0:00 Intro
0:16 If we have unwavering faith in god and guru does that mean we also have unwavering faith on ourselves?
2:18 Difficult things always somehow work out in the end, is this a sign that my faith in god and guru is being answered?
4:35 When we experience failures in life, how do we build back faith in ourselves?
6:27 How do we maintain unwavering faith when we meet obstacles in life?
9:19 How does the guru test our faith?
11:17 How do we handle the mind when things don’t go as expected?
14:12 Can we only know how strong our faith is until it is tested?
16:24 How to keep our faith when being discouraged by others
21:08 Is it better to have faith and devotion or selfless service in today’s world?
23:49 Closing words from Babaji

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji – online Q and A No. 72
How to Develop Unwavering Faith
Recorded: 03 April 2022 with Malaysian participants

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   Babaji, if we have unwavering faith in God and Guru, does it mean that we also have unwavering faith in ourselves to do the things we need to do in our life?

Babaji Maharaj:   Exactly. I have always told, faith means self-confidence actually.  The Divine is within you.  You need to have that faith.  And like our Swamiji, our Gurudev, He always said, “You can lose anything, anything, no problem, but do not ever lose faith.  Then no God can help you.”  Faith as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said, “Faith in the name of Lord, in the name of Guru can work wonders.”  Swamiji also used to say, “The Guru will have to bless you if you that faith.”  Means Guru Himself will not have any choice; He will have to.  So that is the wonders that the faith can do.  It’s an unwavering focused effort on the Divine Guru that everything is that Divine Guru’s wishes. As we always pray, “May it happen according to Your wishes, but please always inspire my wisdom and protect me.  Whatever has to happen, let it happen but You be with me always.”  So that’s the highest prayer we say.  That faith is very, very necessary, unwavering concentration on the Divinity, on the Divine Guru always.  Everything that happens we have to take it as the Divine Guru’s Grace.  That is the faith.

Question:   Thank You, Babaji.  The second question – Babaji, I have faced many situations where things just seem impossible and I feel lost.  But I keep doing my best and somehow they work out well in the end.  Is this a sign that I’m on the right path? Is it a sign that my faith in God and Guru is being answered?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, keep going.  Whatever that you want has to happen is not the faith.  Whatever happens – that you accept it is the faith.  Like since childhood also I myself practiced.  Many times we used to pray to the Divine “Let this happen like this.”  And if it did not happen, then we used to assure ourselves and pray to God, “Though I wanted it to happen in this way, but if it has not happened, and something else has happened, maybe it’s for my good only, for my benefit only.  You have better things in Your store for me.  So let me keep going.”  Like that, that faith never wavered.  I never accused God.  We never lost faith or devotion to God.  The more tests came, the more we started loving God.  So that is the right thing.  That’s how you had to keep going, never look back whatever happens.  What happens is not important, what is your attitude is important.  If we are ready to accept it, so many things – slowly, slowly, we start accepting smaller things in life.  Then eventually bigger things also might happen, unbearable, very bitter, unexpected, unacceptable in fact, things also can happen.  But we must accept that is the best thing that the Divine has done for us.

Question:   Thank You, Babaji.  The next question – When we have gone through lots of failures in life Babaji, how do we build that faith in ourself?  How do we trust ourselves again?

Babaji Maharaj:   See, as long as we have put in efforts to the best of our ability, so then a failure is not a failure.  Simply it has happened that way in this world, that’s all, not necessarily our failure.  If we have not put in efforts, that is our failure actually.  If we have put in efforts but the result is happening something else, then we have to accept.  So it need not be our failure.  It is the Divine’s verdict.  It’s the Divine that’s wanted.  So it is alright, fine, no problem.  If this is the thing, no problem.  Always have ‘no problem’ attitude – everything is good, all is well.  So with that you have to keep going.  That is the real faith, actually.  Faith is always there; it will never go if you simply accept it, after putting in efforts.  While putting in efforts, totally remain focused and work well to the best of your ability, like a ‘do or die!’.  So, until the last breath of life, trying, putting an effort is always worth it.  Then we don’t have to set a condition.  It should not be conditional.  Faith is always unconditional.  “Whatever happens, I put in my efforts, whatever You want to do, You do my Lord.”  That’s how we pray.  That’s how it has to be.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  The next question – Babaji how do we build or maintain our unwavering faith in God and Guru when life situations, diverse challenges such as unexpected death of loved ones, even when we pray for recovery or when we meet obstacles in life?

