Faith Vs. Works

[Gauracandra]

In Christianity there is a philosophical dispute among various lines about whether “faith” or “works” is what is needed for salvation. I think the same issue exists within the Krsna Consciousness community, though the shape may be different. I am unaware of any verses that describe this issue in Vaisnava texts, so as a jumping off point for the topic, allow me to quote from the Bible:

 

James 2:14-18

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?

 

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

 

And one of you say unto them, “Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

 

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

 

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

 

I think the very last verse is very important. There is no way one can prove their devotion to God. But one can show physical proof of one’s actions. Showing your faith by your works. It is a question of words vs. deeds.

 

Now this issue takes on different variations in Krsna Consciousness. One classic example is the “quality of the round” argument. Srila Prabhupada instructed his disciples to chant 16 rounds per day. Now many of us fail to do so, but atleast in failing to do so, there is an objective measurement of our failure. A subtle argument started to be put forth that it wasn’t the “number of rounds” that mattered but rather the “quality of rounds”. As such if a person did one “quality round” that was better than “16 poor rounds”.

 

This is certainly true – quality is better than poor quantity. But quantity is objective, while quality cannot be proven. As such it can act as a convenient excuse to those who wish to use it. Perhaps one may lack faith in the Holy Names, and that some proof of faith would be to chant all 16 rounds, even if it is difficult. Faith that one day a real attraction would appear. As such the objective act of chanting all 16 rounds would be some proof of faith, though not definitive proof of faith.

 

The issue also appears when we discuss whether the number of devotees matter, or the number of temples opened. It is certainly true that “bricks and mortar” is not the point of Krsna Consciousness. Nor do great numbers prove great devotion. But if you have great numbers, and good facilities, it may not prove devotion, but it is a proof on some level of the effort that was put forth. For instance, Caru Prabhu has constructed a beautiful temple. Its not proof he has devotion, but it certainly is proof that something (likely devotion) drove him to construct it.

 

We may say that “numbers don’t matter”. But I would say that numbers certainly do matter. They are an objective measurement of our ability to move the culture in a direction we believe is worthy. Suppose for the moment that in 1000 years from now, the total number of Vaisnava devotees in the world is 100 people greater than it is now. Would we consider that a success? Or would we say that there must have been great mismanagement in the preaching mission to only have gained a net 100 people after 1000 years. Or suppose in the 25 years since Srila Prabhupada’s departure, that all Iskcon temples were reduced to 5 in the world. Would we say that “the number doesn’t matter, it’s the quality that counts.” The numbers certainly would matter. The drop in the number of temples would be an objective sign of something.

 

The issue is a complicated one because there are saints that have not opened great temples (Srila Gour Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj) and there are saints who have (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami). There are previous acharyas who wrote many books (Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur) and those who haven’t (Srila Gour Govinda Swami). So devotion cannot be proven by external works, and works are not necessarily proof that one has devotion. If an issue is in dispute I think works trump “faith” purely because of its objectiveness. I like the way the verse in the Bible phrases the response: “I will shew thee my faith by my works.” This verse opens my eyes on how little faith I have, given how little works I have produced. Any comments?