Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Secret #11 -- Great Faith Brings Great Freedom
By Sharon Janis
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Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Secret #11 -- Great Faith Brings Great Freedom
By Sharon Janis
Play this chapter in realplayer audio
Every tomorrow has two handles.
We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.- Henry Ward Beecher
As I mentioned in the first section of this book, if I had to use one word to describe what the essence of spiritual happiness is, at least in terms of my personal experience, that word would be faith . Faith can take so many forms. I've had my faith tested by small incidents and large incidents, and have also had my faith justified by small and large demonstrations.
If you think that faith is only justified when you wish for something and it appears before you, well, that may not be quite so - especially if your desires are not yet in harmony with your deeper desires, with the Greater Will, or with the flow of nature. Faith is not just a tool to use for getting what you want, although the ultimate result of faith can be to first learn to want what you get and, from that position, to get what you want.
Everyone has different levels and configurations of faith. We may have faith in our families, faith in God, faith in our friends, our abilities, or our inner realizations. We may have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, or that those in charge will make sure we are safe. We may have faith that if something is on the grocery shelf, that means somebody has made sure it is not harmful to our health. Some of our faithfulness is world-based, some is emotion-based, and some is spirituality-based. Some of our faithfulness is strong and directed toward what can truly be trusted, and some is as fragile and delicate as crystals of early morning frost formed on a cobweb under the porch awning in the face of a rising sun.
If someone pursues the practice of faith with extraordinary discipline, diligence and fortitude, they may eventually come to a place of absolute inner freedom. Such was the case with Papa Ramdas, a wonderful spiritual being who lived in India during the 20 th century. He wrote many inspired books, and established a monastic ashram in South India that continues to serve many seekers.
Papa Ramdas found supreme happiness through deep faith and trust in God. He came to see every single person as but another face of his beloved God, whom he called "Ram" ("Ramdas" means servant of Ram). Here is a story about how Papa Ramdas responded to a situation that might have brought unhappiness to most people. It involves a thief who came to Ramdas's cave, intending to steal all of his belongings:
Once Papa Ramdas was dwelling in a cave near a town. As people became aware of his presence they started visiting him and spending time with him. The childlike simplicity and deep devotion with which Papa Ramdas lovingly rendered vibrant spiritual wisdom and stories soon endeared him to the hearts of the people.
Seeing him living without possessions in a bare cave, the local townsfolk started bringing whatever they deemed necessary for his comforts. Soon a cot, a bed, plates, and many other articles were collected in the cave.
The devotees would often visit Papa Ramdas during the daytime, but they left for their homes when darkness descended, and thus Papa Ramdas would remain alone overnight.
Presently, a thief came to know about all the valuables kept in the cave, and one night, after all had left and Papa Ramdas sat alone lost in deep meditation, the thief made his way to the dwelling and ordered Ramdas to collect all his possessions and tie them up in his bed sheet.
To the thief's puzzlement, the saintly man showed no sign of distress. Sunk in divine bliss, Ramdas started packing, and affectionately handed the bundle to the thief with a benign smile. Taking the cot under one arm and the bundle on one shoulder, the rogue walked off and Ramdas sat down on the stony floor, going back into deep contemplation on his beloved Lord.
When morning dawned, the devotees arrived, and were shocked to find an ever-blissful Ramdas sitting in a bare cave stripped of all possessions. "Papaji", they asked, "Where have all the things gone that were here yesterday?"
Papa Ramdas laughed: "Ram took them away."
The devotees were intrigued: "Which Ram, Papaji?"
"Which Ram? There is only one Ram. Ram gave them and Ram took them away." The saint laughed heartily.
It was only then that they realized the greatness of the sage before them. His serene peace and total absence of regret for all that was gone taught them how free man is when he tears the shackles of attachment.
I first heard this story several years ago, and it has been helpful in continuing to transform and uplift my own experience of faith and inner freedom. Hopefully you'll also be able to take the essence of this lesson to heart. It's not about letting others take advantage of you, but of finding the space of faith and trust within yourself. Have faith that everything is fine - right here, right now, and always - regardless of whether God is giving or taking, and through whom God may be giving or taking.
Trusting God is the greatest clothing you can ever wear. No material possession can match the value of even one iota of faith. As Jesus has said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Of course, by the time you get to this level of faith, you also attain enough wisdom to keep you from using that power of faith indiscriminately. You wouldn't want to have the power to move mountains, and then casually toss out one curse or another toward a car that cuts you off in traffic! For example, Papa Ramdas did not use his power to harm or even stop the thief, but to strengthen and affirm his own faith and spiritual vision, and to provide a good lesson to the townspeople and all of us, by seeing even the thief as a manifestation of that one, divine being, whom he called "Ram."
Cheer up! Cheer up! The case of every one of us is entirely in the hands of God.
His will be done! Death and birth are only passing phases in the journey of the soul to Immortality.- Swami Ramdas
Learning to let go of things when they go and welcome whatever comes is a great path for attaining the gem of unshakeable faith in God. This doesn't mean that you have to stop acting with intentions and goals. Nevertheless, once you've surrendered to being in harmony with the Will of God, your actions begin to come from an entirely different place. Although there may be moments of decision, concern, striving, and perseverance, these moments are resting in a grand blanket of faith and trust.
Deep faith allows us to reduce our desires, worries, and attachments to material things. We slough off the clouds that cover our natural, brightly shining, inner soul nature. This story about Papa Ramdas illustrates what this kind of faith looks like in action.
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