Faith Has The Power To Change Your Life

[Guest guest]

"Without faith in God we cannot perform any action; it is the

Divinity which pervades everywhere and works nonstop."

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba, SSN Summer 1994 p 34

 

"Keep your faith in the Lord undiminished; you can then safely move

about in the world."

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba, TOSSSB p 99

 

"A person with faith in God can overcome obstacles much more easily

than one who has no faith."

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba, TOSSSB p 100

 

 

Some insights on faith

 

Faith Has The Power To Change Your Life

 

Walt Disney died months before the much-awaited opening of his

second theme park at Florida, USA. At the opening ceremony, someone

said to Roy Disney, Walt Disney's brother: "It is a shame that your

brother did not live to see this." Roy replied: "Oh, yes, he saw it;

that is why it is here."

 

Sir Edmund Hillary became the first person to reach the summit of

Mount Everest — but only after failing several times. After one

failure, he shook his fist at the mountain and said: "You have

defeated me, but I will return and I will defeat you, because you

can't get any bigger, but I can." And he did in 1953. If you want to

be bigger, better and bolder, you need to have faith.

 

Jesus was a great healer. His faith was such that he could even

raise the dead. The Bible (Mark 5) records one of Jesus's most

memorable healing incidents. A woman who suffered from severe

haemorrhaging had tried all conventional healing methods with no

success. She believed that if she could just touch the hem of

Jesus's garment, she would be healed.

 

She followed Jesus, touched Him and got well. When it happened,

Jesus turned around and asked "Who touched me?" No one came forward.

Peter who was accompanying Jesus wondered why he should ask such a

question when he was surrounded by a big crowd. But Jesus said, "It

was someone who deliberately touched me... I felt the healing power

go out from me!" (Luke 8:45-46).

 

American diplomat and Hollywood child-star Shirley Temple Black once

narrated an incident about her husband Charles and his mother. When

Charles was a boy, he asked his mother what was the happiest moment

in her life. His mother replied "This moment, right now." Charles

asked further: "But what about all the other happy moments in your

life, say, when you were married?" His mother replied: "My happiest

moment then was then. My happiest moment now is now. You can really

live only in the moment you are in. And that requires unflinching

faith."

 

Great teachers like Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda

derived their strength and inspiration not from muscle, mind or

intellect but from faith. That is why, they spoke a language that

went straight to the hearts of people.

 

Experience strengthens faith. There is the story of a happy husband

and wife in a small town. The wife was cooking and the husband was

watching. She was preparing his favourite dish and everything was

ready.

 

The time had come to add salt to the curry. From the container, she

picked up some salt and put it in the curry. She looked at the

preparation and was not satisfied. She took some more salt but after

some thought she put it back in the container. They sat down to eat

and the husband complimented her: "It is excellent but tell me, why

did you put back the salt in the container the second time?" She

said: "Anubhava: Experience."

 

Those who have faith experience God. They don't see Him; they feel

His presence, sometimes through a spiritual teacher. Shankaracharya

in his Guru Vandana says: "I salute the guru, who by applying the

collyrium of wisdom to the eyes of one suffering from the myopia of

spiritual blindness, opens his eyes to light and truth".

 

A folk song says: "Thank God for unanswered prayers. Therefore, grow

as you need to be a stronger person. When you continue to grow in

faith, great things are going to happen and when they do, you need

strength to bear it. Faith will make you stronger".

 

The Owner of this article is shri TGL Iyer