This morning when I woke up I felt drawn to meditate on the difference between faith and belief. I was quickly reminded of the "message" I got from my first vision quest experience.

It simply stated that:

"Faith increases as the demons of the mind decrease as well as the ability to see things as they actually are".

Well today I had an expansion on that statement.

"What is the difference between belief and faith? Only when there is faith is there no fear."

When we experience faith, the mind is free from worry and we find a deep peace. Whereas, when we believe strongly in anything, religion or ideal, there is still a sense of fear that we may be wrong. Our minds churn desperately to prove our beliefs.

When there is faith, our mind comes to rest. When it is only belief, our mind goes to work. This is where meditation comes in handy.

So many people wonder how to increase their faith. I know I used to think that faith was increased by praying a lot; asking God for help so I could offer God a chance to answer and therefore make a "believer" of me. Notice the word "believer". That method only got my mind to race wondering whether or not God would give me what I asked. It only encouraged doubt and fear. And then I would get mad at myself when prayers went unanswered thinking I wasn't worthy. Or worse, I might get angry at God and then of course, question God's existence altogether.

And when you no longer believe in God, then what's left to put your faith in? In the moment you discover faith, you experience God.

Delightful moments around Amma

A Jnani or a Bhakta?
A couple of friends (Chitra and Jayashree) were having a discussion that slowly progressed into an argument. One of them believed in the path of knowledge while the other was a supporter of devotion. It was the jnani vs the bhakta.

The jnani argued that "maya" or delusion attacks even an advanced spiritual aspirant causing him to fall away from the path. In response the bhakta said that a person on the path of devotion, because of their attitude, will have less trials and tribulations. For example, she argued, the devotee holds on to God helplessly always think you are everything and I am nothing whereas the jnani has the belief that everything is within me. For the bhakta, the attitude that "I am nothing" will eventually result in the ego being wiped out, but for the jnani, since he believes that "I am the Self", at every step, the chances of developing the ego are more. The path of the Jnani is more arduous since every trace of ego has to drop before the goal can be reached. To get there, the Jnani's ego will receive a lot of blows and he has to walk on the path with the sole strength of his dedication.

The jnani however was not satisfied. "You mean to say that God favors a bhakta more than a jnani. Impossible," she said. Defiantly the bhakta said, " When I get a chance I will ask Amma".

Sure enough, Amma gave her an opportunity that same day.

After explaining the details the bhakta asked, "Amma can you give the verdict for this argument?" Amma simply smiled at first and continued with her darshan. She then turned to the bhakta and said, "God is not partial and showers His grace equally on all. A jnani is like a child who sits on the floor drinking milk from the bottle. A bhakta is like a child who sits on his mother.s lap and feeds on her milk. The mother has to hold this child from falling off the lap". The bhakta smiled interpreting Amma's words to be in favor of her argument. But Amma continued, "the mother will still watch over her child sitting on the floor with the same amount of care and attention".

I thought it would be nice to share what yoga means to me. The following is what I wrote for my yoga teacher's training on my test. It has not been through any revisions so please forgive me if it seems like it just came out of the top of my head because it did. Or maybe, just maybe it was from the bottom of my heart. :)

It also outlines an ideal that I must admit I am a long way from living 100%.

This is just a quick note about my recent trip to California for a yoga retreat in Joshua Tree. Here's a link to the photo gallery. If you came here specifically in search of neti photos, here they are.

 

It was truly a wonderful time.

Thanks Darren and Christopher!

Suffering
An analogy by Matthew Cox

First, I must say that the following text is by no means conclusive though my hope is that someday I may be able to provide that. These writings have come as a result of my search for answers to the question "Why must we suffer?" among other questions. This search has led me through the halls of churches, pages of the Bible, Native American pipe ceremonies, sweat lodges, and vision quests, kundalini yoga and reiki training, a Tibetan Monastery, volumes of Buddhist texts, teachings from erudite Tibetan monks, hatha yoga, and my own doses of the very thing, suffering.