AN ACT OF FAITH by BINOD SINHA (top rated books of all time txt) 📕

AN ACT OF FAITH

We were on our way to “Vaishnavdevi” temple. While walking, I sprained my right ankle. Initially, it was not so bad, and then it became very painful on climb. I decided to rest and sat on the side bench. I requested my friends to go ahead and I will catch up with them very soon.
With my eye closed I tried to relax, hoping the pain would go away. But it did not happen. I was dejected. Then I remembered God and murmured in prayer, “Oh! My God! Please help me. I must visit the temple"
I felt as if someone sat next to me.
“Hello.”
I was not sure, so I didn’t respond.
“Hello,” I heard it again.
I turned my head and looked towards him and managed to say, “Hello”
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine, thank You,” I answered softly.
“Take this. You will feel good.”
He gave me some water to drink.
“Where are you going? He enquired.
The question surprised me.
I thought to myself, “Where the hell a parson will be going other than the temple.”
Any way, I did not want to be rude to a fellow pilgrim.
“Off course temple,” I said simply.
“Going alone?”
“No, I have friends. But they have gone ahead.”
“Are you from north?”
“Yes, and how about you?”
“I stay here.”
“You mean in the village.”
“No I stay in the temple.”
“Are you one of the priests?”
“No, I am the God.”
His answer baffled me. I suppressed my laugh.
“What are you doing here? You should have been in the temple, blessing the visitors.”
“You prayed with your heart when you were in pain. That is why I am here.”
I thought probably he had heard my murmur, when I was in pain.
“Oh! So my prayer had such a strong influence on you?”
“A Prayer said with heart is much more powerful than any ritual,” he said and then asked me, to my surprise, “Could you get up, please?”
“Why”
“You will find the answer yourself.”
I reluctantly got up.
“Face me. Presume, I am the idol in a temple. Fold both hands, close your eyes and pray.” He instructed me and added, “And, don’t forget to ask, whatever you want.”
I did what he told me to do without knowing why I had to do.
I stood in front of him, closed my eyes and prayed. My head automatically bowed in reverence. For these few seconds I was unaware of anything. And, I was at peace.”
I opened my eyes.
He was smiling at me, “Sit down now,” after a pause said, “When you bowed your head while praying, you had submitted yourself to God. For those few seconds, you had lost all your five senses and reached a level of ecstasy where you no longer see, hear, taste, touch or smell. That is the moment I came in you and you were the God. No worldly desire was left in you. You did not even ask for grant of boons.”
I looked at him amused.
“He is an interesting person and having him as a companion would be a good fun,” I thought to myself.
“How about granting the boons?” I asked.
“You did not ask for.”
“I forgot.” I said and then continued, “I have everything in life what a person would desire to have in one’s life. But, I am still an unhappy person. I do not keep good health. There is unrest in the family. I work hard. But still did not get promotion,” I spoke on an impulse.
I was surprised on my own candid expression. I knew I didn’t need to say this, but I said it anyway.
“So, you want to ask me that I should grant you boons so that you can be free from these problems and, in return you will make one more visit to this temple once your goals are achieved.”
“Yes. You know everything. Then why don’t you answer my prayers here itself.”
I was trying to be funny.
“Mr. Singh!” I corrected him, “I am Sharma.”
“Okay, Mr. Sharma! Any discomfort in the body is the creation of self. How much to eat, it is you who decide. How much to work, you decide. What kind of life you lead, you decide. Then, how can I help you in removing your own creation. You are the master of your own body. It is you who have to take care of self. It is only you, who have to find the answers to all your problems.”
I looked at him, puzzled. I waited for a moment, and then asked, “But how?”
“Everyone, including you desire happiness, but in pursuing it you do the very things which you should avoid. The result is, naturally, misery and mental unrest. The root cause for this paradoxical situation is that you lack true knowledge of the self.” He paused for a moment and then, added, “You think, you are an independent person having immense power. So, you start acting autocratically and whimsically as a master in a limited circle, such as your family, office or organization. You do not realize that you are also subject to the control of God.”
“How do I achieve happiness?” I asked inquisitively.
“You have everything. But you always desired more. You have been running after the material comfort or wealth. That is not a real happiness. The real happiness or bliss is to be experienced within self.”
“Come on, you are talking to me like a preacher. Let us start moving; otherwise I will miss my friends,” I said and got up.
