Sow the Seed of Faith

Sow the Seed of Faith

If we sow a single pea seed in the earth, then from that single seed alone a pea plant arises, hundreds of pods grow on that plant, and then from those pods thousands of pea seeds are produced. In the same way, a single small auspicious or inauspicious action of ours, an auspicious or inauspicious latent impression, prepares thousands of seeds of good or evil. Along with this, just as if we do not use that single pea seed, leave it lying around neglected, and do not let it come into contact with water for many days, its power to sprout gradually perishes; likewise, if we do not give practical expression to our auspicious or inauspicious latent impressions, they too, gradually growing weaker and weaker, begin to be destroyed-this is the rule. Keeping this rule in mind, we should formulate our daily routine and decide the course of our life's activities. What do we desire? We always desire good for ourselves. No person ever desires even the slightest misfortune for himself! Under these circumstances, what we must do is always sow the seeds of the auspicious alone. Let our mind and action always be filled only with the auspicious; even by mistake, not a single inauspicious feeling or action should find a place in our life. At the same time, our effort should also be that as far as possible, as many of our auspicious impressions as exist may continually be transformed into action, and conversely, not a single inauspicious impression should ever be given the opportunity to manifest. Then alone will the purpose be achieved. Today our greatest need is that we become believers in God, have faith in the existence of the Lord, and let this faith continually increase; because upon the foundation of this faith alone stands the mansion of all auspiciousness. For the sake of saying, many of us consider ourselves believers, but that kind of theism is something akin to deceiving oneself. As long as our mind is filled with extremely impure desires, remains agitated by diverse cravings, the pettiest of incidents infuses anger within us, and no matter how much we obtain, contentment is never

not only that, the greed to obtain even more constantly persists; at every single matter we remain conceited, and out of arrogance we do not consider anyone equal to ourselves; we remain intoxicated with the pride of knowledge, learning, intellect, wealth, followers, strength, and dominance; we constantly wander in the darkness of delusion, unable to discern what is real and what is not, what is to be accepted, and what is not to be accepted-nothing of this is understood; far from seeing someone's slight progress, we burn with envy merely upon hearing of it; the elevation of others is not tolerated in the least; no matter how good another person may be, the mind does not rest without criticizing them, and we invariably spot some flaw or other in them. As long as this state of ours continues, we are theists in name only. Such theism can never halt the incoming tide of inauspiciousness directed toward us. We must become true theists; we must sow the seed of true theism. This very seed will blossom and bear fruit, and having flourished and borne fruit, it will amass heaps of auspiciousness for us everywhere on all sides. Only then shall we attain deliverance from inauspiciousness forever. Sowing the seed of theism means putting whatever genuine or superficial, slight or considerable faith in the Lord we possess into practical application. If we are believers to any degree at all, we must hold at least some theoretical conviction in four essential truths:The Lord is everywhere. There is no place where He is not present. He is eternally situated within the greatest of the great and the minutest of the minute. In space, in air, in fire, in water, in earth; in the mountains, stones, and bricks formed of earth; in trees, creepers, and plants; in the visible chairs, tables, beds, doors, pegs, machinery and spare parts, dhotis, kurtas, shirts, coats, trousers, collars, watches, pens, inkpots, and paper-within all these material transformations, in every single atom of all these objects that come into our contact, He is fully present. He is pervading the subtle elements, the Mahat-tattva, the three gunas of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, and the

state of equilibrium of the gunas-Prakriti, He is completely full: [Sanskrit] "Among all moving and unmoving beings, from Brahma down to immovable entities, in material modifications, in the physical elements as well as in the cosmic intellect (Mahat-tattva), in the gunas, in the equilibrium of the gunas, as well as in their disruption-the Supreme Self alone is the one imperishable Lord, the Supreme Controller." (Srimad-Bhagavata 7.6.20-21) Whatever constitutes this world, He pervades every single atom of it: [Sanskrit] "All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by the Lord." (Isha Upanishad 1) Setting aside distant things, leaving aside the vast universe and the cosmic elements, even within this body of ours-to which we are constantly attached, which we cannot forget even for a moment, which we do not wish to forget, and which has become an object of extreme love for us-[Sanskrit] "He has entered into this body," [Sanskrit] "up to the tips of the nails," meaning He is fully permeating it from toe to crown. He is omnipotent. That which is regarded in the world as utterly impossible for anyone, He can accomplish in an interval equal to the hundred-thousandth or ten-millionth fraction of a moment. There is no limit whatsoever to His power. [Sanskrit] "No one rules over Him;" no one can transgress His command. [Sanskrit] "He is the supreme Great Lord among lords, and the supreme Divinity among deities;" He is the supreme Sovereign even of rulers; whatever rulers exist in the gross and subtle worlds, He is the Master over all of them. His power and potency are marvelous. Entirely contradictory attributes exist within Him simultaneously at the same time. [Sanskrit] "That moves, and That moves not; That is far, and That is near;" simultaneously at the same time He walks

