On Belief, Faith, and Truth

(From my personal journal, June 6th, 2007)


What is Belief? Put simply, Belief is a concept that something is true. That something may actually be true; but it might not be. Belief does not make it true. We may have been taught since childhood that something is true. And having been thus taught, we believe it is true. But it is still only a concept. Without Knowledge born of experiencing Truth, that belief will ever remain nothing more than a concept.


How do we know if a belief is true? We could study and cross-reference from now 'til the end of time; but without experiencing Truth, our belief will still remain only a concept. Yet we often go on believing -- or believing in -- something, without ever experiencing that which we believe in. We then enter the realm of Faith.


What, then, is Faith? Faith is only Belief, but belief so strong and pervading that almost no evidence to the contrary can be permitted to disrupt it. Faith borders on the domain of those who may be called "True Believers," those who wil brook no disagreement with their views and dismiss any contrary evidence as suspect.


We may extrapolate that Belief may lead to Faith. Yet here, too, if we're honest at least with ourselves, this faith has not the experience of Truth to back it up, to give it substance. Our Faith is blind; it sees no evidence, no manifestation of Truth. And if we're not very careful here, we may enter the arena of fanaticism, which is what appears to be holding sway in the world about us today, in all areas of human life.


Properly, Belief does lead to Faith, but only if it has been tested and found to be true. It has been placed in the crucible of Experience and come out as Faith. But not the faith taught by religions and their societies, their followers. Not Blind Faith, but the faith spoken of by Jesus of Nazareth: "If you have but the faith of the mustard seed, you shall say to the mountain, Remove yourself, and cast yourself into the sea. And it shall be so." That faith is born of Knowledge, hidden within that tiny seed, of the potential to become a mighty tree.


So, then, Belief, properly tested, leads to Faith born of Knowledge gained from Experience. Properly observed and applied, that knowledge leads to Truth. And since knowledge, once acquired, becomes a part of ourselves, an indispensible component of our very Being, it follows that Truth can only be found within ourselves. Not the truth found in books, films, music and conversation (though these things can be useful as guides), but the Truth we extrapolate from observing and applying our inner Knowledge.


Then, wonder of wonders, we will find that we've had that knowledge all along! It has always been ours, individually and collectively. We don't need the books. As Master David M. Berry taught his students, "You ARE the book!"


Belief is only a beginning. Faith, that of the mustard seed, we may consider an intermediate state. Even Truth is not the end of our journey. There is another aspect to all of this, a dimension of awareness, of being, that is absolutely necessary, which must permeate all of our endeavors, if we are to succeed in our quest. What is that indispensible ingredient?


LOVE.


Namaste',
Don