Faith & Grace
Introduction
I have lived my life with and without Faith. By this, I mean religious Faith. Being born into a Hindu family, I practised all the traditions and rituals required as a Hindu. However, as my teenage years came along, the Faith was simply reduced to just the two components – tradition and ritual – both held absolutely no meaning for me. That is to say; there was no value proposition in all things associated with Hinduism at that time.
My Anglican schooling from a young boy to my mid-teens introduced knowledge of Christianity. This knowledge included stories of Jesus and His Disciples while attending weekly services mandated as part of the school curriculum. Here too, it was just knowledge with no real-life relevance. There was a point, however, when I heard the evangelist Billy Graham speak. I got caught up with the euphoria of being 'born again'. However, like a wisp of a soap bubble, it lasted all of two minutes (in the grand scheme of things).
Fast forward to my early twenties. A family situation sort of forced me to reflect on my purpose, to establish who I was and what kind of man I was to be. I shed everything that my parents and larger family told me at home and my teachers and faith leaders at school. I decided to go and learn all of it for myself. I started with the Faith in which I was born. I soon realized that the Hinduism that we practised as a family and a community had very little in common with the messages contained within Hindu scripture. If there was any hope of receiving God's divine boons, God had to be pleased through these rituals and traditions. There was a firm belief that all the sacrifice, pain and suffering endured during the act of prayer would somehow provide some miraculous change to satisfy our wants.
In my fiftieth year, my journey through life brought me through another faithful door — the door of Catholicism. With my second wife, I attended Mass every week. The scripture readings were strangely familiar to the Hinduism that I knew - a faith that was, by this time, well established within me. The one thing that was quite different, in a sense, the language or medium of transmission of the knowledge (in the Bible), was far simpler to comprehend than was available in the Hindu faith. Weeks turned into months, which turned into years of reading and experiencing the Word of God through the eyes and ears of a Catholic. All of which had a profound impact on my life and the way I look at it.
I couldn't, however, justify the requirement of accepting Jesus Christ as my one and only saviour. My Hindu version of a saviour was firmly a part of who I was. However, there was no question that the teachings of Jesus Christ and others contained within the Bible has and continues to have a significant impact on my life.
It is an experience that has prompted me to ask the question – does it matter? What impact does picking or naming one particular 'saviour' have on my life. Is "belief" the be-all and end-all of life? Should we submit to the notion that Jesus Christ, Allah, or whoever our choice of savior? – then what? Will our lives be magically turned around into some heavenly state? Is there a prize? What is the expectation? What is our ultimate goal in our existence?
1 I submit that it is not just having Faith or choosing a God nor how we pray. It is ultimately able to navigate our journey through life with freedom. To be able to live life good, filled with joy and peace.
Good, though, is also highly subjective. What does it mean to be good? We conceptualize 'good' based on what we experience with the context of our individual lives. There are, of course, social, cultural and even, religious norms that suggest what 'good' is. However, the ultimate judgement and experience of these norms vary significantly between individuals, even within each social, cultural and religious group.
We are not singular entities that live on a deserted island. We are someone else's son, daughter, father, mother, wife, friend, acquaintance, colleague, or whatever associated descriptive. No matter our belief, capability or Faith, our actions has consequences not only to ourselves but to the community around us. Throw our individuality into the mix, and things get more complicated. Each one of us has our idiosyncrasies. Our self (consciousness) is as unique as our DNA and our fingerprints. We may know about right or wrong, good or bad, but how we conceptualize that as individuals depend on our circumstance, our environment and our bias. We must also include any misconceptions that we have developed along the way. It is just the way things are and the way we see things.
'Good,' therefore, when framed in context, should allow us to live with some sort of universality within our community — living despite opposing forces that pull us in different directions. 'Good,' is living life fully. 'Fully' means living with a sense of peace and joy. When we do so, fully, also begets, love, compassion and mercy for ourselves, others and the world around us.
Is this a utopian ideal? Or can it be achieved?
Examining our consciousness, our 'self' or our ego can help us understand the ideal better.
Self (consciousness)
The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, characterized the ego in three parts – the id, the ego and the superego. The id, according to Freud, is our primal impulses, which include our wants, desires and needs. It is the sexual and aggressive part of us. There are no set limits for the id. The superego, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of the id. It strives for perfection. It knows when we have strayed away from our perfect self. The id and the superego are usually at odds with one another. The third part, the ego, then tries to regulate the impulses between the id and the superego. This regulation is necessary because it is imperative for self-preservation.
