Glory of Divine Faith

April 27, 2008

The tree of Life is sagging laden with luscious fruits of faith.

The society survives on faith. The children put their sole faith in the

parental love and protection. The wife takes it for granted that her husband

will shoulder all responsibilities and look after her. Rue huibiaj

in his turn truly believes that his wife will devotedly serve him all his life.

Students rely on their teacher for their education and the latter fondly helps

them. The in charge will come up to his expectations. In all day-to-day

transactions of the mundane world domestic academic, official and commercial

the undercurrent is faith. None can toil on the barren field of faithlessness.

It is contrary to human nature.

Man's intelligence simply shows the way; but faith, being dynamic,

drives him into action. It inspires invigorates and impels him to dream great

things and make his dreams come true.

Generally, we are so assured of doctor's advice and the medicine,

that we accept it as a gospel truth and act immediately without' question. So

those who believe that the stars are influencing their lives, give credence to

the astrologer's words in sorting out their problems. In all these cases, there

is a chance that our mentors are likely to err and fail us, man being an

imperfect and selfish creature. God, the unseen seer is alone infallible,

generous, trustworthy and a sure shelter in our hours of trial.

Pages of all religious scriptures are replete with amazing

experiences of devotees, who have totally depended on this unseen power at all

times. Bhaktha Prahlad

stood severe ordeals for his deep conviction on the existence of all pervasive

Lord Hari ultimately his beloved Lord emerged as Narasimha Avatar from the

pillar, when it was challengingly kicked by the devotee's demoniacal father Hiranyakashypu.

Another episode relates to the saintly lad Markandeya,

who was doomed to die at the tender age of sixteen. In utter belief in the Mahamrittunjaya mantra, Markandeya

even conquered death! Such are the adventures and thrills of divine faith! When

we pin our faith in the invisible power, Dr. W. Layton Gaubert

says, ''We are sowing to the spirit, and we begin to understand what it means

to live a life more abundant, the life everlasting”. Faithfulness and

truth are most sacred excellences and endowments of the human kind.

Were it not for the true articles of faith, Shri

Shankaracharya could not have founded his Muths from Badrinath to .Kanchi, Swami Vivekananda, the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Shivananda, the Divine Life Society, Sri Narasimha Swamiji, Sai Movements all over India and Mother Teresa,

her institutions of charity for the destitute. The list is endless.

Among Sai devotees, who have not heard Baba's assurance:

" Why fear, when I am here? Cast all your burdens on Me, I shall bear them. " With what bonds of love He must have' uttered these words!

Among the millions of

devotees, how many feel light when they leave their cares on his motherly laps

and go' about their duties

with sunshine of joy

sparkling on their faces? We must confess that many of us have not adequately

surrendered to Him like the example (cited by Shri

Ramana Maharshi) of a traveler,

boarding the train who, depositing the luggage’s on

the berth or down his seat, travels lightly. While traveling who carries the

load on his head?

A master of the Theosophical Society writes,

" Unless there is perfect trust, there cannot be the perfect flow of love

& power. " In Gita, Bhagawan

says, " Lay down all duties in Me, your refuge;

Fear no longer, for I will save you from sin and blind age. " Such a

devotee knows that all his cares are God's responsibility. Rare indeed are the

devotees of this order! Never do they feel for anything.

But, faith and devotion do not imply that the retributive law of

Karma is annulled. Dr. Rabindranath Tagore wrote: " Faith is a bird that feels light when

the dawn is dark. " Which, as I understand is this: the devotee in his

absolute absorption in his Guru or God does not feel the onslaught of sorrow?

That is God's protection. Although the devotee outwardly is busy in the

work-a-day world, still inwardly he has cast himself off at the feet of his

Master. To attain this unique state, one has to undergo the trials of life with

patience and perseverance in his devotion.

Considering the situation of the man, encumbered with various

distractions, he is far from being happy. His mind is swayed by the injurious

influences of the magazines accenting on sex, of social clubs having cards and

gambling sessions and movies elaborating moral turpitude, etc. His faith in God

and in godly things is flung to the winds and meanders to these momentary

excitements. Shri Krishna calls such a man as “Ashradhadhana

Purusha " (the one without fault) and says they

are bound to be reborn in the

world of pain and suffering. However, a time comes in the

life of this corrupted one when his life is overshadowed with black clouds and

be loses hiss balance.

Fortunately, by the grace of God, he seeks divine guidance and

protection in complete surrender

like a baby

snuggling close to its mother's breasts, when there is sudden thunder and lightning. To sustain and perpetuate his

surrender to the divine

grace, a total overhauling

of his emotional machinery is a necessity. Precisely for this

purpose, religious institutions are set up throughout the world. These associations are exceptionally suited for the religious temperament and they have

a chastening influence on those, who have gone astray.

Chandigarh

(Source Sai Leela Magazine Aug 1980)