and does not walk; He is far away and He is also near at hand. [Sanskrit] "Sitting, He travels far; lying down, He goes everywhere;" while seated He travels far, and even while resting He reaches everywhere. [Sanskrit] "Unmoving, the One is swifter than the mind;" He is motionless, yet faster than the mind. [Sanskrit] "Standing still, It overtakes others who run;" remaining stationary, He outstrips all others who run. Thus is He endowed with countless wondrous powers. He is omniscient. [Sanskrit] "He who is all-knowing and all-perceiving;" in the most secret and subtlest corners of the universe, whatever has transpired from time immemorial until now, whatever is happening presently, and whatever shall happen for infinite time to come-all of this He knows unceasingly. [Sanskrit] "This Self is Brahman, the experiencer of all;" that Lord is the perceiver of everything. Being possessed of such immense majesty, He is nonetheless our loving friend. Not ours alone: [Sanskrit] "The benefactor and friend of all living beings;" He is the loving friend of all created entities. Whatever degree and nature of faith we have in the above four truths, let us begin incorporating it into our daily activities of life. Whatever fragile faith we hold in the Lord's omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and benevolence, let us begin joining it with our actions in this manner: Let us resolve that within twenty-four hours, ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred times-as many times and for as long a duration as is easily possible-for that many times and for that exact duration, let us firmly cultivate the contemplation that

'The Lord is everywhere.' And during this contemplation, whatever appropriate behavior we extend toward any person whatsoever, it should be imbued with precisely the same true feeling of respect, love, kinship, and selflessness as would be present before the Lord Himself. During this contemplation, whatever object we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell, let there be such a living conception of the Lord's presence in that object that while using it appropriately, we begin to experience the very same bliss as would be possible upon coming into direct contact with the Lord Himself. Let us understand this through an example in this manner. Suppose we have adopted the rule that every day we will contemplate at least twenty times, for thirty seconds each, that 'The Lord is everywhere,' and we begin practicing this contemplation. Once, right during the time of contemplation, our servant or office peon comes carrying water in a glass to serve us a drink. Now at that moment, we must strive to experience precisely this: since the Lord is everywhere, He is unquestionably present in this servant as well, and therefore it is He Himself who has arrived in the guise of the servant or peon. Toward him, there should awaken in our hearts the exact same respect, love, and sense of kinship as would arise upon seeing the Lord. He has come assuming the role of an apparently lower status than ours, so we may not stand up from our seat, but our inner being must completely surrender at His feet. While taking the glass in hand, every pore of our being should dance with joy. Not only that, we should perceive the Lord's presence in every atom of that glass as well; in the water of the glass too, the Lord's presence alone should appear manifest to us, and this vision should fill every fiber of our being with delight. If we hold such a living realization even once in a day and night, even for thirty seconds, then know that we have indeed sown one seed of faith. This single seed alone, this contemplation of faith practiced for even a brief span, in proportion to whatever life-force it holds-whatever depth there is in this faith-

