Miscellaneous - Religion   

Need for faith

CHENNAI: In spiritual lore knowledge of the Self (Atman) is often referred to as the sovereign science to distinguish it from all other knowledge. Self-knowledge liberates the one who gains it from ignorance, which is the cause of bondage. Hence one who has this insight is referred to as a man of wisdom (Jnani). Just as a matchstick lit inside a dark cave removes the darkness instantly, so also does man’s eternal bondage gets snapped the moment knowledge dawns.

In his discourse, Swami Mitrananda said spiritual knowledge was said to be esoteric and taught to only those who qualified for it because the mind had to be trained to receive the wisdom (the mind must not be judgmental). Hence Self-knowledge is an open secret and not deliberately kept a secret.

Unless the spiritual seeker has the innate urge and thirst to know, his mind will not be able to grasp the teaching. In order to sustain the interest of His disciple without demoralising him from pursuing it by sounding abstruse, Lord Krishna while teaching this supreme knowledge spoke reassuringly to Arjuna when he displayed his eagerness to learn from Him, “It is a sovereign science, and a profound mystery. Supremely sanctifying, demonstrable by experience, and yielding imperishable results, it is also easy to achieve and is in agreement with the moral law.” Then He cautioned that faith in the (scriptural) teaching was paramount to realise the spiritual goal, and that the person who does not have faith would be entangled in transmigration.

The importance of faith is reiterated in the Upanishads in Guru-disciple dialogues. One classic example is the repetition of the experiential truth, “You are that (Absolute)” to Svetaketu by Uddalaka (the Chandogya Upanishad) several times till he experienced the truth. The seeker must have faith in himself also because the preceptor will not impart the teaching if he does not have the potential. Finally, he should have faith in the Supreme for it is divine grace that will enable the seeker to overcome his ignorance. Faith is not blind belief but conviction born out of intellectual clarity by reasoning the import of the teachings in the mind after learning from the preceptor.

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