Faith is the quality that balances the psychological and emotional disturbances.
For example, there is a big psychological difference between a beggar and a thief who has a knife or a gun to rob you of your valuables, and, if you resist, will possibly harm you.
If a beggar in India does not get five rupees and goes hungry, at night before going to sleep he will say, “God didn’t want me to eat today. I accept God’s will. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.” He will remain content with that feeling.
Η πίστη θα του παρέχει ενός είδους ειρήνη, μια παρηγοριά, άνεση και ασφάλεια, την επίγνωση ότι καθοδηγείται από τον δημιουργό του. Όμως για έναν κλέφτη, η προσωπική ικανοποίηση είναι πιο σημαντική από τη ζωή κάποιου άλλου.
Faith is a quality that is ingrained in a cultural mentality, and it has always been there. But when logic comes in, faith is relegated to the background and one becomes more material in nature and loses that inner balance and harmony.
In India, from ancient times, Navaratri has been a celebration and an experience of going deep into one’s own faith. That faith is an expression of the positive and uplifting sentiments in one’s life.
What in Christianity is known as the dark night of the soul is known in India as Navaratri, the nine dark nights of the soul. Navaratri represents the identification of the individual with the protective, motherly nature of the universe, the shakti, the power and the strength which removes the state of helplessness from life.
During the nine month period in the womb, the mother nourishes and protects you, ensuring that you are born healthy. In the same manner, the cosmic Shakti is the container of the individual soul. There is a heart connection.
The original form of realization was identification with the mother aspect. When we connect with the cosmic energy, we find happiness and peace, and overcome helplessness and anxiety.
Therefore, Navaratri is an expression of one’s faith. People connect with the transcendental energy, the transcendental reality in a symbolic celebration of faith.
From “Yoga Magazine, Issue April 2005, ‘The Importance of Faith’”, Sw. Niranjanananda Saraswati