A child is born with only the id. They only communicate their needs when they need something – food, change of diapers or cuddles – to meet their satisfaction. As they grow, their needs also increase, and so do their ability to understand that certain behaviours illicit certain rewards and or punishment. Their superegos and egos eventually develop from parental and community interactions, and they begin the process of regulating their id. The superego, in a sense, accumulates this sense of morality or perfection based on the experience that we, as individuals, have accumulated over time. Although Freud breaks down the ego – or sense of self – into these three components, they are all closely interwoven into the fabric of who we are as individuals. Although there are three components, it is ultimately just one – which we collectively call the Ego.
To put all of this into perspective, let us look at an everyday example. Imagine sitting at a coffee shop and watching the person on another table talking on a brand-new cell phone. That particular phone has been on your mind. The id part of you says – get up and grab it. The superego part of you says – no! It is wrong. The ego then begins the process to regulate these two opposing tendencies. So, we formulate a plan on how we can use our resources to get that phone in due time. The element of trusting in our capabilities to be able to – one day – get it, prevents us from stealing.
In another example, a married man meets a woman and wonders if they would sleep with each other. The id, the primal response, is to go for it. The superego will remind the individuals involved in the consequences. The ego then decides if it indeed wants to proceed. If the choice is to continue, then it somehow has to rationalize within itself that the decision is justified. It has to trust in this justification to survive any guilt (if any) after the interaction.
Therefore, Freud's hypothesis of the trinitarian ego is incomplete. To complete the self, trust, converts the ministrations of the ego into action. This 'trust' is Faith.
Faith
Faith, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is placing complete trust or confidence in someone or something. The operative word being 'placing.' By this definition, Faith has no religious denomination. Every one of us has to have Faith to accomplish almost everything we undertake. It is not only a personal undertaking; it is also an undertaking that is deliberate and purposeful. One can argue that the level of deliberation and purpose will vary depending on the individual.
It is for that reason that we cannot discuss Faith without discussing how we perceive our personality. What and who we consider ourselves to be – our ego. There is no value judgement here. Every one of us regulates our nature. It is neither right nor wrong, good or bad – it just is. Our experience and knowledge (right or wrong, fake or genuine), defines our ego or sense of self. The value proposition only takes place when the consequences of our actions are juxtaposed with the community outside us.
The only way, therefore, to resolve the opposing forces within us, is our ability to trust whatever the ego concludes to be appropriate. It requires Faith. In the example of the cell phone, it requires Faith in our ability to postpone our satisfaction to the future. In the case of the philandering husband - the ability to live with that decision. Right or wrong, good or bad, our 'self' has to exist in this reality. A reality induced by our actions and how it sits with the community.
Reality
Jordon Peterson, a clinical psychologist, once remarked that (except for trauma and physiology), the majority of his patients do not suffer from mental health. Their mental health is mostly due to an inability to deal with the reality that surrounds them. The vast majority of his patients lacked the tools and knowledge to deal with their existence. He is not wrong. There are lots of people who feel that they cannot survive what life throws at them. One of the root causes is the absence of what we discussed earlier – Trust or Faith. In other words, by increasing the level of confidence, they have of the wherewithal to overcome their struggles.
Despite being born without arms and legs, Nick Vujicic is an Australian evangelist, and a motivational speaker continues to live a full life with minimal limitations (for himself). Pakistani teenager, Malala Yousafzai, became a Nobel laureate after surviving being shot in the head by the Taliban for attempting to get an education. In a world with such diverse examples of abilities, we have to ask why everyone can't make life more comfortable or successful for themselves?
Hurdles and challenges wrought the reality surrounding these examples. Situations where the vast majority of humanity do not nor cannot adequately comprehend. Yet, people struggle with their relatively mundane everyday life.
If we break down our reality, we find that it is mostly dependant on people and the consequences of the actions of people. Natural phenomena aside, our emotional and physical circumstance is wholly dependent on our efforts and the effects of others. There is no running away from this. How a parent brings up a child affects a child. Other dimensions layer the child's psyche as the child develops, which occurs with interaction with peers or others outside their immediate circle.
In the same way, adult interactions continually evolve the human psyche. None of these interactions from birth – is either all exclusively positive or negative. It is always a mix.
It is, therefore, imperative that we have to find ways to navigate our journey through life. If one cannot find the confidence or trust within oneself, fear fills that vacuum. Fear breeds a false sense of security that our circumstance is under control. Fear, like the example of the philandering husband, allows us to conceptualize our reality that all is well. It helps define us and who we are. When challenges to our beliefs occur, it seems like an attack on our sense of self – our ego. One way to identify this phenomenon is to notice that when we feel that 'we' are being attacked, the world around us does not collapse; instead, it is ourselves that does. Despite the disease, hunger, war and social unrest, the world continues to function and has functioned for billions of years. Our sense of collapse is, therefore, measured against how our egos define us and not the world around us. Fear creeps in when Faith is lost. Faith and fear are not good bedfellows. They cannot exist together.
