July 16, 2025
Understanding Faith and Its Role in Spiritual Development
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 128-129
This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/understanding-faith-and-its-role-in-spiritual-development/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are allavailable on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of SriAurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
1
00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:05,280
There's a long history of debate
about what we believe and how we
2
00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:09,480
know what we know.
Science and religion have
3
00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,880
historically taken opposite
positions in this debate.
4
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,680
Science takes the view that the
mind must be able to ascertain
5
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,360
objective facts and draw
conclusions based on them.
6
00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:25,520
This includes potentially
developing hypotheses and
7
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,560
testing them, discarding or
modifying those that do not bear
8
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,720
themselves out in the test.
Science is therefore most
9
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,120
comfortable with phenomena that
are observable, or at least
10
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,600
measurable as to their
existence, their result, and
11
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,240
their uses.
They may not be able to see
12
00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,600
electricity, but they can
validate its effects, channel
13
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,760
it, and measure it.
This approach limits, however,
14
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,600
the ability of science to deal
with deeper significance or
15
00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:03,880
first causes, or the purpose of
our existence, as these quickly
16
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,200
devolve into indistinct and
somewhat contradictory
17
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,000
assertions which science has
been unable to prove.
18
00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,120
It is thus eventually left
either in a state of agnosticism
19
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,040
or in an appeal to faith at some
ultimate level.
20
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,080
Religion, on the other hand, has
taken its stance in the field of
21
00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,360
what is called faith.
Faith has been generally
22
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,600
dismissed by science as not
being subject to proof.
23
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,600
This leaves a wide field for
claims to be made, many of which
24
00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,480
can be demonstrated to simply be
inaccurate.
25
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,160
For instance, it was a doctrine
of faith in the Western world
26
00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,080
for many centuries that the sun
revolved around the earth.
27
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,720
When scientists began to assert
facts and proofs that concluded
28
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,840
that the earth actually was not
the center of the universe but
29
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:04,960
itself rotated around the sun,
they were ostracized, penalized,
30
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,440
tortured, and made to retract
their facts to preserve what we
31
00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,520
now know was an entirely
misplaced application of faith.
32
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,840
There is a role for faith, just
as there is a role for the
33
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,280
mind's action in its search for
truth through the mental powers.
34
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,800
Once we recognize that the mind
has its own limitations and that
35
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,960
knowledge is progressive, we can
begin to accept that there are
36
00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:38,640
forms of knowledge which rely on
senses, intuitions and methods
37
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,120
which are not based in the
mental activity, and which thus
38
00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:48,120
rise up within us in such a way
that we call it faith.
39
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,840
Faith in its deepest sense is
not faith in a particular
40
00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:58,080
doctrine, teaching, book,
teacher, or modality.
41
00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,480
Rather, it is the deepest sense
of the soul identity, espousing
42
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,120
and expressing its innate,
deeper knowledge through its
43
00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,720
connection with the divine and
the divine reality.
44
00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,120
Once we understand that faith is
not the same as dogma and that
45
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,400
we need not suppress, torture or
be fearful of the mind's
46
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,760
approach to knowledge, we can
find the harmonious interplay of
47
00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,200
both aspects of our being.
Whereby faith brings us to a
48
00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,080
knowledge that lies outside the
mental range at present, and the
49
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:39,240
mind works to consolidate and
organize this knowledge as it
50
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:44,040
becomes available to us.
We take an article of faith and
51
00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,560
focus intensely on it until it
reveals its deepest secrets to
52
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,120
us.
What starts out as faith may
53
00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:58,040
indeed turn into fact over time.
This is particularly true when
54
00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,400
the soul awakens to the deeper
realities of existence and
55
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,720
begins to understand things that
the mind cannot define with its
56
00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:12,520
narrow and limited capabilities,
Triorobindo notes quote.
