Satsang at Anant Rao Residence, Lagos, Nigeria – 18th July 2015

Swami: When a child is born, it knows nobody, it doesn’t know whether the lady, in whose arm it is, is it its mother, the nurse, the aunt or the grandmother. It knows nothing – but, when it is fed, taken care of and cherished with tremendous love, the child develops faith that this must be its mother, for its happiness is her happiness; its sorrow is her sorrow; whatever it needs, she is ready to provide, regardless of her own comfort or convenience. When it experiences so much love, it develops faith that this must be its mother and she will always protect it. Once it develops this faith, wherever it goes, it keeps looking around for its mother. However beautiful the toy may be, however attractive the playground, the child will still look for its mother. It believes that only its mother will protect it, no one else. Nobody can love a child like its mother.

Where there is love, there is faith. God is constantly looking after you, taking care of you, protecting you, guiding you and nourishing you. You must open your eyes to this reality. For a moment, think to yourself, are you the one who is breathing? Are you the one who is making the heart beat? Are you the one who is making the food digest? You are all sitting here, but none of you has to make any effort for this all to take place. Then how is it all happening? If the heart stops beating, even for a moment, can you be what you are? You may be an important banker, a lawyer, an engineer or a businessman; whatever you happen to be, you can only be that whilst your lungs continue to breathe, your heart continues to beat and your stomach goes on digesting food. It is God who is doing it all, and He is the one who is looking after you every moment. If you understand this truth, if you realise that it is the love of God that helps you to become what you are, then you will develop faith.

A child which is born totally without knowledge, develops faith in its mother, only when it experiences the love of the mother. Similarly, when a devotee is aware of the care and protection of the Divine mother and father, then he or she will develop faith. You link your faith to things that happen or don’t happen. The same child who had no knowledge when it was born and simply believed in the mother, starts questioning the mother after a while. When the mother takes the child to a shop, the child will ask for ice-cream. The mother knows that the child has a high temperature and should not be fed ice-cream, so she will give it to the child. What does the child think? ‘Mother does not love me anymore; mother does not care for me.’ Thus, the child starts finding fault with the same mother whom it trusted when it was younger.

As you grow in the world, your mind also starts getting influenced by the surroundings. Any time God denies you something, because He knows it is not good for you, your faith starts wavering. Every moment God gives you something, your faith increases. Faith is not something that increases or decreases based on time, space or circumstances. Faith is not the result of what you get, what you don’t get or what you ask of God. Every moment you live, it is because of God’s grace. The breath, the beating of the heart, the systems of the body – all of them function because of God’s grace. Understand that more deeply and then your faith will never waver.

Know that whatever happens to you is known to God and He is doing the best for you. Then you will stop asking, questioning or doubting God; your faith will not waver. Don’t make faith the corollary of giving and receiving; let giving and receiving be the corollary of faith. You are alive because God is loving and looking after you. If you just know this one truth, your faith will never waver. It is good that there are not too many Doubting Thomases here. For a teacher, it is easier when there are no questioning students in the class – but, whether you question or not, you should have no doubts in spirituality. If you have not learned addition and subtraction in this class, you will not be able to divide or multiply in the next. If you have doubts about addition and subtraction today, know for sure that you will not progress tomorrow and will be unable to do more complicated mathematics. For that reason, whenever there is a doubt, one should immediately clear the doubt.

Suppose you were due to go to your office in the morning. If you had any doubt whether your car was working or not, would you not go and check it at once? Only when the car was fully functional would you have proceeded. If you had any doubt whether or not the brakes or the horn were working, you should not venture out in the car; it is dangerous for you as well as for other road users. It is the same in spirituality – one should not harbour any doubts, and it is only when you actually practise something that you get doubts. It is only when a child returns home and tries to memorise or practise what has been taught in class, that it will get doubts. Only when you practise what I am teaching you, will you get doubts.