Meaning of Faith - a Paradox
Now we turn to the most important point i.e., 'my faith' and what does my faith mean to me and also if my faith is superstition in your opinion and if so what does it mean to you. Since we respect individual freedom in this country, you are free to follow your faith. But at times two equally predominant faiths contradict each other, as is the case in our country. Some feel that our country ought to be a Hindu nation while others think that this nation should not be allowed to become a religious state at any cost and remain a secular one. ANS agrees with the later. The problem here is how does one decide which of these is faith and which is superstition? Here we have to take into consideration an important aspect of the chemistry of faith. Every faith is deeply coloured by emotion. A man cannot go by his intellect alone. Intellect as well as emotions forms the basis of his decisions. So his decisions are coloured by his emotions and thereby create the problem of faith and superstition. Make a continuum with trust at one end and superstition at the other, placing faith in the middle. Now trust is where thought predominates while emotion has no place at all in it. If someone tells you very emphatically that two and two do not make four, you will take him to be a fool and just ignore him. Here he is not challenging your faith. But in case of those who sacrifice a human being in order to obtain a male child, it is sheer superstition that has no place for thought what so ever. It is all entangled with just emotion. What is faith then? Faith is emotion that develops into thought founded in truth and translates into a motivating value.
We have already seen that man has intellect as well as emotion and he needs both. A train cannot run with just an engine (i.e., intellect) but needs fuel as well (i.e., emotion). Many a time human beings instead of reasoning let their emotions decide for them. But that should not obliterate thinking altogether. This tendency of letting emotions rule over you with no place for thought becomes superstition. However if the decisions taken on the spur of emotion are put to test by reasoning it means developing it into a thought.
Four Criteria of Faith
The first is verifying the facts or the truth. The faith that does not allow to be questioned on the basis of facts or truth is a superstition. What does this mean? Babasaheb Ambedkar gives an apt illustration. He says, 'If you find a yellow shining piece of metal, do you burst with joy that you have found a precious piece of gold? No. You argue with yourself that when put to the test of fire, the piece will shine if it is gold and will not if it is only a piece of brass. You give so much thought while deciding about a piece of metal. Why don't you take such a considered decision regarding your values that guide and sustain your life? You must take a decision about your values thoughtfully. It means that you ought to put your faith to the test of the fire of truth.'
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