Nectar of Satsanga will prepare many seeds for us and will become the cause of generating such faith in many other spheres. It will generate such faith, such a feeling. As many times as we continue to sow this seed, that many times we will continue to receive seeds multiplied manifold from it, and our faith will go on increasing progressively. In this very manner, let us also translate into practice our faith concerning the Lord's omnipotence. This is in the form that before performing every action, even if it be only for a fleeting moment, let us pray to the Lord, let us implore the Lord for strength. This is an absolute truth that the sole center of power is indeed the Lord. Even today, whatever work is accomplished by us happens solely through the Lord's power and capability. But our pride does not allow this truth to be revealed before us; moreover, on account of pride alone, the pathway for the Lord's power to be fully transmitted is not found. Therefore, if at the commencement of every task we pray to the Lord and invoke His power and capability, then that very work which may not have been accomplished by years of tireless toil, nor appeared to be happening, will be completed before our very eyes. If we adopt this practice, then at every step we shall begin to experience the Lord's omnipotence. This is an absolute truth that if anyone engages in any work after praying to the Lord-provided, of course, that the work is rooted in goodness and is not inspired by any motive of harm towards any living being in the world-he will make astonishing progress in it. Be that as it may, let us also adopt this method. As many times as we pray, so many times we shall certainly receive some glimpse of the Lord's boundless power, our faith will surely be strengthened, and its seeds will certainly multiply. Yes, in this regard, this little point also needs to be kept in mind: that where large, sturdy trees of unfaith stand rooted, there the creeper of faith generated from a momentary prayer, its fruits, and the numerous seeds of faith contained within those fruits may sometimes not be visible at a cursory glance. Therefore, one should search for them with patience. Upon searching, they

will certainly be found, because being irrigated by the water of every prayer, they definitely grow, blossom, and bear fruit. Once these seeds gather in abundant quantity, it will become the very nature of our life to depend on the Lord's power and capability for every task, and to engage in every action only upon becoming empowered by His power. "This work cannot be done by us," "How will this work of ours be accomplished?"-such mental tendencies will never arise again. Instead, "What cannot be accomplished by the Lord's strength? The impossible can become possible"-this very faith will remain constantly awake. The necessity of giving practical form to the faith in the Lord's omniscience is especially in those situations where we fall into impure tendencies. It is our experience that when, through the conduct of excessive evil, immense impurity accumulates on the mind, we become shameless; we do not feel shame in sinning openly. But prior to this, as long as even a single opening toward the inner self remains open, the Lord's affectionate voice is heard even slightly, and evil is still perceived as evil, we feel shame in unrighteous conduct, and as far as possible, we engage in sin only secretly-by hiding it from people. Upon knowing that someone is watching or has found out, we are saved many a time. Therefore, if by having faith in the Lord's omniscience and beginning to sow this seed, we gradually begin to restrain our unwholesome tendencies, two benefits will follow: faith will certainly increase, and gradually, evils will also drop away. The method of translating this faith into practical form is that we should mentally prepare a list of our unwholesome tendencies. Among these, let us select a few toward which there is the least attraction, and whenever and at whatever moment they arise, let us firmly remember at that very moment: "The Lord knows this; He is watching, even though no one in the world may know, no one may see, and in everyone's eyes we may remain a good and noble person;

yet our true form is not hidden from the Lord." The moment this remembrance comes, we should feel just as much shame as we feel when our sin is seen by another person. Along with this, even if by sheer willpower, let us make an effort not to let those unwholesome tendencies materialize once, twice, four times, ten times, or twenty times, keeping them confined only to the mind. With just this much, the creeper of this faith will flourish. Then, its multiplied seeds will begin to awaken this remembrance-"Ah! The Lord is watching; He knows"-even at the time of comparatively far greater sins; and in this way, once those major sins are halted even once or twice, this faith will become deeply rooted, and gradually sending forth branches and twigs, it will cover the field of the mind. Finally, there is the matter of increasing faith in the Lord's loving-kindness and binding it to life. For this, let us leave aside sophistry and begin counting the Lord's loving gifts and the arrangements made by Him at every moment, at every step, continually beforehand for our comfort and well-being. If our vision has not been blinded-if the light of our eyes has not been destroyed by the toxic outburst of "Oh, all these things happen just by chance, they keep happening, God is merely an illusion"-then it will be plainly visible to us: "Oh! The Lord's infinite and boundless favors cannot be counted. There is no other unmotivated lover in the world like Him." Then our eyes will brim with tears. Looking at our own lowliness and at the Lord's loving-kindness, shedding tears, we too shall cry out like the crest-jewel of saints, Goswami Tulsidas: "O Lord! Cast a base person like me into the fire of hell; let me be reduced to ashes! For one who obstinately turns away from a supremely pure, benevolent Master and causeless benefactor like You, this alone is fitting. Keeping me in the womb for ten months-

