Sometimes we talk a lot about God, about faith. We say we have faith, but our own life should prove that. If you have complete, absolute faith you will always be happy and joyful—even under severe suffering and severe handicaps.
One of the four well-known Saiva saints of India, who was suffering from a terrible stomachache, said: “Lord, I know you gave me this stomachache. I don’t know what I did. Certainly, I might have done something to cause this, but I don’t remember what it could be. Maybe it was not even in this birth, but in a past birth. But one thing that I know is that you want me to trust you completely, and probably that’s the only way you can help me have that trust. You are very kind in making me think of you.”
It’s true, that’s what he said. “You are very kind, otherwise, why should You even worry about me and give me this problem. The very fact that You are thinking of me, and giving me this problem, makes me happy because with this, I can never forget You. With pleasure, I may forget You, but with pain, I can never forget you. So give me courage, let me purge this out completely, give me the strength.”
What a beautiful prayer. With this kind of prayer we can face any problem in life. Nothing is going to shake us, whether it is physical or mental, caused by people or caused by nature. That means we have to have absolute faith. We talk about a lot about various practices in Integral Yoga. What is Integral Yoga? We can make a big list: Karma Yoga, Japa Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga. But the simplest thing is to just have faith. An ounce of faith moves mountains.
There is a beautiful Tamil saying: “Lord, whatever you do, I’m not responsible for it. You are doing it, it’s your action.” Saint Ramalingam has beautifully expressed that in a prayer: “Lord, you are feeding me, I am eating. You are putting me to sleep, I am sleeping. When You want me to see, I see. When You want me to be happy, You make me happy. When You want to move me around, I move. You make me dance, I dance. And not only me. I’m not the only one. Many may not know this. But not knowing, does not take away from the true fact. You are moving them and they are moving. Unfortunately, because of the ego, they think they are moving by themselves. I’m sorry for them, but at least you have shown me.”
When we realize that truth, that’s what you call faith. Once it gets rooted in your life, the whole life will be totally different. You won’t see anything other than peace and joy. That’s why all the scriptures and sages and saints tell us: have faith.
