Faith

Written by cusulli on June 29, 2010

“And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you);”

Qur’an 3:103

It’s really there; with the athlete that’s just about to run the 200 metre Olympic race or the mother that finally lets her children flock the nest or in the believer kneeling towards God. It’s universal.

We often hear questions like “What do you need to succeed in life?”, “What’s the secret to life?” which are swiftly followed by a promise to reveal answers to these fascinating questions but more often than not, you need to put your hand in your pocket before anyone reveals anything to you. Though, if you are really curious or have actually listened or read at what most of these books/lectures say, you soon conclude that they all take about the same thing in varying manners. That old positive thinking, ‘giving out’ to the universe “crap”; while this is not completely wrong and no one denies that positivity is helpful and even in some cases, truly enlightening to the reader, we can’t help but feel cheated or goaded into finding a magical secret that just wasn’t there in the first place. Though, then again, why should it be? Moreover, how is it that these people seem to know all the answers?

What these books and ideologies fail to give the reader is the right to reach their own conclusions through reasoned arguments. We live life every day; we are experts in our own life. We are different, and the ‘one size fits all’ solution doesn’t even align with nature itself. We are educated by our own experiences and the environment we choose to put ourselves in. If there was any true guidance to life, would it not accommodate all these facts? When we search for answers on something as personal as the purpose of our own life, knowing the first step, the base or platform from which we make decisions in our life is what we need to start our own journeys of discovery. We have our own intellect; along with the ability to pave our own paths, if the guidance given is truly the right one. We aren’t just looking for answers to problems in life; we are looking for reasons behind those answers.

A basic question of a few words requires a basic answer of a few words, it is the complexity within the answer that mirrors the scale of difficulty presented in the original question. The question was about achieving success and understanding our purpose in life and the answer is faith and belief.

We underestimate the power of faith in our lives. It’s the athlete that has faith in herself, it’s the mother that has faith in her children and it’s the believer that has faith in God. Faith has many levels, all of which are supported by trust. Trust within yourself, trust within others such as your loved ones and trust in a Supreme power. It is the human ability to have hope and faith in times of hardship that makes life and its theatrics easier to deal with. This is positivity. However, a certain line is drawn when we assume that the world or the universe works under a certain system, a certain set of physical rules that if understood, can be used to our advantage. The key, as we are often told, to this communication is through positivity and believing in a better tomorrow. This is the cause and effect argument and this is the limit for many self-help books.

The reader is left heedless to what such a system is. We ask: Is there such a system? Does it work? Is there an unknown force that can help us? Is there a Supreme Power? More often than not, as soon as we reach this state of thought, like human nature, we deny the idea of such a foreign power and questions full of doubt fill our mind “If there really was a God then why...” If we were to take a rational step to overcome our denial, challenge our arguments and attempt to find answers to our questions then it is this very inquisition which would unlock our very own personal secret answer to life and its meaning.

It is not too much to ask or more importantly, expect full and reasonable answers to your questions. If there truly is a guidance that encompasses the needs of this universe, it is not too much to ask for perfection in a religion that you choose to follow. Is it asking for too much if we expect the Creator to communicate with its creation about the purpose of its existence? We do exist, don’t we? Yet, understandably, we find that it is only human nature to dismiss things that sound too good to be true or to dismiss a whole set of belief if they perceive some attributes of a belief system as wrong or strange or something people aren’t willing to invest their time in.

Though, ironically, we live our lives, chasing our career, educating ourselves – being the best we can be. We strive to be healthy, taking care of our body – as we are constantly being preached that this is the best way to achieve our goals in life. Some of us even believe in the existence of a link between the mind, the body and the soul and how at times it is good to reflect at life and better ourselves morally. We also often hear the phrase “Everything happens for a reason” and see that people accept the concept of destiny, yet when they accept such an order in the universe, for some reason or the other they don’t delve into the matter further, but conclude at this step to their own separate beliefs. Why don’t they look further or educate themselves (as they do in other activities in life) on such a revelation?

Furthermore, we see in nature and in our everyday lives that there is an ideal way or ideal forms of action(s) which when undertaken, effectively address to a need. We learn lessons everyday and understand the best way to live about our lives, so if we discover such guidance in normal day to day routine, what if were to have a complete collection of this knowledge? Fields of study such as medicine, engineering, economics etc. are developing as time progresses with their respective knowledge being gained and update. A complete collection of knowledge to life issues can only exist in a perfect system originating from an infallible source that looks to all of human needs in the current era.

We all know that ‘perfect’ is relative and is even relative to people in the same faith. However, we encounter this interesting phenomenon, whether it is at school, work or at home, believers within a single faith or even a single sectarian faith group would each have their own (slightly separate) point of view and understanding on beliefs and ideologies within a religion. A true faith would not promote a ‘one size fits all’ solution; rather it would outline the basics, the fundamentals, like in any science or school of thought and then outline a variety of recommended or desirable practices. This freedom in faith is a necessity. One may have different methods of solving a mathematical problem and one may look at a real world life problem differently but at the end, they all come at a solution to the problem that successfully tackles the initial problem. A perfect faith would have a predefined, strict set of morals to follow – a complete elemental structure that serves as the core base of the faith system, yet solutions to specific problems may have a variety of answers which all pertain to a core belief.

Also, let’s not forget that the ‘perfect’ life is hard to follow. How many times do we battle with our own desires to do what is right? A belief in a Supreme Being that guides us to a perfect path requires the human to overcome their own ego, something that proves difficult for those who have that voice inside telling them that all their accomplishments are done by them and them alone, with no form of external help. Yet, if there is a form of help available why not avail it? The promise is of a 24/7 support hotline number that deems no task how large or small irrelevant and no task impossible.

Holding on to the “rope of God” has proved therapeutic and the best choice for many, though even having self confidence (faith in its most primary level) is a well known trait of those who are successful. So when that athlete wins Gold, she may believe that it was her faith in herself (or a Supreme Power) that brought her through.

So, what is the secret? Does a true faith exist? Perhaps true guidance does exist and the only way to accept or refute that argument is to research and challenge your own personal beliefs and look for reasons behind a system’s teaching and practices to ultimately look for answers for your own personal queries on life. Choosing a Faith is a decision just like all other decisions in life, so when someone asks you about your personal belief and your personal outlook on life, present them with a researched, reasoned argument. Your existence and purpose matters, it’s worth doing your homework on.