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Faith and Mental Health
I think it is important that we first try to define Faith and what it means to us. When we speak of Faith do we mean faith in a philosophy? Faith in a person as Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammed or the many others? Or do we have faith in rituals that we are told to practice by those who interpret religion to the common person.
If we have faith in a philosophy then that philosophy has to be vibrant and dynamic. It cannot and should not be a dogma. The philosophy practiced by any religious group is based on the foundation of Love, Understanding, Acceptance, Compassion and Appreciation, to mention just a few of the positive attributes of religion. We must not only interpret our religion in positive terms but we must live it. These positive attributes must define our relationships with each other and all of creation. Positive thoughts, it is said, lead to positive words and on to positive destiny.
If our Faith is centered around a personality or in a set of rituals defined by someone then we are opening the door to dogmatic practices which can lead to a deterioration in mental health.
Dogmatic approach to anything in life leads to fanaticism, a closing of the mind, and stagnation. Gandhi once said: "One's mind must be like a room with many open windows. Let the breeze blow in through all of them but refuse to be blown away by any one." We all know what happens when we stop fresh air from entering our homes or our lives. We go crazy and we can even die.
The religious fanaticism that we see in the world today is the result of dogmatic approach to Faith. We are prisoners of the past instead of becoming pilgrims of the Future. We are looking for God everywhere, except within ourselves. It is this frenetic search that leads to madness. There is no other Kingdom of God other than the one that should be within one's Heart and Soul.
By
Arun Gandhi
|
June 9, 2008; 4:20 AM ET
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Posted by: Paganplace | June 16, 2008 7:32 PM
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"I think it is important that we first try to define Faith and what it means to us. When we speak of Faith do we mean faith in a philosophy? Faith in a person as Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammed or the many others? Or do we have faith in rituals that we are told to practice by those who interpret religion to the common person."
Well, Mr. Gandhi... I suppose the Western sense of 'Faith,' has become a thing which is *supposed* to transcend these concerns, but too often does not.
Despite the irrationality, often there is a very *cerebral* irrationality about 'Faith.'
As in, people define it really hard as 'Believing (often in the things you mention) *really hard.*'
'So hard that you can try to claim by overwhelming demonstrance of belief that you have this nebulous thing called 'Faith.'
I say, representing, as I can, some of the traditions from which the word 'Faith' came, and was appropriated into some notion of believing in books, dogmas, people, and even belief itself, ...that's that's never what faith meant.
I like to say,
Belief is thinking you know something.
Faith is not needing to.
Originally, the word comes from the same roots as 'Fate,' and 'Frith' ...even Faeries and Fates.... and other things: recognizing solemn bonds between people and the Gods and the world herself. The course of time and circumstance, itself.
Not *claiming you know something,* and trying to shout down any challenge to the notion you or your God or party *knows everything, so ou don't need to look, just believe,*
But *being able to deal constructively with *not* knowing.*
Often it's about being open to inspiration, intuition, other ways of knowing, but first and foremost, about *bonds of trust.*
'Believers' claim they have 'Faith,' and claim others do not.
Faith, shall we say, is not about 'What belief is right.'
It's about 'what happens when you *don't* think you know?
Also goes both ways.
Difference between faith and delusion is which you can lean on and not fall down. :)