85. Faith moves Mountains when pushed Sincerely!!!!

Shraddha is defined as 'GURU SHASTRA VAKYESHU VISWASHAHA' - trusting words of Guru and Shastra. Shraddha is having faith and it should not be mistaken for Aandhavishwasa or blind faith. Now the question is how to differentiate between these two. In ancient times a Guru would never demand his student to blindly believe whatever is preached by him. In fact, the Guru wanted his student to understand and analyse what is said and use his intellect to verify if the said thing is to be believed or not. But in the first place the student should have faith in his Guru. There was a saint who in his discourses used to tell the people that, God gives us everything and takes care of everything, but at the same time we should do our duty properly. And in course of time he became very familiar for his preaching and this news spread like fire and reached the ears of the King of the region. One day out of curiosity to know what the saint is preaching the king without telling anyone and without his royal attributes took a horse and rode to the place where the saint was residing. Out of excitement the king tied his horse loosely to a tree at the ashram and went and sat amongst the audience unnoticed. The saint was immersed in his talk and everyone listened to his discourse attentively. The king was also impressed. The saint concluded his speech thus: Small things should not disturb us. God takes care of everything but every person should perform his duties sincerely. The king was happy to hear the talk and he left the place. When he went near the tree where he had tied the horse, he found it was missing. He was taken aback and wanted to ask the saint about his missing horse. He met the saint and asked; Swamiji, I believed yours words totally. I had left my horse tied to a tree in your ashram. Now I find it is missing. How can we believe that God takes care of all? Swamiji replied: “O” king you have understood my sayings only in part. You believed that God would take care of everything, but failed in your duty to tie your horse properly to the tree. However, God takes care of us when we take proper care of the thing which he has given us. The realization as understood by the ancient teachers was not merely belief in Absolute, but to know and experience that Absolute directly. Shraddha is the initial step in one's search for Absolute. Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verses 39 says, "Shraddhavan Labhate Jnanam” One who has faith gains knowledge. If faith is ingrained in us then knowledge will shine from within. From shraddha comes awareness, from awareness emerges knowledge. If we have true shraddha, then everything becomes a Guru to us. For example, in the scriptures, there is mention of Dattatreya who took every creature to be his Guru birds, animals, etc. This is the state of perfect shraddha; where one sees Guru in everything. If we lack this shraddha, we may have to face hurdles in the spiritual path.