the body mind

complex. Then emotions such as anger or desire or even one's thoughts

are perceived as temporary and passing states or experiences and seen

as not belonging to the Self.

 

Faith is the stage when one's intellect reinforces one's beliefs and

understanding with clarity. Faith springs from conviction that

transcends the limits of intellectual knowing.

 

Spiritual evolution begins with the realisation of the ephemeral

nature of the world and the determination to search for means to get

extricated from the wheel of Samsara.

 

Human birth offers a wonderful opportunity to strive for liberation.

To understand this is the vital factor. This is the access code to

the secret of life.

 

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