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Faith

 Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

In our day to day normal life, we have faith on our wife, sons, servant and friends etc. When we have even a tinge of doubt in these material relationships, then we have lot of quarrels with them, lose our peace of mind and ultimately it affects our physical health as well. There are many families wherein we find that servants are treated like one among the family because of their sincere and faithful service. Even while entrusting upon big responsibilities at work, the employer would prefer to give it to an employee who is faithful and loyal.

Lord Krishna has very nicely instructed about faith in Bhagavad Gita verses 4.39 and 4.40 as follows.

shraddhaavaal labhate jnaanam / tat-parah samyatendriyah
jnaanam labdhvaa paraam shaantim / acirenaadhigacchati
ajnaas caashraddadhaanash ca / samshayaatmaa vinashyati
naayam loko 'st na paro / na sukham samshayaatmanah

"A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace. But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next."

In his wonderful purport to the above verse Srila Prabhupada says, "Men without faith in God and His revealed worlds find no good in this world, nor in the next. For them there is no happiness whatsoever. One should therefore follow the principles of revealed scriptures with faith and thereby be raised to the platform of knowledge. Only this knowledge will help one to become promoted to the transcendental platform of spiritual understanding. In other words, doubtful persons have no status whatsoever in spiritual emancipation. One should therefore follow in the footsteps of great acaryas who are in the disciplic succession and thereby attain success."

Those who have no faith make no progress at all. The process of chanting, hearing, worshiping and taking prasadam etc are all same for all the devotees. But one who follows this process with full faith gets the maximum benefit. How to get that faith? We won't believe anybody unless we completely know about them and their past activities. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita verse 4.42, "Therefore the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge".

How to get that knowledge? Srila Prabhupada explains that "Such knowledge in Krishna consciousness can be achieved by a faithful person who believes firmly in Krishna. One is called a faithful man who thinks that simply by acting in Krishna consciousness he can attain the highest perfection. This faith is attained by the discharge of devotional service, and by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, which cleanses one's heart of all material dirt. Over and above this, one should control the senses. A person who is faithful to Krishna and who controls the senses can easily attain perfection in the knowledge of Krishna consciousness without delay."

I pray to Guru and Lord Krishna to strengthen my faith upon Him forever.

Thank you very much
Your servant,
Shyam Sundar Das
Vrindavan.