Magazine - Year 2003 - Version 1
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Atmosphere of Living Divine Faith at Home
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Human souls, lost in the mirage of worldly illusion, have a lurking sense of being cut off from the Source (The Divine Self); hence there is instinctive urge to remember their identity as children of immortality-God. This urge towards Divinity manifests as prayer, worship, meditation etc. Body cannot work without nourishment; purification of blood cannot take place without respiration. In the same way, forgetfulness of our Divine origin leads to a life of degeneration and desolation ever fearful, purposeless and animal-like.
The happiness and peace in human life depend on a living and unshakable faith in our immortal origin in the Divine. The various methods of prayer and worship have been designed to nourish and augment this aspiration for manifesting divine life in ourselves. Materialistic means of pleasure can be earned by muscular and mental strength; but nobility in thought, deed and behaviour depends only on purification and refinement of our body, mind and intellect and by transcending the ego- our false self. True worship helps in bringing forward our real self beyond the ego. Therefore, there must be a prominent place for worship and prayer in the daily routine of our family.
Governments try to outwardly control the people and make them behave in a civil way through rigorous laws and regulations. But very little success has been achieved in this way. It is not possible to inculcate virtues like love, sacrifice, humility, magnanimity, etc. by governmental pressure or, for that matter, any outside force. Peace, harmony and order in this world can be established only through refining and ennobling the hearts and minds of individuals. Such a transformation can come about only from within, it cannot be thrust from outside. The power to influence the heart rests only with faith and belief. Only living faith in the Supreme Being and its application in daily life can do it. It is the inner awakening in human hearts that can lead humanity from falsehood to truth, darkness to light and death to immortality. The seeds for such a transformation can be sown only in fertile soil of households where an atmosphere of faith, prayer, and worship pervades.
The worth of a person depends on his nobility of character. Thus a person whose emotions, deeds and behaviour have been refined in a consistent manner can face and overcome the obstacles and hardships of life and find the way to progress and prosperity. A disciplined person with his influence and behaviour, can turn unfavourable circumstances and bad-willed persons into favourable ones. On the contrary, a person who is full of vices will turn even favorable circumstances into their opposites. Vicious conduct and behaviour always produce a maleficent atmosphere and evil and hostile forces and beings haunt such a place.
We should patiently try to cultivate an atmosphere of faith at home and in society. Faith in God is the best way of inducing a person to move on the right path. Faithless people defy governmental rules and social punishment. Even the fear of police and jail is unable to reduce the crimes and criminals. But if someone believes in God firmly, and feels the presence of God everywhere, in every creature and in thing, then it will not be possible for him to offend anyone. How can a person who has faith in an inviolable principle As you sow so shall you reap, dare to go on an evil path leading to a dark future? Cheating and harassing others is equivalent to cheating and harassing the indwelling God. A person who has faith in God and who understands His Law of sowing- and reaping can never act wrongfully.
A person of faith always thinks, speaks and acts righteously. Only hypocritic faith teaches that one can get rid of the effects of ones sins by mechanically worshipping for half-an-hour a day and indulging in sinful pursuits in the remaining twenty three and a half hours. Similarly, the assumption of getting ones desires fulfilled by simply bowing before the idols of gods is foolish. Genuine and true faith in God leads to a life of righteousness. In order to establish righteous conduct and behaviour in every sphere of life, there can be no effective medium other than living faith in God.
Firm belief in God as ones protector, friend and guide makes one fearless and relaxed. Therefore, one who truly loves his family members, wife, children, etc. should consciously try to inculcate faith in the Supreme Being in them.
In order to develop the body and mind of the members of family, we arrange for them nourishing food and enlightening education. In the same way, efforts should be made to inculcate in them aspiration for spiritual growth. It is the head of the family who should set an example by himself doing regular worship and prayers. If any member of the house has bad habits like going to sleep late at night and getting up late in the morning, remaining dirty, carelessness in studies, extravagancy; bad company etc., all efforts must be made to pull him out of such harmful and ruinous habits. At the same time, they should be helped and encouraged to imbibe positive habits of regular hours of sleep, personal cleanliness, wise use of money and resources, keeping good company, etc.
Edifice of a noble personality can only be built on Divine Faith. As a result, body, mind, family, social conduct and behaviour, every thing becomes healthy, harmonious and blissful. Girls who imbibe belief in God in childhood, after getting married will serve as faithful and virtuous wives. They will consider it their religious duty to behave warmly and courteously towards each member of the husbands family and will thus endear themselves to everyone. Every one will love them and will take good care of them in times of need. The welcome and love that a bride can not get by bringing plenty of dowry, will be hers by virtuous conduct based on faith in the Divine. Thus the parents who have imparted such a living faith to their daughter have given her the greatest wealth to make her future happy. On the contrary, girls who have grown in an atmosphere of indiscipline, atheism, luxury and intolerance, will produce a burning hell wherever they live. The responsibility for their ruin squarely lies with the parents It is likely that they do it through excessive affection; but ultimately, this proves to be enemity of the worst kind.
The same holds true in the case of boys, too. If their minds could assimilate effects of good impressions and beliefs in religious values right from the childhood, they will faithfully perform their duties towards parents, in-laws, wife, children, friends, etc. Under such circumstances, naturally their families will be havens of health, happiness, peace and mutual understanding. With inculcation of faith in God in their children, guardians really ensure their satisfactory progress towards a bright future. Such parents and guardians are worthy of highest praise and respect.