“I will take you through a short cut route so that we can reach temple faster than your friends,” he suggested.
To my surprise, I found that cramps had vanished and I was able to walk without any discomfort.
“Okay! Mr. God or whatever your name is. What was that inner experience you were talking about?” I asked.
“You can feel inner experience when you are able to control your mind?”
“Yes, I do everything using my mind.”
“You do not control your mind; it is the mind which is controlling you. You act only for the fulfilments of your own desires. Your life is dictated by your wants, likes and dislikes.”
“What is wrong in that?”
“You are never able to achieve the ultimate: happiness and peace in life.”
“Okay! Tell me how to control my mind?”
He did not respond. He made a sign for me to follow him. We were walking through the forest, in silence. There was only the forest and its strange noises. I felt irritated by the silence of the man. I was scared. Is he going to rob me? Luckily, I was not carrying any valuable except for a wrist watch and some cash.
However, there was one positive aspect of our association. He had behaved very respectfully so far. “So I have to trust him,” I told myself. “If I believe that he is a respectable man, then I also have to believe that he can guide me through the forest to reach the temple.”
The moon was shining in the sky, illuminating the path, the hills and villages around. We continued walking until we reach an open space. From there the temple was visible and appeared very close.
He sat down on one of the rocks and turned his face to face the moon and closed his eyes.”
“Are you tired?” I whispered softly.
He did not respond.
I waited for some more time and then, asked anxiously, “Shall we proceed for the temple.”
“Not yet. I need to give you answer to your question.”
“What was that? I don’t even remember,” I said with an irritation in my voice.
“You had asked me how to control the mind!”
“Oh, yes. Now I remember. What is the answer?” I asked in a flat tone without any expression of curiosity.
He, however, showed no sign of irritation when he spoke again, “The answer is Meditation.”
“You could have told me then and there itself! Why we have to walk this far to get this answer? I said with certain bitterness and then, added, “I know about Meditation. I have learned it in the Yoga classes. What is so special about it?”
“I want to help you to come out of the darkness of ignorance. For that, I wanted you to be close to nature. Nature spreads tranquillity and helps in concentration of mind. I want you to feel and experience the power of Meditation,” He coolly explained.
“So, you expect me to come to a forest, every time I have to be in meditation.” I asked, puzzled.
“No. You need not to give up job or families to realize God through meditation. But, you need to feel and experience the power of meditation first, so that you strive to reach that level, to experience God while leading your normal life. This is important because what you feel and enjoy inside will manifest outside.”
I felt very special that day. I needed to feel this way, because this man inspired respect and wisdom.
We both sat down on the ground in lotus pose, facing each other. I took a deep breath, feeling the cold, pure air of the forest in my lungs, and that moment I made a sacred promise to myself: I must follow his teachings.
” Since you know how to do it, it will be easier for me to guide you through the process,” he said and after a pause continued, “I will be here with you to help you get over the fear of loneliness and bring you to the path of virtue. Once you have achieved that. I will leave you alone. Thereafter you will be on your own.”
He smiled and then said, “You must meet me in the temple. I will wait for you.”
I smile back at him and nodded.
He was guiding me through the process of Meditation in his soft balmy voice, “Look at me and concentrate with your eyes open, considering me an object. God manifests himself in everything, including me, the object in front of you.”
After a long silence, I heard his soft voice again, “Maintain your concentration on me and slowly close your eyes.”
I did and maintained that posture. Thereafter, I was no more bounded by time and space. I was drifting into different world. There was darkness all around, except for a tiny distant light. I saw the light moving towards me. It enters into my body through pituitary- the third eye and my whole body was engulfed with light. An aura had formed around me. I experienced the presence of God in me. I was completely at peace with me.
XXXXX
I was awakened by the noise. When I opened my eyes, I found my friends around me.
“Where I am,” I asked.
“You are in the hospital,” my friend told me and then added; “One of the villagers found you in the forest and informed the Police. Police brought you here for medical attention.”
“Where is he?” I enquired.
“Who?” My friends asked me.
I did not respond and maintained a silence.
“Do not worry. You are fine now. The Doctor says it was a case of exhaustion. You are being discharged. You are fit to travel,” my friend was assuring me.
“How about you people? Did you have “Darshan?” I enquired.
“Yes, we all had ‘Darshan’. We waited for you at the temple. But when you did not turn up there, we decided to look for