Conversations with Sri Swamiji – 36

Once, our Guru Maharaj was expounding on faith. During his talk, he explained the difference between belief and faith. He then expounded on utmost or total faith – which is the rarest of the rare. Here are some pearls He said:

‘No matter what the extent of one’s devotion may be, total faith in Bhagavan is rare indeed. Needless to say, many are ‘Asthikas’ (believers) who believe that God is a higher power above us. But that is not total faith. Without total faith, true devotion is not possible. Let us illustrate this a little further.

A staunch devotee who lived with a Mahan and even after the Siddhi of the Mahan, has strong faith that ‘my Guru is still with me and is taking care of my every need to this day; all my prayers before his divine picture are answered; he hears and responds when I chant or call out to him’.
One’s the faith and devotion to Bhagavan should also be this staunch and only such staunch faith can make devotion flower in the heart of the devotee. And this is possible only by the grace of a ‘Uttama Guru’.’