Living with Faith

Living with Faith



Pain, deep emotions and sorrow are written all over the face of this little girl. Dark brown eyes full of hope, flowing dark brown hair, fair complexioned skin and hardly eight years of age. Her appearance is shabby. Clad in ragged clothes and torn slippers, she has poverty written all over. What really catches a philosopher’s attention though, are the brightness in her eyes that speak not just of hope but more so of belief. Her belief is a very interesting thing to dwell upon.

Her name is Rehana, a small girl in Afghanistan living amongst debris. She is not the only child who lives such a life in this country. Conditions are not ideal for normal life considering the political and economical state of the country but hopefully things will get better. Kabul, once a beautiful and prosperous city of Afghanistan is in the valley of the glorious Hindukush.  Today, it paints a very sorry picture yet teaches us some great lessons.

Rehana lost her parents in the war (which dates only a few years back). Now she is an orphan and lives with a neighbor family, which too has lost its home due to the war. They live in the debris of a building that had been bombed and lies in an extremely dilapidated condition. For many in this world, it’s the most hopeless situation that can be. But Rehana still nurtures hope, she still has faith. Faith in the fact that the world goes round, that good times follow bad times, that the more bad time you spend the closer you get to good times, that goodness and illness co-exist, that the almighty is always fair, that life is fair, and that losing hope and willpower in bad times would be lack of character. In spite of being a little child living in debris, Rehana does not judge her destiny or others. She believes in the fair almighty, in the fact that she is not supposed to judge others. After all, she is not an appointed judge.

Since Rehana does not judge her future, so mustn’t we. But one can surely learn some lessons from her. The belief and hope that Rehana applies in her material life, a spiritual seeker can apply in his or her spiritual practice - that of hope, that of belief in the Master, that of not trying to judge. Whatever be our state, level or experience in true spiritual practice, one must always have faith in the Master. He is a giver and we are mere seekers. He is our savior. It is our faith in the Master which provides us with the energy (that can take the form of willpower, purusharth, strength to sustain meditation for long periods, experience of vibrations, performance of service or seva, staying on the right path in life, transformation and progress in the spiritual journey). Thus for a spiritual seeker, the most important factors are faith and devoted service at the holy feet of Sadguru lord.

One must never try to judge the Master or the Almighty. One must never try to judge the Eternal Judge. Perhaps, many of us need to learn a lesson. Let’s pledge for faith, let us all pledge to follow the teachings of Sadguru Lord!



Source: Vihangam Yoga Times