Faith vs Fanaticism

Due to so many religious fanatics (though fanaticism really has nothing to do with real religion), we tend to think that having faith is a dangerous thing. Actually, without faith, one can never make any real progress. But such faith does not come from joining a certain team and blindly aligning with whatever so-called truths are put forward.

So what is the process by which faith is developed?

Easily summarized:
– Step 1. Apply this to your life
– Step 2. Take a step back and see if things are changing in your life, if your heart is changing
– Step 3. Ask yourself: “Do I feel happier? Do I feel more satisfied?”
– Step 4. What experience you have will indicate if this is valuable or not, and real faith may develop because the process works for you, not based on the fact that somebody just said so

Let’s take a closer look at blind following, the root cause of fanaticism, and the real meaning of faith.

Highlights

– 0:00 Faith develops by following the process and gradually experiencing a change of heart
– 5:36 A real guru wants his followers to have their eyes fully open and understand what they’re doing, while a fake guru prefers blind followers
– 16:50 How the yoga system views faith as opposed to in worldly religions; in bhakti yoga, you gradually come to directly experience and realize the truth, thus faith develops
– 26:51 A fanatic is a a person with a lot of emotion and sentiment, but no knowledge. We can’t just plug in but need to actually take the teachings to our heart and do the work.
– 41:58 The bhakti yoga process is a scientific execution of transcendental activities which enables one to return home. But we have to actually follow that process to have the results.
– 49:47 In the Vedic society being taught spiritual truths was normal, and we have a responsibility to also educate our children in that field. If we all do our own work, the proper vision will be given to us.