Faith versus reason

Faith is first, reason is second.

Faith is life, doubt is death.
Reason is powerless to know god.
Faith alone takes one to god.
He who has faith has everything.
He who has no faith has nothing.
Have intense, unswerving faith.
In the measure in which you have faith, you will achieve.

Faith brings god closer, reason puts him far away.

Faith is not blind belief.
Faith grows out of the wisdom of the heart.
Do total surrender to the lord - keep nothing back, not even a little pride.
Surrender yourself to the lord.
Surrender your all to the lord.

Say to the lord: 'o lord! Give me only that which is best for me, because only you know what
that is.'
a life of faith and devotion, absolute faith in the name of the lord, will always be successful in
the long run.
Through love, faith, and devotion alone is god-realization possible.

Prayer releases god's power.

It should consist of confession, praise, and petition.
Prayer is a spiritual tonic - it purges the mind of all its impurities - such as desire, attachment,
anger, lust, etc.
it also strengthens a man's aspiration, and brings him closer to god.
It brings him into the presence of god.

Pray to the lord for strength and help, as soon as you get out of bed in the morning.
Satsanga - the company of holy men, faith, single-minded devotion to one's ideal,
intense love for god, bhava - feeling, and prema - divine love, bring the devotee face to face
with god.

Trust in the lord with all thy heart.

Acknowledge him in all thy ways.
He will direct thy spiritual path.
God helps the sincere aspirant at every step.
God will help you too.
He will bless you, inspire you, and throw light upon the path.
Never mind about the external environments.
Create your own internal environments, wherever you are.
Fear
Fear is a great human curse.
It is your worst enemy.
Fear assumes many forms and blights many lives.
But a calm mind brings courage.
Then you will face the trials and difficulties of the spiritual path without fear.
Fearlessness is a divine quality.

What is fear?

It is an imaginary zero.
It is Maya’s deception.
It is a mental delusion.

It is a negative modification that arises in the mind-lake, when one forgets his real, divine nature.
It is a whirlpool that emanates from the citta - mind, when one has lost his power of vicara - enquiry - and
viveka - discrimination.
It is the dark wave that proceeds from the ocean of antahkarana - mind, when one has intense
attachment to the body.

Friends, there is nothing to fear really.

Fear is due to acceptance of suggestion.
Victory over fear really means victory over the thing that we fear.
We attract to ourselves the very things we are afraid of.
That is the universal law of nature.
You need not be afraid of anything else in this world save fear itself.

Auto-suggestion helps a lot in removing fear.

Assert the truth of being.
Assert: 'nothing in the three worlds can make me afraid. I am absolutely fearless. My will is strong and
irresistible.'

make friends with the threatened experience, or the things you do not like.
The raja yoga method is to repeat the formula: 'I am courageous' or 'om courage'.
In the morning, meditate on the virtue of courage.

The devotee's method is to pray to god with faith and sincerity and to make perfect self-surrender:
'O god, make me fearless.
Grant me the virtue of courage.
O mother, take thy son in thy lap.
Thou art fear; thou art courage.
Let me see thee alone in all these forms'.
Feel the invisible helping hand of the ishtadevata - your own deity.
Have strong faith.
Real strength lies in fearlessness.
Remove fear of all sorts.

The vedantic method is to enquire: 'who am I?' identify yourself with the inner self.
Assert:
'I am the embodiment of courage,
I am immortal atman,
I am not this perishable body.
Who is to fear whom, when all this is the self?'
this will destroy fear to its very root.

How peaceful and strong are they who have victory over fear.
May we all shine in divine glory, radiating courage all around.
May the divine splendour, the brahmic aura, shine in all faces, and remove the darkness of fear,
ignorance and terror.
May we all attain that state of absolute fearlessness - brahmi sthiti - the state of Brahman.
May we become one with the fearless Brahman.