Faith is connected to energy
By Satrughna (Koen van Velzen)
Faith, doubt and testing are all intimately interconnected. I think there can never be true faith when there are no hardships to overcome or when there have never been any doubts. That implies that faith has to be tested at times, like mine has been many times. I know that many times I have succeeded in keeping my faith, even in hard situations, and just as many times – probably more than I am aware of – I have lost faith and courage in trying moments.
I noticed that the situations where doubts arise are related to my energy level. It’s much harder to handle occurring situations when my energy level is low, when I am tired, ill or otherwise not in optimum shape, as it is when I am energetic and happy. In the first condition a short remark of a colleague or chef can be conceived as a reprimand and I can begin to doubt myself. But when I’m energetic and vibrant, I merely think that perhaps this person got out of his bed on the wrong side.
At times when doubts arise easily, it is much more natural for me to lose faith and fret about the future, money and petty things. So again it is very important to keep a close watch on my energy level.
What are the things which make our energy drain away? We all know; things like overeating, working too hard, worrying, noise, crowds, sex, bad food, television and so on. I think it is smart to keep on watching how I react subtly to various substances and situations, and find out whether it is harmful or beneficent.
What are the things which give me energy? Good company (sathsanga), nature, thinking of God, a regular lifestyle and faith itself, are some of them.
In this connection an episode in the life of Shyama, Shirdi Baba’s foremost devotee, came to my mind.voegt niet veel toe…
Three lessons in one
Once, when Shyama sat in Baba’s proximity, he wanted to know the qualities of a Hamsa (a swan or soul) and a Paramahamsa (a realised soul). Baba immediately said, ‘Shyama, Dixit is reading the Purana and also giving a commentary on it. Why don’t you go to him and listen?’
Shyama did so and arrived exactly at the moment Dixit was explaining the qualities of a Hamsa and a Paramahamsa.
> The terms Hamsa and Paramahamsa are commonly used to denote spiritually advanced souls. The swan, according to mythology, has the capacity of drinking only the milk from a mixture of milk and water. It is symbolic for a person who is capable of controlling the breath energy in such a manner that he absorbs only pure vibrations out of all the different energies the world contains. As we are told; God is everywhere in this world, but the crow cannot take it, only the swan can. Hence there is a difference between the crow and the swan.
However, for the Paramahamsa, the supreme celestial Swan, the whole of creation is God himself, there is nothing else but God. This person is a fully realised soul, completely liberated of all bonds with the world, who knows no obligations, no likes or dislikes. He is without any needs because he is completely immersed in God. <
Shyama was astonished by this. He once again tasted Baba’s omniscience and His method of dissolving doubts. This brought him three lessons in one: Baba knows everything, Baba is guiding his devotees in their learning process, and the explanation of the qualities of the swan and the realised soul.
This short story tells us that spiritual progress is closely connected with our energy. Once we are firmly on the path, our faith has to be tested, for without tests, succeeding or ‘failures’, there is no strengthening of our will. Shirdi Baba regularly tested his devotees.
The Brahmin butcher
Once, cholera was raging virulently in Shirdi. The residents were frightened very much and they stopped all interaction with the people outside. The wise men of the village assembled and came to the decision of two ordinances as a remedy to check and put down the epidemicere: 1) No firewood-cart should be allowed to enter the village, 2) no goat should be killed. If anyone disobeyed these ordinances, he was to be fined by the village-authorities and the chiefs. Baba knew that all this was mere superstition and therefore He cared two pence for the cholera-ordinances.
While this cholera-ordinance was in force, somebody brought a goat to the Masjid. It was weak, old and about to die. At this time Fakir Pir Mohammad of Malegaon alias Bade Baba was in Dwarakamai. Sai Baba asked him to behead the goat with one stroke, and sacrifice it as an oblation. This Bade Baba was very much respected by Sai Baba. He always sat on Sai Baba’s right hand. Only after he took the first puff of the chillum (pipe), it was offered to Baba and the others. When in the afternoon the dishes were served, Baba asked Bade Baba to sit next to Him, and then all partook in the meal. Also Baba paid him daily Rs. 50 out of the amount collected as Dakshina. Baba accompanied him one hundred paces whenever he was leaving. Such was his relation with Baba. But when Baba asked him to behead the goat, he flatly refused, saying ‘Why should it be killed for nothing?’
So Baba asked Shyama to kill the animal. He went to Radhakrishna Mai and took a knife of her and placed it before Baba. Realising the purpose for which the knife was taken, she recalled it. Then Shyama left to find another knife, but stayed in the family house, and did not return soon.
Then Kakasaheb Dixit came in for the turn. Undoubtedly he was ‘good gold’, but he had to be tested. Baba asked him to get a knife and kill the goat. He went to Sathe’s Wada and returned with a knife. He was ready to kill it at Baba’s bidding. He was born in a pure Brahmin family and never in his life knew killing. Though quite averse to do any act of violence, he made himself bold to kill the goat. All the people wondered to see that Bade Baba, a Muslim, was unwilling to kill it while this pure Brahmin was making preparations to do so. He tightened his dhotar and with a semicircular motion raised his hand with the knife and looked at Baba for the final signal. Baba said: ‘What are you thinking of? Go on, strike!’
Then, when the hand was just about to come down, Baba said, ‘Stop, how cruel you are! Being a Brahmin, you are killing a goat?’ Kakasaheb obeyed and kept the knife down and said to Baba, ‘Your nectarlike word is law unto us, we do not know any other ordinance. We remember You always, meditate on Your Form and obey You day and night. We do not know or consider whether it is right or wrong to kill, we do not want to reason or discuss things, but implicit and prompt compliance with Guru’s orders is our duty and dharma’.
After that Baba said to Kakasaheb that He would do the offering and killing business Himself. It was settled that the goat should be disposed of near a place called Thakiya, where fakirs used to sit. When the goat was on the way to that place, it fell dead on the road.
This story made me realize that faith means to surrender. The more I realize that God protects and guides me, the more I have to surrender myself to His guidance and dedicate all my actions to Him. This faith, as I have found, relieves me of much tension and therefore protects me of energy draining. Sathya Sai Baba says: ‘If you take just one step towards Me, I will take a hundred steps towards you!’ God’s grace comes in response to our faith.
Faith in God is self-strengthening. The more faith I have, the easier life becomes and the more energy is generated, which gives more faith.
Doubt is also self-reinforcing. The more doubts I have, the less energy I have and less faith, and therefore more doubts and problems arise. It takes a firm resolve to step out of this negative cycle. That is where a regular lifestyle, good company and the habit of surrendering and praying definitely helps me.
After all, God is always there; He is our inner Self, but if I don’t accept His help, what can He do?