Babaji Maharaj:   I fully understand for the people who are living in this world, some of these things can be very, very painful, but we have to leave it to the Divinity.  Because world is impermanent, something always can happen.  But we don’t have to lose our faith in God.  Our faith in God is our friendship to God.  Just because in a friendship our friend doesn’t behave as we expect, so we don’t have to give up the friendship; that is the real friendship.  Friendship should not be like a deal working out or a business deal working out, not for lust and greed.  It is just for sake of love, for sake of love that we are friendly with somebody and that is our friend.  Even if our friend doesn’t work according to our expectation, no problem.  We have no bad feelings about our friend.  We are always friendly.  So many people, that’s how they come to me and then they leave and go away from me.  We bless them, we pray for them.  So there’s nothing; it’s their choice.  That’s what the Divine inspired to them.  It’s no problem.  Like that we keep going. 

So, that is that real faith actually.  It should be natural.  You don’t even have to maintain with an effort.  It should be natural.  Anything happens, no problem.  My God is God always; I will love.  So we saw even after Swamiji attained the mahasamadhi, several of the people who were like a VIPs, closer to Him sitting and gossiping, they left and simply went away to another Guru.  I used to wonder what has happened to these people.  Our Swami has not gone anywhere.  He’s everywhere.  He is the one with the Divinity.  So why should we give up?  Just because He’s not around physically, we don’t give up our Guru.  Our Guru is with us always.  It is that Guru’s name we will take, that Guru’s remembrance we will cherish and we pray to that Guru only – ‘Shivabalayogi’, that’s it.  Like that, it should be unwavering.  It should not be conditional.  It’s not a business deal.  Just as a friend. We love God, we love our Guru.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji, does the Guru test our faith so that He knows we are genuine, or is it so that we realize how strong our faith in God and Guru is?

Babaji Maharaj:   It is tested, definitely – faith.  Whenever you try to do something that is good, so your determination is tested.  So when you want to love your Guru, so that is tested always, because every time you should not think like this; the Guru is there, so whatever I think it must happen to me. If it doesn’t happen, “Ah this Guru has no Power, this Guru is not good.  I may have to find some other Guru now.” That’s not the faith.  That is that test you miserably failed, one fails in that.  So if the faith is unwavering, then nobody can fail us.  Nobody can trouble us at all.  We love, simply this thing did not happen.  So that’s no problem.  Sometimes some people used to talk to me, criticize, “Don’t you think all your youth has simply gone by just by dusting and washing the utensils?  You were not given anything.”  That was before I sat for tapas.  “Nothing.  I did not wash the utensils of the Ashram so the Guru will give me something.  I just did it out of my love to my Guru,  I loved Him.  And I continue to love whether He gives or not; that’s not a condition that I started loving him.  I never made any such deal.  I simply fell in love with Him and I’m going to love.  Even if the whole world gives Him up, I will love Him.”  So like that, unwavering faith.

Question:   Babaji, the next question. It is always easy when things are going well, we get the feeling that our faith in God and Guru is guiding us.  But it is when illness strikes or when we keep facing problem after problem that the mind wonders, “What happened to my faith?  Why is there no helpful guidance coming to me now?”  How do we handle the mind in such situations?

Babaji Maharaj:   First of all, you didn’t have any faith at all, means you are working on a business deal.  As long as things are going well and according to your expectations, it was convenient; convenience of devotion, what is known as.  So, as long as it was convenient, you are a devotee.  And no sooner that convenience was not there, things did not happen as per your wishes as you wanted, it started getting tough.  And you say that you have lost faith, whereas you never had faith at all.  So that’s why the mind becomes confused and started thinking.

