“The trying times bring the best out of you. The rewarding times give the best of the world to you. Life is a combination of both”   — Gurudev

Faith comes into play only at trying times. Strangely, one loses faith when it is most needed! Whenever any difficulty comes, we eternalise it, dramatise it. When you have some problem, you are like, “Oh, it is always like this.” If you get angry several times, you say, “I always get angry.” It is not really the case. If some people have not cooperated with you, you say, “Nobody is cooperating with me.” Suddenly the whole world is bad. It is not so. But the mind always does that. Is it not?

Look into your life. How many wonderful moments you have had. You have had heights of joy and of course, you had to face some problems. And it has made your life more interesting. Because you could overcome all those adventures in life. And you have the capacity to overcome. That is why those challenges are put in front of you.

Always remember one thing:

Nature will never give you a problem which you cannot solve. If a problem comes in front of you, that means you have the capacity to overcome it. You already have answers and that is why the question appears in front of you.

Challenges and uncertainty can move you in the direction of fear or anxiety. Or they also nurture your innovative spirit. Every innovation has come out of uncertainty. The time demanded that you think differently.

Look at the first half of the 20th century, mankind faced two World Wars. After World War II, Japan and Germany were in ruins. People could barely manage two meals. But both these countries bounced back in 50 years.

We have seen big calamities on this planet. But after every one of those disasters, we have come back with full force. Taking a look at these experiences should give you confidence.

Three Types of Faith

To experience growth in life, we require faith in three things — faith in yourself, faith in the world and faith in the Divine. All these faiths are connected; you must have all three for each to be strong. If you start doubting in one, you will begin to doubt everything. Lack of faith in God, the world, or yourself brings fear. Faith makes you full — faithful. Having faith in the world without faith in God does not bring complete peace.

A couple came to me once. They lived just 10 minutes away from the venue, but they said that it took them 5 hours to come and meet me because the moment the man got out of the house and walked a few steps, he felt that the door was not locked. So, he went back and checked the door.

He pulled the door front and back several times to ensure it was locked. Again, he walked some steps and the same doubt came over him and he went back to check if the door was locked. He was paranoid; he didn’t trust himself.

In society, you will find many people who do not have faith in themselves, and they walk around without being diagnosed. Lack of self-faith leads to lack of faith in others — you will always feel that everybody is after you, or everybody is angry at you, or everyone is out to get you. Can you survive like that? Impossible.

You must have faith in the world or you can’t move an inch. You deposit money in the bank with faith that it will be returned. If you doubt everything, nothing will happen for you.

We are here only for 60-70 years, and we think we are in control of the whole world. I tell you, this is such an illusion. This Earth has been in existence since millenniums. This Earth has sustained itself for nineteen billion years, and we think we are managing this whole world.

There can’t be a bigger illusion than this. There is a force that is taking care of this planet and that will continue to take care of this planet Earth. And there is not just one planet but there are many such planets, and many lives.

We think that we provide food and we are providing everything. But if we go underwater and see — there is a whole world there and they are being provided for. Every creature is being provided something to eat.

I am reminded of a philosophical quote by a 12th-century saint — “Ajgar kare na chakri, panchi kare na kam, das maulak keh gaye, sabke data Ram.”

He says, a python doesn’t serve any master, nor does a bird go looking for work, but food is being provided for everything by the Lord. So why do you worry!

A python is very lazy and moves very slowly; it just keeps lying around all the time. However, birds are very busy creatures, flying around all the time. Yet both are equally provided for; the divine is providing for everybody.

However, looking at several recent incidents where so many innocent lives were lost, one wonders if God exists. If He does, why would He do such things? It is on such occasions that faith becomes fragile, and one tends to lose it. However, it is also in these situations that faith is most needed.

So, what to do when one is losing faith? For a person to say, “I don’t believe in anything,” means he must believe in himself, so he believes in himself about whom he does not even know! To know yourself, you must go within, meditate.

The deeper you go, the more you realise that a field of all possibilities lies in that void. You will accept that there are many secrets you don’t know. Your experience will revive your faith in the Divine.

Faith is something that we all have inside us. When you face different situations in life, the peace and stability you have depends upon the amount of faith you have.

It sustains life and leads one through difficult times. Contrary to popular thinking, faith does not contradict logic. It brings out hidden courage and potential in more ways than one. Realising this is sufficient to move ahead in life.

You forget the strength within you — the power of prayer and power of your “Sankalpa” (positive intention). Here, practices such as “pranayama”, yoga, meditation and Sudarshan Kriya will help a lot.

Faith leads to prayer, and prayer is a vital tool to improve your life. When you feel the obstacle is too much to handle, deep prayer can work miracles. Prayer is the cry of the soul. It happens when you feel utterly helpless or when you feel totally grateful. Both are authentic and always get answered.

The act of praying itself has the power to bring about transformation. Realise that you are not alone in these difficult times. There is always an unseen hand working for you.

Don’t underestimate the power of prayer. Prayer makes you strong and powerful. Make the decision today, “Whatever happens, I will remain grounded. I will remain peaceful, and have faith that God’s protection is here with me. Whatever happens, God will always hold my hand.”