and you become what you BELIEVE you want to become.
Faith, Belief and Devotion are intrinsically connected with each other and are fully dependent on the basic nature called Svabhaava of a person. Sraddhaa or devotion, comes from Svabhaava – the character potential one possesses at birth, which a lot of people believe is from the previous lifetime but can be interpreted as the intrinsic character of a person due to genetic factors.
Everyone is born with their own Svabhaava which is unique to them. This basic Svabhaava can be noticed even when among toddlers.
The Svabhaava forms a person’s basic personality in their life. This character continues to develop until the person is influenced by new input in the form of experience and learning. This new input causes changes in the way a person thinks, and it results in changes in the entire personality of that person.
Faith and Shraddhaa (Devotion), are qualities that can be found only in humans and these qualities are based on an inner calling that comes from purity of character which again has been inherited genetically or as many think, carried forward from the past Janma. However, Shraddhaa is also acquired due to experience or spiritual education. Sage Valmiki was a bandit called Rathanakar, who, after undergoing realisation, went on to author the Valmiki Ramayana. Even in present times, there are cases of butchers and hunters who turned vegan and have also taken to vegan activism. What they did was change their basic ‘Svabhaava’. This ability to change one’s Svabhaava is the thing that allows the possibility of altering one’s destiny and progressing in their Karmic evolution. Anyone, after thoroughly introspecting, can undergo realisation anytime in life and for this, all one needs to do is to be open to knowledge which would give them the required preparedness for spiritual upliftment. Most organised religions dread this amazing ability of humans and therefore ban their followers strictly from reading sacred books of other faiths and attending sermons or Satsangs given by preachers of those other faiths. Luckily, the Sanatana Dharama neither imposes commandments nor forbiddance. Instead, Bhagavan Krishna instructs Arjuna to ask questions until he is satisfied with the explanations he receives – (SBG Verse 4:34).
In other words, Bhagavan Krishna asks Arjuna to use his mind and his power of reason to analyse and learn the Truth.
Faith and reason are rare gifts which only humans possess. Animals are predominantly Tamasic in nature and have no Sattva in them at all. Faith in a spiritual principle comes from the Sattva Guna. Basically, every human has a Sattvika element in them which is a prerequisite for developing and possessing the quality of Shraddhaa or devotion. However, the intensity of this element may vary from person to person, depending upon their own stage of intellectual and spiritual evolution. Spiritual responsibility encourages people to be kind, compassionate and considerate to other beings. Faith is extremely powerful and makes people be whatever they believe they are. Faith, here, does not mean anything dualistic, such as having faith in someone or an object. It simply means not doubting and being sure that one is part of the system or the whole of existence. The world exists only through the mind. People perceive the world through their minds, and they can do that only when they are conscious and awake. Wise people know that thoughts are exceptionally potent and due to this reason, they would never entertain negative or unpleasant thoughts in their mind, lest they turn real.
In the process of building faith and achieving spiritual growth, it is necessary to introspect through meditation and test one’s own mental strength. However, doubting should be fully avoided because it is a waste of time and has a crippling effect on a person’s capabilities.
Faith is formidably powerful, and knowing this makes a person absolutely positive and fearless.
Tavamithram Sarvada 