Unfortunately, fear is also that element that makes us want to control our environment, which includes the actions of others. Unfortunately, because of the human spirit, it can only be held for a fraction of a second. It won't be long before there is mutually assured destruction.
Where then do we go to find Faith, when there is no confidence in our own abilities. Many would place their trust in their friends, family or community to deal with their struggles. However, is that always sufficient? Can we put our imperfect sense of 'self' in the hands of other equally inadequate 'selfs'?
Instead, why not allow God to come into the picture. A supreme entity that does not physically exist. God the essence of perfection and absolute. For thousands of years, philosophers have theorized the existence of God. That rationale for their presence of God is hard to argue, especially with Aristotle's unmoved mover philosophy.
However, just knowing that God exists in itself is not enough. As Pope Benedict states in his encyclical, Spe Salvi – faith has to be performative, this knowledge of the existence of God has to do something in our lives. In the absence of Faith in our abilities, we have to surrender that Faith into God's Hands. The amount of surrender is directly proportional to the amount of ego left within us. As long as our ego is intact at any level, we would be continually fighting within ourselves, increasing the level of doubt and hence allowing fear to get in. It is when we can abdicate our fear and insecurities into God's Hands will our surrender be complete.
The decision to surrender ourselves to a supreme being establishes a newness in our lives. A sort of rebirth. A faith born naked. Faith, at that moment, is devoid of trimmings. It is a singular endeavor not dependent on any brand or philosophy. It is real and tangible.
The function of religion or any other brand of faith is more of an effort to guide the process. After that, religion allows us to dress up this faith into a semblance of order, belonging and, most of all, identity.
We can use the story of Adam and Eve to reflect on this kind of faith. They were born naked. Their faith was as it should be - dependent on their Creator. However, the lure of the fruit of out of the Tree of Knowledge took them away from this innocence. Their nakedness made them ashamed of themselves.
The fruit is our ego. It makes us acutely aware of who we are and of our weakness. It makes us ashamed and eventually makes us live in guilt. Surrender to God is a reversal. In the end, this is redemption.
State of Grace
For want of a better word – the prize of surrender is the Grace of God. It is a Grace that puts us in a state of peace. A peace that is totally and wholly satisfying and most importantly filled with joy. It is through this joy a strength of character can be achieved. Notice that it is a state of being. It is not a magical boon. We are still intact as a body and mind. Our spirit, however, is elevated. Through the lens of Grace, this joyous spirit now allows us to see the world differently. It is the performative part, the transformation of our hearts and mind.
It is a process in which there is no requirement to change the world around us. There is no need to control anyone nor anything. Reality is reality. That will never change. However, how we survive through this journey will be.
The belief (in God) now becomes far more meaningful. The conscious and purposeful belief allows us to be in perfect union with God. Our growth now has another element that helps us sustain this Faith gratitude.
We thank God for everything because we now believe that this, too, has been given to us for us to get closer to this Supreme Entity. Every difficult task or situation is a challenge or opportunity to solidify our Faith further. At the same time, every positive experience is another opportunity to thank God and experience a lack of ego. We turn the spiral towards an elevated direction. It helps accept the paradoxes in life.
Life is always in flux. According to Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle and Heraclitus, life is in the form of constant change, which makes everything identical – even the opposites. It is the Doctrine of Flux or Unity of Opposites.
To say that cold and hot are the same. We experience only various levels of temperature. We can measure life by multiple levels of happiness. With regards to being good, everything is good. The difficult and painful situations are just - St Augustine's 'absence of goodness.'
To illustrate this doctrine of flux or the unity of opposites, we can use living in winter. During winter, we modulate that temperature in our homes to a level in which we find comfortable. To reach that level, however, we have to experiment by setting the temperature gauge at various levels over some time to figure out what suits us. Even when we have done so, it might not be suitable for others. We then experiment further until an agreed amount of satisfaction is achieved by all living in the home.
Life is just the same. The only way to find our actual state of Grace – in this flux, is to live it. It is only in living that we can experience what suits us. We cannot relegate this life by hiding behind alcohol, drugs or even laws and traditions to prevent us from living and establishing our place. The inability to act in Faith causes us to stagnate and remove us away from the state of Grace. The inaction also removes us from the preferred state. This inaction is the fear of the unknown and, ultimately, the lack of Faith.
