Faith is a quality that belongs to bhakti yoga, however in yoga and tantra, faith means awakening of kundalini. Faith belongs to man’s higher evolution. It is the inherent reality of man’s understanding of the deeper nature. Faith is the hidden knowledge in man. Faith is that dimension of knowledge which exists in a person, but has not actually become convincible to him.
The main purpose of faith and trust is to develop love for God, bhakti, even while living in the external, transient world. One does not develop these spiritual attributes merely to solve one’s problems, but to develop an experience of God, to have darshan and merge in Him. This should be the aim: if not today, then tomorrow, if not tomorrow, then in the next life. Love with faith is bhakti.
The devotee will discover that faith brings spontaneity into his life. Even if one does not want to love God, one will love Him. Even if one does not want to surrender, one will have to. Even if one does not want anything from Him, He will give everything. Faith in God brings spontaneous blessings. God also wants spontaneity in His relationship with the devotee. When He gives pain, one must accept it, and not say it is due to a curse or bad karma. People usually think that only good things are God’s blessings, but faith turns suffering into a blessing.
To practise bhakti yoga is not difficult – only faith is required. Without it there is no bhakti, no devotion, but this faith is not in the form of belief. It is a firm conviction which the intellect can never pierce. No logic, argument nor rationalizing can put down this faith which is the deepest personality of everyone. It is not intellectual in nature. It is an innocent conviction, perhaps like that of a child who naturally accepts his mother as such without even questioning its reality even for a moment. When a person has faith it is not necessary to analyse, define or put it under the X-ray of the intellect.
At the beginning of the great Indian epic, Ramayana, the story of the life of Sri Rama whom Hindus respect as the incarnation of the supreme God, the author, a humble man, writes that faith is the ultimate source of power and realization. A man without faith is a man without devotion. Once one has discovered this faith within one can immediately start practising bhakti yoga. Faith cannot be imported from outside through books or holy associations. It is dormant potential lying within. Books written by saints, satsang and the practices of bhakti yoga all aim to awaken faith through which one will have a definite glimpse of God.
The most important things on the path of bhakti are faith and belief. In the Bhagavad Gita (12:2), Sri Krishna says, “Those who, fixing their mind on Me, worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, these I consider to be perfect in yoga.” Faith and belief, or faith and trust, are the basis of bhakti. They are also the basis of one’s life. If somebody were to say that you have blind faith because you have accepted your father as your own father without any proof, then you would regard that person as mad. Faith and belief are the foundation of our life, family, society, and also of bhakti. Even a great saint or intellectual devoid of inner trust and belief is a faithless person.
A faithless person is like a beautiful woman adorned with ornaments but completely naked. Similarly, most intellectuals are rich in ornaments but naked otherwise. Intellect is not the basis of life. Faith and belief are innate qualities in every individual. Without faith and belief one would not survive even for a single day. Faith and belief provide an individual with an identity. Faith and belief are the basis of everyone. When a girl marries she goes to a strange house. She has to adapt and make it her own home because she has to live there for the rest of her life. While she stays there as a mistress, what is the basis of her strength and support other than faith and belief?
In fact, one cannot survive without faith and belief which are the greatest human qualities. If they are channelled properly towards God, life will be full of bliss and wonder, and the journey of life will be completed successfully. This is the best way. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna has declared (9:3): “Men devoid of faith in the dharma do not attain Me, O oppressor of foes, but return to the path of the mortal world.”
I have no doubt that one can be healed due to faith. Many have been healed in this way. Faith is something that everyone can develop. It is a natural quality; one just has to manifest it. One does not have to cultivate faith; it is already there. One may have to cultivate and develop intellect, but not faith. Faith is inherent. Where there is no question, there is acceptance with reason. Belief and faith are inborn virtues of human beings. Intelligence is not inborn; intelligence is developed in school, college or from text books. No one can give faith and belief.
There are many things in life which are based on faith and belief. In marriage, for example, the girl goes to an unfamiliar house where she has never been before. She accepts someone as her husband, saying that they have been together for many births, and they become united. She looks after his children, she becomes a partner in his sorrow and happiness and she loves him. Romance is also there; everything happens. The basis is respect, belief and faith. Without faith, the father is not the father and the husband is not the husband. Without faith a man is broken. He is a person without a head, full of doubts, “Will she leave me, will she betray me?” If he feels like this, he must change. The basis of bhakti yoga is belief and faith, which are both within. Everyone has the raw materials: astha, faith and vishwas, belief. Now they have to make the finished product – bhakti.