(In continuation of the previous blog: https://ssfamilyfirst.com/what-faith-is-not/)
Indiana Jones was running away from his enemies when he came to the edge of a mountain. The audience was holding their breath and on the edge of their seats in this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jones (Harrison Ford) continued running. An invisible floor of glass appeared & connected this mountain to the next. What saved Indiana Jones was faith.
Faith gives us a floor to walk on or wings to fly. Faith is that invisible force that makes a mustard seed grow into a tree.
A village had not received rains for long. The temple priest asked the villagers to come for a prayer. On a Sunday morning, the villages gathered at the temple precincts. After their prayer was over, thunder clouds broke out and it rained heavily.
‘Our prayers are answered, our faith has worked’ they said cheerfully. ‘No’ said the priest, ‘you had no faith. Look at that little boy in the corner. He bought an umbrella with him. He knew it would rain. That is what brought down the rains.’
Faith is the silent confidence that you will amount to something.
It is the inner voice that says, ‘if God is with me, who can be against me.’
Swami Vivekananda gives a beautiful anecdote. He says that we are like a crystal ball with light emanating from within. In course of time, dust accumulates on the crystal. Our purpose of life is to keep cleaning the crystal ball.
Keep your house clean, God is waiting to enter.
Wayne Dyer cites an example. When you were a young and travelled by bus, you would hold to the strappings of the railing above. This would prevent you from falling.
Faith is the railing you hold on to with the firm confidence that it will prevent you from falling.
Narayanamurthy proposed to Sudha Kulkarni along the following lines, “I am five feet four inches in height. I come from a lower middle class family. I am a communist and wish to run an orphanage. I will never be rich. Will you marry me?’
Sudha agreed to marry him. She had the faith that this honest man would amount to something. She cooked, looked after his children, worked in the mornings to sustain the family and helped him in coding and accounting in the evenings.
Faith is substance of things not seen & evidence of things hoped for. Sudha carried the umbrella that brought in the rains (Infosys). This rain has employed over two lakh people and supported millions of families.
The Gayathri mantra states:
Om Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha
(you are present everywhere – Faith)
Tat Savithur Vareniyam
(Please connect with me)
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
(Fill my entire being with your spirits)
Dhiyo yonah Prachodayat
(So that the Kingdom of Heaven can come to this Earth and
I (the instrument) can broadcast your message)
Ayyappa is a cleansing process. It is not to make you a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim or a Christian. It is to make you a Shankara, a Buddha, a Prophet or a Jesus.
HAVE FAITH.
Shiv signing off from S & S FamilyFirst.