Religion
As religion is the primary domain of a spiritual being - God, the next obvious question then would be which of the world religions are the best? Which "God' is the best? The answer – it does not matter? To categorize, which is 'best' or 'correct' would defeat the purpose of letting go of the ego. The only reason for 'best' or 'right' is to furnish the need to be 'correct' or 'right'. Throughout history, countless lives have been lost and irreparably damaged to satisfy this insatiable need to furnish the answer to this question.
So, I will state again – it does not matter? We are all different. How we imbibe this acceptance of a Superior Being will also vary. Each one of us makes that active choice. C.S. Lewis said that God gave us all free will. This free will allows us to accept God's Grace in 'an ecstasy of love and delight.' We receive God's Grace, not by being told or being taught, but because we want to. Whatever path we take to this realization will be the path that we choose for ourselves to bring us into that ecstasy.
Every religion has its merits, and every denomination has a place for everyone. Every Scripture is lovely and beautiful. They are Scripture because they contain the very essence of goodness that has stood the test of time. We also cannot blame Scripture for the failings of men. Men fail when they interpret Scripture too literally. The true meaning of Scripture contains the essence of love, compassion and mercy. Anything else is the removal of goodness essential to Scripture.
Conclusion
Even though there is no physical or scientific explanation of God's presence, believing in the existence of God is not an irrational act. Understanding the existence of God requires a leap of Faith. The 11thcentury theologian St. Anselm of Canterbury coined the phrase – fides querns intellectum – faith seeking understanding. To understand the nature of God, we have to find Him (note God is gender-neutral). It is a conscious effort to make God real to us. When that happens, we can begin the process of understanding God. It is the beginning of the process in which we can deal with discharging our egos.
In my brief study of theology, I noted that it is always about the distinctions of nuances. As I mentioned earlier, nothing is black or white — the rationale of why we do what we do lie within these nuances. There is a difference between "believing God" and "believing in God". It is the difference between these two adages that the believers and non-believers unconsciously battle over. It separates us. A logical discussion about a particular subject can occur when all parties in that discussion genuinely understand the topic. When it comes to the issue of God and belief, none of the parties are on the same page.
Believing God – is believing in the "promises of God". There is an expectation that belief in God would somehow provide a boon or reward within the believers' life. Not only something positive will come about, but something positive that meets the expectation. It does not serve the purpose of discharging the ego. We still keep 'us' – our needs and our wants – right front and center of our lives. God is there to serve us -albeit if we carry on keeping the prescribed rituals, laws and traditions intact. A quick read of the Old Testament in the Bible reinforces this message. God, in this instance, becomes an idol of sorts – physically separated from us. A "king" or a "savior" worshiped, and boons bequeathed to subjects.
7 However, contained within that message of the Old Testament is also, servitude. Worship is not enough. There is a need to serve God. The message of serving God is to take care of the community around us. Jesus reinforces this message in almost every page of the New Testament. It is also the same message that resonates in every other Scripture of the world. That believing IN a God allows us the ability to put our needs, wants and inhibitions aside for the common good. That conscious act of believing in the unseen, forces us to take ourselves out of the equation.
When we believe "IN" God – "a" God – it takes a conscious and very personal effort. We recognize that this process begins the act of surrender. In surrender, therefore, lies gratitude and servitude. The message of Jesus and all other Scriptures consistently state that God lives within us. There is a common misconception that there are multitude of Gods in Hinduism. It is incorrect. There is only one God in Hinduism. Hindu theologians have long before acknowledged that the human psyche varies from individual to individual. They encouraged imagery that suited the individual. Only the form of the 'Hindu God' is different. However, no matter the image, how one perceives God to be is the same.
The realization that God is within us is putting a package of self, Faith and Grace together to live a full and joyful life. Within ourselves, the absence of the ego allows us not to focus on ourselves but for others. That absence of ego can only come about through Faith. Since we don't have an 'us' to rely on, our Faith comes through a Supreme and Perfect Entity – that is larger than us. Who, what, and how we choose this Entity, depends again on what resonates with us. In engineering, everything has a resonating frequency. So do humans. All of us are different and have varying degrees of likes and dislikes. Our vehicle towards this Entity will only feel right once we have arrived at that decision on our own.
The fact that this ‘switch’ gets turned on by our willing self, it gives us joy. A joy that affords us freedom. Freedom from fear. We no longer fear uncertainty. We no longer fear ‘them’ – those who are not ‘us’. Freedom in the realization that there is no ‘them’ or ‘us’ – just ‘us.’ In this realization, there is the freedom to love and love unconditionally.
At the moment of our surrender to God, our Faith reflects God’s Love, Peace and Grace to everyone around us. Life is filled with good and joy.