True Faith vs. Learned Compliance
Faith - strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof
Following - inclined to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree
“It’s called blind faith and it means you don’t need to ask questions, just know that it is true.”
I would sit and ponder the meaning of faith and one word kept holding me back; belief.
If I have a belief in something I should then believe it to be true. For me to believe that it is true I am going to need to understand it. So, this idea of there being no answers to the questions that I had yet I was to blindly follow along quietly to ensure my place in heaven, was not going to work for me. After all, I was never a follower in any aspect of my life, so why should something as important as my spiritual life be any different.
I went out in search of the answer to these questions that kept me from having a true faith in anything. I knew that there was something greater than myself that, once I connected with this higher being, would be able to allow me to see the purpose to all of this…to, well, life.
It took many years of researching and studying and asking questions to anyone and everyone who would answer them for me. There was a pattern that I started to notice among the people I spoke to. Some I could sit with for hours and ask question after question. I may not have found my own truths in what they spoke but I was always so mesmerized and envious of how passionate they spoke, with a strong certainty in every word. These people would always l start each answer by saying, “I believe….” or “When I think about that…” Never trying to get me to agree and it seemed I could never have asked too many questions.
The other group of individuals would start out just as pleasant, however, these conversations were often a lot shorter and I often left feeling I had offended them or over stayed my welcome. They lacked the confidence behind the words and gave me answers in a very short text book style. All their answers began more like, “That is because…” or “It is just…” which found me more on the defensive when I did not see the truth in what they were saying. I usually heard a few, “Well that’s why you just have to know it is true” and almost always ended with, “Some things just can’t be answered, you just have to know that it is true”.
What I found fascinating was the realization that this genuine faith and knowledge in a person was not limited to only individuals from one religion or another. It was an individual’s understanding and knowledge, and what I later would realize; faith.
I sat with one of my mother’s oldest friends and I had to be told that it was time to go hang out with the other kids so the adults could visit because I had taken up so much of her time. She was raised Jewish and when she married she had fallen away from any spiritual path but upon this second marriage, rediscovered her faith with a man who shared her beliefs. She is almost 80 years old now, has 7 grown daughters, and you would not be able to tell the mother from the daughters in a group. She is radiant. I would also like to point out that once a year I get the honor of attending a retreat that comes to the convention center near me, to see her daughter who travels doing mission work and running these kinds of events with one of the most amazing spiritual leaders of our time, AMMA. She is the spiritual hugger and changed my life. Raised Hindu in India but spreads the word that Love is her religion.
On a broader introduction, I sat with another Jewish woman that my family knew well, who invited me to come and speak with her if I had any questions. I am not sure exactly where I lost the conversation anymore because it was so long ago, but it was a much short conversation at a place where I had a lot more time I could spend with her if needed. This was well over 30 years ago and maybe 10 years ago was the last time I saw her and the interaction was still very awkward. It was as if she was still afraid I was going to have more questions. In this instance, this woman never met her grandchildren because her son had his children baptized in a Catholic Church like his wife had been. The couple are not avid church attendants but it had severed their ties. Her son stood alone at her memorial. It seems that tolerance and acceptance seem to follow the same trend.
I went on to develop, what I refer to as MeOwn Religion, when continually asked what religion I am and Spiritual just won’t do. Ok, that’s only for the ignorant, disrespectful inquisitors; otherwise, I will usually identify myself as Buddhist since it is within the pages of a Buddhism book that I found my first “truth”. I opened to the first page, and as most text regarding any individual(s), the chapters all started with a quote headline, in italics, for each new section. This book started with the quote:
“Believe nothing. No matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” – Siddhartha (Buddha)
It was the first answer that made any sense to me. It was from there that I started my own journey. My beliefs may be like yours, they may be nothing alike, but if we agreed on every point; then one of us would be lying.
So, this my friends is the difference between True Faith and Learned Compliance. If you are “given” your beliefs, then you are only limited to what you were told. If I only studied basic math in school I will not be able to explain Algebra to you. However, if I had a complete knowledge of all mathematical concepts and knew all I could about it, then there would be no mathematical equation I could not solve for you. You may be able to memorize the formula for the area of a rectangle but if you don’t know what “the area” is, then that information is useless to you.
Faith is the absolute commitment and understanding of your belief in your God (or whatever name you choose to refer to the divine power that has sent you on this journey). It may in a sense be considered a blind faith, since there is no way to definitively prove that what you are saying is true, however, you can never be asked a question regarding the things you believe and have faith in and not be able to answer that question. As an example, I am often asked my understanding of past lives and reincarnation as soon as I identify myself as Buddhist. For the record, I completely believe we have lived many lives. I believe you keep coming back till you get it right. I will stop there or we could be here a lot longer, however, I could follow up each one of the things I believe in with the reason and evidence I “see” around me to solidify my beliefs.
Take the time and review your own beliefs. Make sure that they have come from within you. If the only time you find yourself unable to answer a question or stand behind what you believe in is when you are trying to teach intelligence to the ignorant, then you do not need me to tell you that your soul is at peace. If you hesitated for even a moment and considered even the smallest detail of something you have often claimed to have faith in, maybe you need make sure you are not just being compliant with someone else’s ideas of what should be true for you. -Namaste