Sai and student - dialogue about faith and confidence

Subject: Fwd: Faith and Confidence - ( a recent dialogue between Swami and His student)





Faith and Confidence

Sai: Have confidence in Me. I shall look after everything for you.

Student : Doesn’t it go without saying, Baba? All your devotees have Faith and Confidence in you.

Sai : No. All My devotees have faith in Me, that is correct. But, not all them have confidence in Me. Faith is one thing and confidence is another thing. Only when the two exist together there will be a positive reaction from Me. IF you consider a car for example, it runs on petrol and battery. If even one of them is absent, the car will not function. For it to run without any trouble the tank should be full of petrol and the battery should be in a good condition. Even if the tank is full and the battery is not in proper condition, the car cannot run smoothly. It may break down and stop at any time. Repairing and restoring the battery takes a longer time than filling the tank with petrol. So, actually, the battery is more important than the petrol.

Now faith is like petrol and confidence is like the battery. When you have confidence in God, you will have positive battery charge. And, when you are positively charged, the response from God too is immediate and positive. If you want a positive reaction or response from Me, mere Faith is not sufficient. It should go hand in hand with confidence. Only then is your devotion complete – poorna. And when you have Poorna Bhakthi or complete devotion, the response from ME will also be Poorna or Total.

Student : What exactly do you mean by confidence, Baba? How is it different from Faith?

Sai : You see, it is like this. Faith in God means faith that He is God that He is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient and so on. Confidence means trust in the Word, Will and work if God. If I say something there is a reason; If I will something to happen, it is for a reason. If I do something, it is with reason. However, it is not enough if you merely “hear” the inner voice. More importantly, you should “listen” to it, follow its advice and carry out its instructions implicitly and unquestioningly, because the advice and instructions are those of the divine Sadguru. It is only when you “listen” to and “obey” the Voice that you will find peace and happiness.

Student: How would you explain the fine-tuning, Baba?

Sai: Fine tuning is the degree of your concentration. There are three stages in concentration. In the first stage, you receive My messages in the form of thought waves. In the second stage, you can hear My own Voice and in the third stage, you can hear My Voice as well as See Me. With successful Chitta-Shuddhi (purification of the mind) you will be able to progress from stage to stage.

Student: Baba, there are some people who do not practice Kundalini Yoga but yet they are able to experience the Inner Voice.

Sai: Yes, that is on account of their past Samskaraas, Because their good karma and Sadhana, in their previous births, their ‘?’ Chakra is already awakened though they are not aware of it. Their intuition is highly developed and through that they are able to perceive God and experience the Antar Vani..


Student: Is it possible for everyone to experience the Inner Voice?

Sai: Of course, why not? I have already told you that when mind is still and silent, the Voice of God can be heard. The mind is like a switch. If you turn it to the left, you tune in the world. God is present everywhere and in everyone. He is Sarvaantaryami. The question is not whether He can make Himself heard. The question is whether you have the ability to hear Him. Everyone who has the ability to clear the mind of disquiet, unrest, thoughts and conflicts and is able to keep the mind in a state of equilibrium can tune in to the Inner Voice of God. After all, Silence is God. When the heard and mind are silent you can experience God.
Here I shall tell you briefly about “mauna” which means silence. What is mauna? The word “mauna” consists of two syllables, “ma” and “na”. “Ma” is “manas” (mind) and “na” is “Nahi” (no). So, “mauna” means the state where there is no mind. When can you sau that there is no mind or that mind ceases to exist? When it is not disturbed by emotions, desires, feelings, thoughts, etc., When the mind ceases to exist, you can experience God.

Really speaking, it is most desirable to be in a constant state of mauna, then you can enjoy the constant presence of God. So, begin to practice mauna right from today. Practice mauna for at least half-an-hour everyday. You can observe mauna even while going about your daily chores. When the tongue is active, the ears are also alert for responses and you absorb all sorts of vibrations which affect the mind adversely. Consequently, the mind cannot be calm and still. But when the tongue is quiet, the ears are unresponsive and the mind is not affected by external factors. The mind therefore becomes calm and quiet and you will be able to experience a sense a deep peace within yourself.

When the mind is peaceful and silent, you also have extra energy. Instead of wasting your energy in meaningless irritations and annoyances, you will be able to channel the energy in the right directions. You will be able to think better and work better. So, practice mauna for a little while every day and see for yourself the peace and energy that can be gained.

Silence is “Soham”, silence is “Om”. Silence is the Voice of Brahman, through silence can it be known. So, practice silence in the mind and in the heart. You will thus realise the Truth “That thou art”.