WHAT IS FAITH(Shraddha or belief))

The faith of every person is a reflection of his nature.The nature of a person depends upon the previous Karmas i.e.Sattvic or Rajsic or Tamsic.The past Karmas become the nature of a person in the present life and remains till the teen age.Once the conscious starts developing,the nature can be modified depending upon his parental or society surroundings (atmosphere).If a person dies having the Sattvic Karmas  just before death then last Karmas will force him to take birth in Sattvic family and if his overall Karmas in last life is Rajsic then his nature(faith) becomes Rajsic in the present life,even in the Sattvic family.Just like a diamond falls in the mud and when the mud is dried,the diamond also looks like mud but the nature of the mud stone will be diamond only.if the diamond mud is cleaned (Sattvic) then it becomes a diamond and if it remains in mud(Rajsic) it will remain as diamond mud only(in the present life).That means the past Karmas become the nature of the person in the present life.Again,in the present life ,nature of the person can be modified using his consciousness.

The consciousness is maximum in the human beings and comparatively less in other beings(animals,birds,plants) due to their negligible consciousness,They do the KRATI only for their survival.But human beings have consciousness,therefore ,they have to do KRATI for their survival and Karmas through their consciousness.Depending upon their Karmas ,by using their consciousness,they can go up or down on the spiritual ladder.Now comes what is right and wrong Karma?For  example,a businessman is selling an item for Rs100(MRP) that means in 100 rupees his profit is also included(means he is doing his Krati for his survival).If the same item he is selling for Rs90 to poor and uneducated men without taking his profit which means he is doing his good Karmas..If he sells for Rs110 for poor men then he is doing his wrong Karmas(Akarmas).

After explaining how the nature comes into the human beings and what is the difference between Krati and Karmas, Bhagwat -Geeta explains different types of nature in the human beings all over the world.There  are mainly three kinds of nature or faith or Shraddha, according to the nature of temperament (Gunas)which the individual entertains in himself.Man is made up of faith,he is what his faith is.Faith ,not to be confused with  blind acceptance of dogmas(Rules by priests).

A Sattvic person likes food which increases  life span, purity, strength,health, cheerfulness and satisfaction and which is nutritious, delicious,sustaining and agreeable.A  healthy body and logical mind are necessary for uplifting.Even modern science has conclusively proved that there is close link between the nature of diet consumed and its physiological consequences.Rajsic person likes bitter ,sour,salty,very hot , pungent,dry and burning food which causes pain,grief and disease.The food which is cooked long before ,serving tasteless,foul smelling,stale,left over and impure is liked by Tamsic person.

Even sacrifice is  also considered to be three types.A Sattvic person sacrifice  is offered with Shraddha (faith) and as a sacred duty .The person who. Performs this kind of sacrifice has no other thought in mind except that this is the thing to do.When it is carried out to impress fellow men with one's affluence,power and majesty or to seek the fulfillment of desire by pleasing Gods are the Rajsic qualities .The Tamsic people perform the sacrifice without any faith.

Straight forwardness,non -violence,non-inflammatory, truthfulness, pleasant,beneficial and practice of study, tranquility, self-control and having no desire of fruits is said to be Sattvic speech.The hypocrisy and gaining respect, honour,and unstable, unpleasant and having self-centered motive is called to be Rajsic speech.The speech or actions performed foolishly,self-torture with the aim of  destroying others is said to be Tamsic nature.

In Bhagwat -Geeta,it is said that in the name of truthfulness one can become a disagreeable creature in the society. This is not allowed in a seeker.The Geeta accepts only that speech as truthful which is also agreeable.By the unsaid words,when a truth is disagreeable to others,the speaker is required to maintain a discreet silence.It is not sufficient that the words in speech should be honest and agreeable,but they should be also beneficial.Speech should not be wasted.Talk only when you express agreeable ideas of permanent values which will be useful to the listeners.

In a conclusion statement,whatever sacrifice or charity is made ,whatever penance is performed,it is called 'ASATYA'(false),if it is undertaken without faith which comes from the past life and developed in the present life.Unreality or non-existence is 'ASATYA'(false).From unreal , nothing real can ever emerge

From the unreal activity ,no result can come.Therefore,devoted or spiritual actions,when undertaken WITHOUT FAITH,fail to produce any results.This faith is not only applicable for spirituality but this law holds good also in the material world of our day-to-day activities.This is unique and unquestionable rule of life.Without 'faith',no one can come to shine in any field of activities.No one can hope to gather any profit at all out of any activity of the market place and in the scientific inventions or in the religious acts,the factor that determines the quality and quantity of the results is our 'faith' in our own efficiency and goodness,and in our field of activity.

Faith is that powerful, Impelling force which springs spontaneously from within and propelled by which all layers of personality in an individual act in their appointed fields.Faith is the content and very essence of the equipment of man's whole being.Faith gives direction,the dash and provides a distinction for one's determination.it should be emphasized here that the blind -faith is very dangerous and can ruin one's personality.In the scheme of this discourse,the faith is of three kinds, according to the nature of Gunas(temperaments)which the individual entertains in himself.The three classification under which the temperaments (Gunas) fall are(1) balanced joy(Sattva)(2)ambitions and feverish activities (Rajas)and (3) vegetative existence and heedlessness (Tamas). Earlier this topic of the three Gunas,governing and controlling the mental and intellectual life of men was exhaustively dealt with; how men under the influence of these in varying proportions would come to live the religious values and strive for spiritual unfoldment is now being discussed.From a close study of this discourse ,we can direct our activities away from the influence of the lower urges and guide our spiritual practice on the royal path of sure success.

The injections of spiritual texts are not generally available for all people and even if they are made available,very few will have the intellectual capacity to understand them.In the excitement of life's  activities around ,and the confusions and anxieties within,very few of us hope to plan the 'path' of our life according to the spirituality.But a sincere seeker might have a great 'faith' in the higher way -of -life and deep devotion to the ideas preached and propounded generally by all the scriptures of the world.