As I have been answering different question after question, it is not the deal that if things go well, only then I will love my Guru I will be devoted to Guru.  So that’s only a business thinking.  No problem, let Him cut me into pieces, let Him kill me, let Him totally make failure in this world, let the whole world tell I am an idiot, I’m useless, anything.  My Guru is my Guru to me, is my father.  So, no problem.  Like that.  So then the Divine.. even Swamiji used to tell, “Shivan, Lord Shiva, He grinds you.  And then He cuts you into pieces.  And He beats you like anything.  He beats you; He might even kill you.  But if you’re not afraid, if you’re not worried, if you have the unwavering faith and love to God and your Guru, then Shivan takes you on to His laps, then He gives you liberation.  So that is what the test is.  Sometimes tests can be very severe; it’s total… you don’t have anything to eat, and you don’t have anything to do, you cannot even help your Guru – like that type of tests come.  So that’s only a test, but your love to Guru should be unwavering, no problem.  So that is necessary.  That is the real love, that is the real faith.  Otherwise, you never had any love for Guru, you never had any real faith at all.  So that is when the mind wavers and it is confused.  If there is real love and faith it never gets confused.

Question:   Babaji, that would mean that all of us until we are actually in a difficult situation and tested, we don’t really know whether our faith is that strong and that unwavering.  Is that true Babaji?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  So when you face the examination, the tests, then only your ability is known.  So when tests come to you, then only you will know whether you really had any faith and whether that faith is unwavering, how much devotion you had, how much love. Because your mind should never get dropped from this thing – the love is always there when you remember your Guru.  So the love to the Guru is totally different.  Anything happening, success or failure in life is totally different.  We must not combine them.  We love or we have devotion, we have faith, not simply because that we have to be successful in life. It can be simple failure, nobody coming, no problem.  That doesn’t mean that we are not going to love our Guru.  We will love.  

Even if Guru wanted to test us also, the Guru will fail and we will love the Guru; we cannot give up our love to Guru, our faith into the Guru.  Always we thought, “Now Swamiji You have scolded me, You have tested me, You have belittled me, You have humiliated me, I am going to love You more.”  [laughs] Like that I used to reassure and think about it.  I used to think like that, “I’m going to love,” because I loved only for sake of love, not for sake of any success, failure, that “You have to notice, You have to give me this, You have to give me that,” no need for anything.  “To love You, I don’t need anything from You, my Lord.”

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  The next question.  Babaji, how do we ensure our faith is not compromised while pursuing goals which are seemingly impossible and when others are also discouraging us?  What are the ways to build a faith and make sure the Divine guidance is always intact?

Babaji Maharaj:   First thing it is very necessary, we keep ourselves away from such people who are discouraging us. Ramakrishna said if anybody is trying to criticize your Guru, then ask them to get out, or you get out of that place.  Don’t sit with them, such people, don’t listen to them at all, even once.  That can be very brainwashing  sometimes, they can be confusing.  Their job is like that only.  Some people are always negative.  They want to make you to give up always – “Ah look, you are going to that Guru, you have been so much a failure, your Guru did not give anything.”  That is all they know.  They are very small fellows, small-minded, narrow-minded fellows.  They don’t know what love to Guru means, what devotion to the Guru means.

They always build with the dealership, “If I get this chocolate, I will love you for two hours.  Then I will need another chocolate, then I will love you for two more hours.”  So, their love is temporary.  They never really love at all.  They never really had any faith.  “I will have faith only for one hour if you give me this much of gold.  And if you give me this much of diamond, I will love you for another one hour.”  How can that be a love?  That is not a love at all.  That’s only a business.  You go to a shop and buy something.  So this is something else.  Love to the Master is not to be connected with the life’s success or failure or birth or death or any such thing happens.  Like a soldier dies, he loves his country. He’ll protect, he will die.  That death is no matter for him, no problem.  Like that we also have to be.  This is a battlefield, a warzone always.  To love the Master so many tests will come; failures will happen, because this world is going on – we have our own expectations.  If things don’t happen, then we start cursing the Guru.  We want some scapegoat, that’s it. 

We must not do that one.  We simply love our Guru, whatever comes or goes, happens or not happen.  Even if the whole world disappears and we die it’s no problem.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t love.  You see all these failures of life, miserable conditions, very strong failures and troubles, bitter pains, unbearable pains, impossible situations – let them be in their own place.  My love to my Guru is different.  That is the highest from all this.  We don’t connect our love to the Guru with all these success, failures, pain, bitter, this, that, anything.  That is not the thing.   All such people, that means they have never understood faith to the Guru, means loving the Guru. Simply you are loving, you are loving, you are loving, if you write, and if you don’t have that faith, so that love was never there.  That was only a show of drama, what we call nautanki.

