WHO WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR FAITH?

They say when all else fails, rely on your faithit will never fail you. But I ask, what if your faith is so unrecognizable by now that you wont even realize if it fails you? To quote from the Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam: And do you think that unto such as you A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew? God gave a secret, and denied it me? Well, wellwhat matters it? Believe that too! The world has forever been fast-paced and full of hurries and worries. Its wrong to say that technology has invented the speedy human life. Yes, it has brought speed, but it sure as anything hasnt invented the speed. Life in itself implies quick action, routines, behavioral patterns and schedulesthese have existed forever. Perhaps, then, to seek a short break from what we call our time-table, we retreat to quiet moments with our faith. For some of us, that faith may simply be the fact that we all are alive and that that is a good thing. Yet for others, that faith may be the optimism that things will work out for all of us because theres a supernatural power that presides over all beings. But for most of the others, that faith is simply the action of praying, reading verses, chanting hymns and visiting shrines or temples. For these people, that faith is almost synonymous to the concept of religion, almost identical to the desperate belief in something that youre not sure exists but which you know will save you from a great calamity when the time comes. For such people, I wonderare faith and God the same? Are belief and religion the same? Is faith in humanity equal to faith in God? Do such people treat the visage of the Lord as the epitome of their faith? For an atheista diehard non-believerreading a few pages of the Bible can be the greatest source of torture as well as amusement. The atheist might wonder: do people really believe this happened? Do they really think someone said Let there be light and there was light? Are they really the faith-mongers in this Biblical, papal and all-things-Catholic plethora? But contradictory to these atheistic doubts, yes, people really do believe that a god existed, that he was all-powerful and all-knowing and all-encompassing; that he had his subjects and that he ruled over them wisely and well; that there were, as expected, people who were against his doctrine and therefore tried to dispose of him; that, as usual, god was much more powerful than these people because he was good while they were bad; and that, finally, god and his people triumphed over evil, established a network of good beliefs and faith for generations to come, compiled it in a book, and called it holy. That, for some people, is faith. Belief in the doctrines of the Holy One, trust in his story, respect for his morals, love for his ways. For some, propagating their faith seems like a duty, an obligation. Some people take their duty a tad too seriouslythe world calls them fundamentalists. Some dont even think twice before injuring another for their faith [the word killing seems controversial here]. And the base of it all? Faith.

Here, the time comes to think things over. Is our faith really what we perceive it to be? Is our faith a good thing, a religious thing, or a fairly surreal thing? Is our faith going to help us in times of need? And in a calamity, what helps us more: our faith, or our own sense of self-help and esteem? These are important questions for people of all ages, races and beliefs. Nobody ever condemned god, nobody ever condemned his existence. But would it be entirely wrong to condemn his doctrines? Would it be wrong to just embrace God, not his ways or the rules he decrees? This needs to be thought over not just by youngsters but even by a rickety seventyyear-old war veteran, because religious sentiments escape no one, nothing. Religion is everywhere, the thought of God is everywhere, and faith is everywhere. It is now up to us to choose to separate the three entities and treat them separately, or to combine all and end up in a place where no one will be able to save you from the creature you have solely created: your faith.