Discipline And Silence: Keys To Faith

When asked a question, sometimes one doesn’t understand the question and even so, one tries to answer it and fails because one never understood the question in the first place. It is somewhat similar to the relationship with one’s life mission, one is devoted to one aspect of one’s life and isn’t aware of what the real objective is. “Without faith in sacred duty, men fail to reach me, Arjuna; they return to the cycle of death and rebirth.” (9, 3) This mission Krishna talks about “to reach me” is still somewhat esoteric but one can limit this idea to that one must follow certain rules to be in peace with the environment and be not only aware of other people’s needs but try to fulfill those needs through selfless service. This basic premise of how to live is the foundation of most religions and is elegantly expressed as the golden rule. One point that needs to be examined with the golden rule is that many humans have very poor self-concepts and self-esteem and so maybe what they would like to be done to them is not the smartest idea.

We can also see that some of these religions use offerings as rewards for our faith and discipline in their beliefs, that range from amazing supernatural powers to a great afterlife. “His spirit quickens to sacred duty, and he finds eternal peace; Arjuna, know that no one devoted to me is lost.” (9, 31) Krishna promises a great afterlife by assuring that it is enough for one to change one’s mind in devotion to him. This sacred duty he constantly talks about must be a predetermined goal to reach in one’s life and that will repeat if one fails. In a way this plays a lot with free will, you are predetermined to do something but it is up to you to do it or not.

One may find the true definition of a true friend to be that of someone who stands beside one in good and bad situations, and is still one’s friend knowing one’s characteristics. It is very interesting how Krishna paraphrases this to the definition of a loyal believer. “Neutral to blame and praise, silent, content with his fate, unsheltered, firm in thought, the man of devotion is dear to me.” (12, 19) He who will always stand beside his beliefs and won’t blame his god for the unfortunate and sometimes unfathomable events that occur in one’s life, is a true, passionate believer. A great dose of compassionate detachment needs to be ultimately cultivated to reach this state of eternal grace or nirvana.