I am determined to liberate
My life
From the burning attachments
Of my present and past life.
– Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 26, Agni Press, 2002
Speak to us about faith.
First of all, faith is not credulity or blind belief. It does not mean that you must constantly believe in the impossible. No, that is not faith. Faith is a spontaneous feeling. It does not care for human justification. It is the eye that visions the future, and it is always in tune with a higher Truth. The door of faith is always open to the Truth beyond, and by virtue of faith, we transcend ourselves.
/How may we strengthen our inner faith in God when we are beset with discouragements in our daily life?/
Please try to feel from now on that there is Somebody around you who does not want anything from you, but simply wants to see joy in you and around you. There is Somebody who does not want anything else from you except joy, inner joy and outer joy. He wants you always to swim in the sea of joy and delight. If you remain in joy - I do not mean outer joy, that is, going here and there, mixing with people, buying material things - but if you can have real joy, if you can feel the source of it, then you will automatically have faith in God.
When we are worried, or are afraid of something, we immediately try to create a kind of self-imposed faith in God. This is not true faith. In danger, we say, "God, save me, save me!" But we say this only to avert danger. This is an escape. This kind of faith does not last.
Spontaneous faith can come when we have inner joy, inner fulfillment. Everything is inside the person - his joy and his fulfillment. Who is the possessor of this inner fulfillment? It is God. We are just His devoted instruments. So when we feel spontaneous inner joy as part and parcel of our life, we can then have faith in God, the possessor of infinite joy. From now on, please try to feel your own inner joy. In regard to your outer frustrations, please do not try to unite them with your inner joy. Please separate your inner joy from the outer happenings. Then alone will you be able to strengthen your faith in God.