________________
CHAPTER SEVEN
Everything Revolves
Around Faith
o prescriptions, based on blind faith, on how to lead a happy life are going to be accepted by a person who has a
developed and discerning mind. Any one who has ever undertaken the completion of a major project of any kind knows that the successful achievement of an object of desire depends on (1) the belief in the possibility of its attainment; (2) the knowledge of the means by which it is to be attained; and (3) the actual employment of these means in the proper way, that is to say, the doing of the right thing at the right moment. These three essentials of success give us the why and wherefore of all scientific methods, and constitute the standard by which we may judge the true nature and merit of each of the several paths.
The object of desire in our case is the attainment of the divine attributes, in fullness and perfection, of our souls. We can reach our goal only through the three-fold path of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. The singular 'path' is used in order to indicate that all the three - faith, knowledge, and conduct - together constitute it. Faith is the foundation on which our progress depends.
59