You nourished and protected me. How much good You have done for me! O Master! Even to a dullard like me You gave discernment, and even a wicked one You adorned with the gift of virtuous character. Despite my committing innumerable transgressions, without looking at them, You made me an object of respect in society. Even so, I continued to walk on the perverse path. Just look at my foolishness! O Lord! There is deceit even toward the Inner Ruler, an attempt to hide sin even from the All-Pervading One; but blessed are You, O Lord! In spite of all this, You were never angry with me. Under the pretext that 'he is a great devotee,' my belly is being filled, but in truth, there is not even a trace of devotion in my heart. O Master! The heart has been sold into the hands of sensual objects. Even then, O Merciful One! Oh! Your grace toward such a deceitful person has not diminished in the least; the door of Your love has not closed even for such a one. You have always showered love upon me with an unfeigned disposition. Alas! This heart of mine, harder than a thunderbolt, did not melt even after knowing and understanding full well the favors You bestowed at every moment. Being drenched in Your love, it did not burst open, dissolve, and flow away. O my Master! Listen: upon one pan of the scales of my intellect I placed the heap of Your tender affection for servants, and upon the other pan I placed a slight fraction of my treason against the Master; when I began to weigh and observe, it was seen that the pan of treason against the Master alone was heavier. Even then, You have always done good to me, are doing so now, and will continue to do so in the future. I know, O Lord! Your nature is to look at Your own goodness, not at the other's faults. Even after covering us all with infinite benevolence, You just keep on giving; there is never a pause to Your loving bestowal"-

[Braj] "Subject me to the torments of Yama (the god of death). O Rama! To such a pure and benevolent Master as You, I, a wretch, turned my back! Nurturing me for ten months in the womb, You bestowed love in the form of father and mother. You gave discernment to an ignorant one, nobility to a wicked one, and honor to an offender. I practice deceit even towards the Indweller of all hearts, and conceal my sins from the Omnipresent. Yet towards such a wicked-minded, bad servant, the Lord of the Raghus never turned His heart away. I fill my belly calling myself Your servant, but I have sold my heart into the hands of sensual objects. Upon a deceiver such as me, the Merciful Lord cast His compassionate affection, casting aside all my deceit. Having known, understood, and heard well Your favors bestowed moment after moment, my heart, harder than a thunderbolt, was never pierced by the love of the Beloved of Sita. Weighing upon the balance of my intellect all the Master's benevolence towards His servant against my own treachery towards my Lord, I found the weight heavily on my side alone. Even despite all this, my Lord does good to me, has always done so, and will continue to do so. Tulsidas says: from one's own side, one knows that the Lord has placed him under an immense debt of grace." In this manner, rather than confining the aforesaid four convictions merely to the realm of theoretical principles, we should make them an integral part of our practical life. The moment we cast an active glance towards the Lord's omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and boundless benevolence, the crop of faith will gradually begin to flourish luxuriantly. It will bear so much fruit, and so many countless seeds will gather, that we shall then be able to give the seed of faith in God with open hands to everyone who comes in contact with us. Thereafter, no desire will remain within us. Through this farming of faith in the Lord, all our desires will be fulfilled forever. Then there will be an absolute absence of anger for us; for when desire no longer exists, how can anger remain? Greed, too, will cease. After complete contentment,

where is there any room for greed? Then within us there will remain no pride, no delusion, no jealousy, no fear, no anxiety, no grief, no birth, and no death-no affliction whatsoever will remain. These afflictions are indeed dependent on the ego:[Sanskrit] "Grief, joy, fear, anger, greed, delusion, desire, and the like, as well as birth and death, are seen to belong to the ego, not to the Self." (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.28.15)When the crop of faith has blossomed luxuriantly, then the Master of the field, the Lord Himself, arrives to take delight in that beauty; in that very field, He manifests Himself. Upon His arrival, the ego cannot remain: [Braj] 'When "I" was, Hari was not; now that Hari is, "I" am no more.' As soon as the ego vanishes, all afflictions dissolve. All inauspiciousness becomes completely pacified. The Lord alone remains. Neither do we remain, nor does the world remain for us! After this, in the eyes of the world, the existence of our mind, intellect, and body may well continue for some time. But even through that, for as long as it remains, the divine sentiments will continually expand. This is the very fruit of supreme auspiciousness, of placing faith in the Lord, and of continually sowing the seed of faith concerning the Lord. For this reason, we ought to sow the seed of faith, translate even a slight faith into practice, and continually nurture its growth.