What Is Faith According To The Gita?

If we refer to a dictionary, the term ‘faith’ means to have complete trust and confidence in something or someone. Faith has also been mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, the most sacred religious book for the Hindus. The meaning of faith as per the Bhagavad Gita is not very different from the meaning given in a dictionary. According to the Bhagavad Gita, faith is all about having complete trust in God and his will. We also need to believe that the teachings and wisdom provided in religious books such as the Bhagavad Gita are correct and worth emulating in our lives.

Arjuna had complete faith in Krishna, which was one of the key factors that helped the Pandavas win the Mahabharata War. It was the win of good over evil, dharma over adharma, and it was possible through complete faith and trust in the God. Arjuna, along with other Pandavas, had complete faith in Lord Krishna. For them, he was the God himself, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, who had come to this world to protect dharma.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, “yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srjamy aham”. This means that whenever evil (adharma) becomes dominant in the society, the God will himself come to this earth to restore dharma. The Pandavas had complete faith in this message from God, which is why they managed to defeat a huge army that was several times more powerful than their own army.

One of the best things about the Bhagavad Gita is that it does not ask you to have blind faith in anything. It asks you to have faith in God, but it also gives you the freedom to exercise your freewill. This is evident when Krishna tells Arjuna, “Iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya vimrsyaitad asesena yathecchasi tatha kuru”. This means that even when you are aware of the supreme knowledge, you still have the right to choose, in terms of what you plan to do next.

Krishna does not force Arjuna to follow his instructions; instead, he just tells him that he should dwell on what was revealed to him and act as per his own wish. This is what makes the Bhagavad Gita all the more attractive to the global audience. You can have complete faith in God, but you will always have the freedom to act as per your wish.

Faith has great importance in the religious and spiritual realms.Faith may be difficult to prove through scientific experiments, but its presence can often be felt in our everyday life. Ask any successful person and they will readily tell you that success is all about keeping the faith. The popular saying, “Faith can move mountains” is quite true and there have been various examples of this. People overcoming their cancer/disabilities, people making a comeback after losing everything, people working for peace and society’s welfare, are just a few examples of how faith can move mountains. With good intentions, and faith in your abilities and God’s guidance, you can achieve anything you want. This is largely what the Bhagavad Gita has to say about faith.