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Seminar Jan.2009
Sri. K.C.Srihari.
Faith, in true sense, is a
lively link connecting the mortal with the
Immortal
Rev.Babuji.
Dear Brother and Sisters
I seek you permission to
share a few of my thoughts on the topic of
faith
Mortality is a fact of life.
All living beings in the world have this.
It signifies that things are temporary and
transient. We observe that during our
lives, there is a change in our physical
appearance, our relations with people, our
place of work, our place of stay, the types
of food that we eat and so on. Even though
one observes all this, there is something
inside that seems to be constant. It is
this something that is connected to the
immortal that brings about an awareness of
that immortal.
Immortality is a
characteristic of Divinity. It means
ageless, eternal, unending and perpetual.
This holy land knows it by the word
‘sanatana’. Abhyasis know it by the name of
Sriramchandra Consciousness. Whenever this
consciousness is poured into us through
Pranahuti by master, the qualities said
above are felt by us. This absence of time,
the continuity of feeling is something every
abhyasi can relate to.
The lively link that makes us
aware of our true nature is the master. In
the beginning, we follow the instructions of
the master due to the trust that what he
says is good for us. As the Master says
“The abhyasi's part is to be perfectly
obedient to the Master. I mean to say that
he should comply with the directions given
to him, having faith, or at least trust, in
the Master, and confidence in himself”1
The two aspects here are
confidence in ourselves and faith in the
master. We start with a confidence that
what the master says makes sense. We may
not know for sure, but a gut feeling is
there. Fortunate are those who do not have
to unlearn the old ways and remake
themselves. The constant play of the mind
to somehow retrofit the system of
Sriramchandra into other systems is
something many struggle with.
The second aspect is the
faith in the master. Faith is akin to a
child that jumps into the arms of the
parent. Initially there is hesitancy.
After some attempts there is no hesitation
and one is convinced of the fact that the
parent will not let go. Our faith in the
master is also similar. The trust we
started with initially slowly develops into
a faith where the feelings that ‘The master
knows what is correct for me’ and ‘The
master is always right’ are felt. Once this
feeling comes, there is an openness felt
towards the master where everything is
placed before him. From here onwards, it
becomes an implicit conviction in the system
and an unquestioning attitude is adopted.
Seeing the parent in front of
you and jumping requires faith to a certain
degree. Jumping with the parent on the back
side requires implicit faith. You just
know. There are no words to describe this
feeling other than saying that the parent is
always there, at all times.
Once this feeling gets
established firmly, the courage to follow
the Satyapad Marg develops. The Satyapad
Marg is the path where we walk with a sense
of being. The One who creates the sense of
being in you is God. That is truth. It is
the master who put us in touch with this
feeling everytime. The sense of being
increases with increase in faith.
The faith in the master makes
us trust others. Master says “Some people
talk of love while others complain of fear.
To them, I have to say that fear and love
both have the same centre. If we drag
ourselves towards the world, things of fear
begin to display their character and when we
are towards the Divinity, Divinity plays in
Divinity itself.”2 The faith in
the master makes us take decisions
confidently trusting the other person.
There is an example my revered father that I
would like to cite. Once there was a person
who was known for his corrupt ways in the
office. When my father took over, knowing
fully well that the person was corrupt, he
gave the keys to the person saying ‘I know
that you are corrupt. But I trust you and
am confident that you will not make the
mistake again’. There was never another
complaint on him thereafter. The
unshakeable faith in the Master is such
where decisions are taken boldly and
decisively. The strengthening of will
happens by such unshakeable faith.
Truth has been put to test at
various times but it has always prevailed.
It is faith that we are following the path
of truth that makes us depend on our
master. We pray to the master with this
faith so that we may not falter on the path
of duty.
It is the master who gives us
the sense of being – the state that we seek
in our prayer. The faith that we have in
him takes us to a state where our
individuality is burnt to ashes and a new
life is ushered in where service is the only
feeling left. Then we start obeying the
commands of the master in all matters and
submit to his will.
In the words of the Master
“True faith is really an unspeakable virtue
which is beyond the scope of religion, it is
the dauntless courage which lead us on to
success, it is that ubiquitous force which
makes our path smooth, it is in fact the
only thing that solves our problem of life”3
Pranams
References
1.
Showers of Divine Grace –
page 60
2.
Showers of Divine Grace –
page 68
3.
Basic Writings of
SriRamchandra – page 250
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