The “Faith Test” for all who believe in God?
There is always an age-old debate that goes on in the world. Debate whether there is God or there is no God? This is one famous discussion which has started right from the evolution of mankind and still exists now. There are also quarrels among people for this but nobody is able to convince the other group of people. But today we are not going to discuss people who do not believe in God. We are focusing on people who claim that they have faith in God. Today we will take a “FAITH TEST” for them. I will begin by giving you an example of this.
I HAVE ALREADY PRAYED FOR 20 YEARS AND NOW I DON’T WANT TO PRAY ANYMORE.
I met one my my friend in college after a long time. But he seemed very upset and I found that he was not enjoying much in his life. I knew this person for a long time and had great respect for him. It was due to the fact that we both went to the temple of Lord Hanuman on Saturday after playing cricket. Then he had tea in the nearby shop and we would sit for 1-2 hours and joke with each other.
I thought that if we went back to the temple, it might give him little pleasure by reliving his old memories.
“How about going to old the temple of Hanuman?” I asked him. But there was no positive response from his side as he remained silent for some time. When I looked at him again with curious eyes, he told me without any visible expression on his face, “I have gone to the temple for 20 years and now that is quite enough!” The answer was strange and quite unsatisfactory for me. But I asked him why not more.
“I started visiting the temple every day in the morning to perform the prayer at 5 a.m. It was a wonderful period of my life and things were going so smoothly!” he said and after a brief pause he added, “But my relation with Hanuman and the temple came to an end when my 15-year-old son died from an accident.”
Now I understood why my friend looked so depressed and upset. Then he continued, “I now no longer believe in God. So many people die from accidents so why did God choose only my son and that too when I prayed him with so much faith and love?
This friend of mine had failed in the FAITH TEST! His love in God was proportionate to the pleasures of his life. He was ready to love God but only till his God provided him some favorable result for him. Is his love or trading?
TIME TO TAKE OUR FAITH TEST
Now it is very easy to decide whether our faith in God is unconditional or is it mere trading? Let us decide it for ourselves. I will put some questions. If you answer it in the affirmative, then you can assume that you are passing your FAITH TEST otherwise you need to do some work.
1. If I face a big tragedy in my life, will I still have some faith in God as I had before?
2. Do I remember God equally, whether I am happy or sad?
3. Is my love towards God steady and I always feel that he exists and I have no doubt whatsoever about his existence?
4. Am I willing to become more spiritual gradually and try to increase my love and faith in God?
5. If I come across some successful people who seem to be happy but claim not to believe in God, does my belief in God still stay the same?
The answers to these questions themselves will give you a fair idea of whether your love towards God is true love or just a temporary excitement or something fake.
Krishna’s thoughts on the same!
In Bhagwad Geeta Chapter 10, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”
He adds, “The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me.”
“Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”
