FAITH - WHAT IT IS !!??

GOOD EVENING !!

?

I hope you are all having a good weekend –

?

An interesting conversation to read before this year’s festivities begin ?-

?

Student Namrata - These are festival times – Navratras – Deepavali etc !! Very soon the Festivities would be in the air !! Religious fervour is everywhere. What is the place of religion in modern day life and what is its relevance for youngsters like us ??!!

?

Sudhanshu – Place of religion in modern day life eh !!!! Religion is misplaced in modern day life. I think instead of religion if we call it faith – it would be more appropriate !! Hindus have faith in temple, Muslims have faith in Masjid, Christians have faith in Churches ..........and so on. It is not the object – Temple, Masjid or Church which is doing anything – it is the faith – of the subject (people) which is doing and does wonders !!

?

What is important is the faith in the religion and not the so called religion today !!

?

Religion over the centuries has become dogmatic .........and you were talking about religious fervour .............modern day religion has lost its fervour ............... it is making people fanatics in the name of religion ............. you see people fighting in the name of religion .......... globally wars have been fought in the name of religion ............ another good and blessed name for religion is Faith.

?

Which is much better !!

?

Faith is the Universal blessing of nature !!

Nature or Existence is infinite. Your mind is finite. From the premise of finite you cannot understand the infinite. Therefore what is the alternative left. ...... Faith !! Faith !!! and Faith !!!

?

Faith is the jewel within you not something external or outside of you !!

?

Namrata – A million dollar question Sir – What is faith ?

?

Sudhanshu – Yes a million dollar question with millions of pages written on it !! I would say that – Faith is like a hat which so many people have worn that it has lost its original shape!! Over the years faith has lost its true meaning !!

?

I would define - Faith as your confidence in amalgamation of Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Purity in you !!

?

I remember the context of faith by Paul Tillich a theologian at Harvard University in his book – The Dynamics of Faith – which I read fifteen- twenty years ago – He gave the best definition of Faith –

?

“ WHAT FAITH IS

?

1. FAITH AS ULTIMATE CONCERN

Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned. The content matters infinitely for the life of the believer, but it does not matter for the formal definition of faith. And this is the first step we have to make in order to understand the dynamics of faith.

?

2. FAITH AS A CENTERED ACT

?

Faith as ultimate concern is an act of the total personality. It happens in the center of the personal life and includes all its elements. Faith is the most centered act of the human mind. It is not a movement of a special section or a special function of man’s total being. They all are united in the act of faith. But faith is not the sum total of their impacts. It transcends every special impact as well as the totality of them and it has itself a decisive impact on each of them.” (Paul Tillich )

?

Indian Scriptures give a detailed exposition on Faith in Sanskrit name – Bhakti Yoga. Here I can quote – Isavasya Upanishad and Bhagvad Gita ( Chapter 7 to 12), and Brahmsutras – at many places.

?

Indian scriptures are a beautiful exposition on faith!!

?

In Tillich’s book The Dynamics of Faith, which is the best popular introduction to his thought available today, he tells the reader what faith is and what it is not. He describes the symbols of faith, the types of faith, the truth of faith, and finally, the life of faith. He chooses a word in religious language which is subject to more misunderstanding, distortions, and questionable definitions than any other, and what he says about faith is still valid today. It is the confusion about the word “faith” that creates scepticism. I would say If I were were able to find a new word for “faith,” I would do so, but there is no such word, and even if there was a word I would not be able to replace because the word ‘faith’ carries centuries of traditions with it. Tillich reinterpreted the word for the readers of his day and in many ways his interpretations are still valid today. He still dares us to give ourselves to something larger than we are in the hope that we shall find our true selves: this “giving ourselves to something larger” is the heart of religious faith. In explaining the meaning of these terms,Tillich sought to be both a true diagnostician of the human situation as well as a true and radical spokesman of “ultimate concern [i.e., God].” My wonder—that there is being and not nothing, that there is meaning (residing in truth, beauty,purity and goodness) and not meaninglessness; that all beings and meanings are dependent, in terms of origin and destiny, upon being itself—was as powerful in his old age as it was in his youth. During his lifetime, Tillich attracted enthusiastic audiences and influenced their thinking. He has been dead for almost thirty-six years, and although he did not found a school, his work lives on in the academic, religious, and secular worlds.

?

Namrata – Sir what about blind faith ???!!!!

?

Sudhanshu – Yes Blind faith .......!!!!! Good Question !!!!!

