Faith or Experience, which comes first?
Love is the source and the destination. The journey between the source and the destination is an opportunity to experience the divine. His Care, His Uncertainty, His Admonishments, His Guidance are all an expression of His immense Love for us, which is pure, priceless and perpetual. The divine is a caring mother and a protective father to many of us, sometimes a strict taskmaster or even a generous grandparent to some. Most importantly, to many of us He is also our confidante; our most reliable shoulder to rest upon during testing times. It was during such times when He revealed different facets of His divinity, that our bond with Him was cemented. The pinnacle of the guru-shishya relationship is when there is no difference between the guru’s vision and the shishya’s mission. All of us have had such moments, however fleeting they may have been, but they gave us a purpose to pursue.
I had one such experience on an eventful evening in 2005. Bal Vikas students from one of the districts in Andhra Pradesh had put up a drama on Bhakta Prahalada in the Sai Kulwant Hall. Noticeably happy with the performance, Bhagawan showered the children with lots of photos and prasadam after the drama. When Bhagawan returned to the interview room, he was in a blissful state, perhaps reminiscing His times from the Narasimha Avatar, buoyed by Prahalada’s devotion. The ever-spontaneous Bhagawan suddenly asked the two of us (another brother who also was serving Him with me), if we had any spiritual question for Him. Hearing this offer I felt I had won a lottery. Like a lottery winner who would not know how to spend the fortune in the initial moments after winning, I was juggling the many questions that were popping up in my head after hearing Bhagawan’s offer. Finally, taking cue from the events that were so magnificently portrayed by the Balvikas children on Prahalada’s life, I asked Bhagawan, “Swami, in our journey towards You, what comes first, is it the Faith or the Experience?
The ever-resplendent Bhagawan looked into my eyes and replied with a smile, “Bangaaru, it is neither Faith nor Experience.” There was a precious and pregnant pause after that statement. We waited eagerly, catching our breath for the message from the divine lips. Bhagawan graciously continued, “It is Love that needs to come first. Where there is Love, there Faith will build and develop. And, when there is Faith, Experience of the Divine is bound to follow.” The message was plain and simple. It took a few moments for its profundity to sink in. Swami continued by citing from the Ramayana. “When Lord Rama was searching for Sita in the forest, He had no plans to pass by Sabari’s hut. But it was her Love for the Lord that drew Him towards her hut granting her the experience of the divine. Love will lead to Faith and Experience. Take one step towards me and I will take ten steps towards you.” Bhagawan also gave us a reality check on how easy we had it compared to the likes of Prahalada. “Even in the most extreme circumstances, Prahalada continued to nurture his love, faith, and devotion to the Lord, and as a result, the divine was always with him. He wanted Lord Vishnu to be by his side all the time, so how could the Lord ignore.”
As I think more about it, I feel as if Swami has given us the license to be the iron filing to the magnet that He is. We only need to be ‘in’ His presence and He will ensure that we are drawn towards Him like an iron filing is drawn towards a magnet. We have been beneficiaries of His grace on various occasions, but the opportunity to seek Him and be assured of His grace is a divine experience that we have been blessed with. Bhagawan has declared on numerous occasions that His miracles or divine experiences are His visiting cards. The onus is now upon us to act upon those divine experiences we have had. It would be a pity to merely relegate these experiences to the pages of a book or worse to the dusty shelves of our fading memories. Many such episodes have made a lasting impact in the lives of countless devotees. Bhagawan in His immense grace has written many such golden chapters in the book of our lives. It is our turn to now dedicate a few pages of our book to living His message.
