From IIM Ahmedabad To Happiness

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp Printers

Page 73

EVERYTHING REVOLVES AROUND FAITH
order to achieve the desired result, one must have faith in the divinity and the all-knowing attribute of the soul and that our happiness, therefore, depends upon ourselves, not on any outside substances. The conviction of this truth must saturate the mind through and through; for the least doubt creeping in will neutralize whatever little faith may have been acquired by the soul. We must hold the idea of the Self being the parmātman constantly before the mind, and should, in every possible manner, try to strengthen it by thought, word, and deed, in daily life. A small amount of courage and cheerfulness will go a long way towards success as God helps those who help themselves. If we wish to avoid pain and suffering, if we wish to come into our own and to realize our divine nature, we must give up our evil notions and desires, and replace them with right beliefs and thoughts.
Right faith arises either from innate disposition or from acquisition of knowledge. That type of right faith which arises without teaching by others is the first variety. That which arises on the basis of knowledge of soul and other substances, acquired by the teaching of others is the second variety of right faith. An unwavering mental assent is what is implied by faith. With respect to its quality, faith grounded on knowledge is the best form of faith. Right faith cannot possibly be acquired without a proper use of the intellect, since nothing but reason is capable of destroying our doubts. It is true that testimony is also capable of affording a temporary sort of satisfaction, but since it is impossible for it to cover all possible points, and since its worth, reliability and interpretation have to be determined before its acceptance, it is not within its pale to remove all doubts. Hence, he who depends on testimony is like the man who builds his house on sand. Even the satisfaction which testimony seems to afford is more apparent than real, because knowledge is like food, which must be digested in order to become ours. It is no use to us if somebody else eats the
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