Faith: The Devotee’s Armor
Most of my friends and family members thought I was crazy when I decided to serve Ananda full-time. For them, the spiritual path meant, at most, praying and chanting for a few minutes and then going on with their daily tasks. “Why do you have to be so serious about it?,” they would ask. Needless to say, my life choices were incomprehensible to them.
Concerned that I had not thought the decision through, they reminded me of the practical needs of daily life that require a certain level of income. Perhaps they felt the need to make a young kid (I was 21-years-old at that time) aware of the need for practicality and looking out for number one. Some suggested ways I could still maintain other sources of income. Others encouraged me to work for a few years, save enough money, and then consider pursuing other interests. Still, others reminded me of the highly lucrative career opportunities I could be exploring.
Though I was not swayed, I found myself unable to explain my position. I had no choice but to nod silently every now and then with a fake smile.
Faith: The Most Practical Thing
Life went on. A few years later, I met some of my friends from school and university who had taken the so-called practical road in life. Though their paths led them to greater material security, they were not necessarily happy. All they could talk about was finding higher-paying jobs, pursuing postgraduate degrees in another country, or selecting the best outperforming stocks in the market. It startled me to see how much energy they devoted to finding the best discount they could apply to our restaurant bill. Yes, they probably earned four times as much money as I did, but they also seemed to carry four times the worries! This observation taught me a lesson I would never forget.
Christ said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” The worldly man running after material security is exhausted by the goals he continues to chase as the goals themselves seem to forever recede. He then asks himself, “Why am I not happy?”
On the other hand, the devotee realizes that faith is the most practical thing of all. Devotees find that when they serve God with faith in the Divine’s providence, their needs are somehow always taken care of, and their hearts are filled with joy and contentment.
Paramhansa Yogananda was once asked by a visitor about the organization he founded, “What are the assets of this organization?” Energetically, he replied, “None! Only God! Divine Mother once told me, ‘Those to whom I give too much, I do not give Myself.’”
The essential nature of this world is based on the law of duality. All successes will eventually be balanced by failures. All the ups of life will be cancelled out by the downs. This design has but one purpose – to teach us to find security within ourselves, centered in the presence of God.
Time and again at Ananda, we’ve seen that the person who concentrates on finding security in a worldly way never finds it. Whereas the one who thinks about serving God Alone is always provided for.
In the world, people take great pains to get good jobs, save money, and invest wisely. Then they get fired from their jobs, use up all their money on medical bills, or lose it to thieves. The truth is, there is no security in the world. God Alone is the only answer. —Swami Kriyananda
Faith vs. Belief
Faith is different from belief. People used to believe the world was flat but that did not make it so. Belief alone will not save us. Neither will it lead to spiritual progress. It is only helpful inasmuch as it inspires us to test what we believe in the laboratory of inner experience.
Swami Kriyananda said, “Faith is consciousness of God’s presence within. The deeper the awareness of God’s presence, the deeper one’s faith.” When a devotee feels God to be with him all the time, he cannot help but feel protected in His arms. If he cuts himself off from His presence, he feels incomplete, unsafe, and tries in vain to find security in the world.
St. Francis once organized a convocation of his brother monks. Almost 6,000 brothers were scheduled to gather on the plains below Assisi. As more and more monks arrived, Brother Elias began to get nervous. “This is terrible!” He told Francis. “Even though we live by begging, such a large group can’t go out to beg. Think this through. What you are doing is irresponsible!”
St. Francis did not know how the large group would be fed, but he had unwavering faith in Jesus. Soon, to the surprise of Brother Elias, the townspeople, out of their love for Francis, came with wagonloads of food to feed all of the brothers.
Why was St. Francis able to call on God’s faith? Why was Jesus able to multiply the fish and loaves of bread? It’s not merely because of their belief. They had faith. A faith grounded in their awareness of God’s presence within.
Jesus said it himself:
Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20).
Yogananda said that most people are like the man who, motivated by this verse in the Bible, told the mountain he saw from his bedroom window to move aside. The next morning, he got up to see what effect his faith had on the mountain. Finding it in the same place, he muttered, “Ah, I knew you’d still be there!”
Though we can only act according to our current level of faith, the effort to deepen that faith must be constant. Above all, the best way to cultivate faith is to feel God’s presence— first in meditation, then in our daily lives. Talk to God in the second person. Don’t merely think about the Divine, but think to the Divine. When you know that God walks by your side, guiding your actions, words, and thoughts, you will build an unshakeable foundation for faith. When you feel God—not as a distant figure in the clouds, but as Yogananda said, “As the dearest of the dear and nearest of the near,” then your faith will indeed be able to move mountains.