Nautanki means the drama.  “Oh, I love You so Guru, we love You, oh my lord, will You protect, be with us.”  And then next day they run away.  They said “Oh I don’t feel like coming to the Guru.”  They never really loved.  That’s all.  The Guru smiles.  So the real love all over the world.  We have seen thorns, but we have seen roses also, beautiful roses, who have undergone who are undergoing so much of troubles and bitter pains, unbearable.  Next is only death.  But still they love the Guru so much.  They just love.  First my Divine Guru, my father, then afterwards anything else comes. Like that they are living.  There are living examples, roses.  So that is the devotion.  Future generations, when they know their stories, they will definitely feel inspired.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  There’s one more question.  Which way to live is better Babaji – having faith in devotion like Ekalavya or selfless service like Karna in today’s world?

Babaji Maharaj:   Everything, both are equally great, but the purpose has to be.  But Ekalavya’s love was to the guru to learn that vidya.  That is the best sacrifice.  And he was ready to sacrifice for the guru for sake of the guru, because he loved the guru.  He adopted the guru and he could focus.  His focus and faith were so strong that he became a wonderful archer.  So that is great, important.  So in Karna’s place, it is different.  He adopted a friend because that friend gave him a kingdom, Duryodhana.  That’s what the Sri Krishna accuses Karna, “When your friend, he gave you a kingdom and then you became a slave to the friend and then went on appreciating, accepting, giving friendship to whatever wrongdoings he went on doing.  You did not learn anything.”  So that is how Karna’s life was.  Though Karna was a noble character, is a great person, but he did mistakes at many places. That Krishna says in the end when He tells Arjuna, “This is the time you shoot the arrow now, you need to kill him.” 

So that is different.  But whereas Ekalavya’s story is totally different.  He learnt just to learn that vidya he loved the master.  Then he fell in love with the master,  he was ready to give without a second thought.  He just cut his thumb and gave it to the master.  He never even bothered afterwards also.  He never regretted that he had to lose, because he loved the guru.  He said “No problem,  I love the guru.  He wanted this.  I’m so sorry that he just wanted this thumb.  He could have asked for my life itself.  I could have simply killed myself if my guru wanted.  I’m really sorry that he took only a small thing from me.  If he had taken my life itself I would have been very happy,” he says, Ekalavya.

Facilitator:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji, so far those are all the questions that have been sent in for today’s concerned topic.

End of Questions and Answers

Babaji Maharaj now concludes the session.

   Always remember how much effort you are putting in is very important than what’s going to happen in your life.  The success and failure is in your efforts, not in the results.  The result we simply accepted, whatever happens it happens, no problem.  We try to protect our Ashram.  If still anybody stronger takes and destroys the Ashram, that was the Divine’s will.  We want that devotees come and sit in the Ashram, learn meditation.  Ashrams are built only for devotees’ sake.  But if some people become selfish and want to usurp the property for their personal needs, they don’t bother about the public needs, that public utility place – they can come and sit and do meditation.  So, what to do?   It’s not our failure; it’s the Divine’s wishes.  We have to respect simply, that’s all. But we will always protect.  So we are looking forward that soon you all would be able to come to India to be with us.  Brother Hari would be able to work it out soon.  Let us see how successful it’s going to be.  It’s all the Divine’s wish finally – we will accept.  Whether it happens or not, we are going to continue to love our Master, our Divine Guru always, our Divine father. 

   All the best – you all have taken some precious time out.  Some very nice questions were asked, it’s a very wonderful topic.  Faith is one such important thing in life that which we need, that so many have spoken about faith like Ramakrishna or our own Swamiji.  

   Faith in the name of Lord can work wonders.  This is one thing.  Another thing Swamiji spoke, “You can lose anything in life, but do not ever lose faith.”  That is your love to God.  So that is important.  So these are the very important things.  Do not forget these two sentences in life.

End of Session