?

Faith should not be made to become idolatarous instead it should have the fervour of being Holy.

?

The more idolatrous a faith the less it is able to overcome the cleavage between subject and object. For that is the difference between true and idolatrous faith. In true faith the ultimate concern is a concern about the truly ultimate; while in idolatrous faith preliminary, finite realities are elevated to the rank of ultimacy. The inescapable consequence of idolatrous faith is “existential disappointment,” a disappointment which penetrates into the very existence of man! This is the dynamics of idolatrous faith: that it is faith, and as such, the centered act of a personality; that the entering point is somethingwhich is more or less on the periphery; and that, therefore, the act of faith leads to a loss of the center and to a disruption of the personality. The ecstatic character of even an idolatrous faith can hide this consequence only for a certain time. But finally it breaks into the open.

?

FAITH AND THE DYNAMICS OF THE HOLY

?

He who enters the sphere of faith enters the sanctuary of life. Where there is faith there is an awareness of holiness. This seems to contradict what has just been said about idolatrous faith. But it does not contradict our analysis of idolatry. It only contradicts the popular way in which the word “holy” is used. What concerns one ultimately becomes holy. The awareness of the holy is awareness of the presence of the divine, namely of the content of our ultimate concern.

The human heart seeks the infinite because that is where the finite wants to rest. In the infinite it sees its own fulfillment. This is the reason for the ecstatic attraction and fascination of everything in which ultimacy is manifest. On the other hand, if ultimacy is manifest and exercises its fascinating attraction, one realizes at the same time the infinite distance of the finite from the infinite and, consequently, the negative judgment over any finite attempts to reach the infinite. The feeling of being consumed in the presence of the divine is a profound expression of man’s relation to the holy. It is implied in every genuine act of faith, in every state of ultimate concern. There is no conditional way of reaching the unconditional; there is no finite way of reaching the infinite, except through faith which is kept 100% Holy !!

?

?

Namrata – How do people of our generation go towards faith – our education system teaches reason, rationality, understanding and logic ???!!!

?

Sudhanshu – For this one has to understand the relationship between Reason and Faith !!

Just now you mentioned Blind Faith.

People understand - Faith without reason is Blind faith !! It is.

?

Indian scriptures use a Sanskrit word “Shraddha” . Scriptures define Shraddha as – Faith based on reason and understanding. Faith can be blind – but Shraddha is faith based on understanding . This is the difference.

?

Western traditions have also given clarity on this.

Reason is the precondition of faith; faith is the act in which reason reaches ecstatically beyond itself. This is the opposite side of their being within each other. Man’s reason is finite; it moves within finite relations when dealing with the universe and with man himself. All cultural activities in which man perceives his world and those in which he shapes his world have this character of finitude. Therefore, they are not matters of infinite concern. But reason is not bound to its own finitude. It is aware of it and, in so doing, rises above it. Man experiences a belonging to the infinite which, however, is neither a part of himself nor something in his power. It must grasp him, and if it does, it is a matter of infinite concern. Man is finite, man’s reason lives in preliminary concerns; but man is also aware of his potential infinity, and this awareness appears as his ultimate concern, as faith. If reason is grasped by an ultimate concern, it is driven beyond itself; but it does not cease to be reason, finite reason. The ecstatic experience of an ultimate concern does not destroy the structure of reason. Ecstasy is fulfilled, not denied, rationality. Reason can be fulfilled only if it is driven beyond the limits of its finitude, and experiences the presence of the ultimate, the holy. Without such an experience reason exhausts itself and its finite contents. Finally, it becomes filled with irrational or demonic contents and is destroyed by them. The road leads from reason fulfilled in faith through reason without faith to reason filled with demonic-destructive faith. The second stage is only a point of transition, since there is no vacuum in the spiritual life, as there is none in nature. Reason is the presupposition of faith, and faith is the fulfillment of reason. Faith as the state of ultimate concern is reason in ecstasy. There is no conflict between the nature of faith and the nature of reason; they are within each other. ( Tillich )

?

Namrata – An interesting exposition Sir !!! I think Sir – according to you - Faith is God !!!

?

Sudhanshu – A big Yes !! In modern terminology – A SCIENTIFIC - GOD !!

?

Now I will take leave of You !! Thanks and Happy days to you awaiting festivities of the year 2023. !!

GOD Bless you !!

?

May your Faith be your God !!

MUCH LOVE –

sudhanshu