57
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,279
Faith is the soul's witness to
something not yet manifested,
58
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:22,280
achieved, or realized, but which
yet the knower within us, even
59
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:26,920
in the absence of all
indications, feels to be true or
60
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,720
supremely worth following or
achieving.
61
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,760
This thing within us can last
even when there is no fixed
62
00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,840
belief in the mind, even when
the vital struggles and revolts
63
00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:41,800
and refuses.
Who is there that practices the
64
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,720
yoga and has not his periods,
long periods of disappointment
65
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,600
and failure and disbelief and
darkness.
66
00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,920
But there is something that
sustains him and even goes on in
67
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,800
spite of himself, because it
feels that what it followed
68
00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:04,360
after was yet true, and it more
than feels it knows The
69
00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,320
fundamental faith in yoga.
Is this inherent in the soul,
70
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,360
that the divine exists and the
Divine is the one thing to be
71
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,680
followed after?
Nothing else in life is worth
72
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:23,200
having in comparison with that.
So long as a man has that faith,
73
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,000
he is marked for the spiritual
life.
74
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,160
And I will say that even if his
nature is full of obstacles and
75
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:35,320
crammed with denials and
difficulties, and even if he has
76
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,640
many years of struggle, he is
marked out for success in the
77
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,920
spiritual life.
It is this faith that you need
78
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,720
to develop, a faith which is in
accordance with reason and
79
00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,240
common sense, that if the Divine
exists and has called you to the
80
00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,160
path, as is evident, then there
must be a Divine guidance behind
81
00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,120
and through and in spite of all
difficulties.
82
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,520
You will arrive not to listen to
the hostile voices that suggest
83
00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,920
failure, or to the voices of
impatient vital haste that echo
84
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,640
them.
Not to believe that because
85
00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,080
great difficulties are there,
there can be no success, or that
86
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,720
because the Divine has not yet
shown himself, he will never
87
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,360
show himself but to take the
position that everyone takes
88
00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,720
when he fixes his mind on a
great and difficult goal.
89
00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:35,320
I will go on till I succeed, all
difficulties notwithstanding, to
90
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:40,440
which the belief in the Divine
adds the Divine exists.
91
00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,880
My following after the Divine
cannot fail.
92
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,760
I will go on through everything
till I find Him.
93
00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,760
End Quote.
Reference.
94
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,120
Srioro Bindu and the Mother
looking from within.
95
00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:00,280
Chapter 5.
Attitudes on the Path, pages 128
96
00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:01,400
to 129.
00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:05,280
There's a long history of debate
about what we believe and how we
2
00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:09,480
know what we know.
Science and religion have
3
00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,880
historically taken opposite
positions in this debate.
4
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,680
Science takes the view that the
mind must be able to ascertain
5
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,360
objective facts and draw
conclusions based on them.
6
00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:25,520
This includes potentially
developing hypotheses and
7
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,560
testing them, discarding or
modifying those that do not bear
8
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,720
themselves out in the test.
Science is therefore most
9
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,120
comfortable with phenomena that
are observable, or at least
10
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,600
measurable as to their
existence, their result, and
11
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,240
their uses.
They may not be able to see
12
00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,600
electricity, but they can
validate its effects, channel
13
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,760
it, and measure it.
This approach limits, however,
14
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,600
the ability of science to deal
with deeper significance or
15
00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:03,880
first causes, or the purpose of
our existence, as these quickly
16
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,200
devolve into indistinct and
somewhat contradictory
17
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,000
assertions which science has
been unable to prove.
18
00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,120
It is thus eventually left
either in a state of agnosticism
19
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,040
or in an appeal to faith at some
ultimate level.
20
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,080
Religion, on the other hand, has
taken its stance in the field of
21
00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,360
what is called faith.
Faith has been generally
22
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,600
dismissed by science as not
being subject to proof.
23
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,600
This leaves a wide field for
claims to be made, many of which
24
00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,480
can be demonstrated to simply be
inaccurate.
25
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,160
For instance, it was a doctrine
of faith in the Western world
26
00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,080
for many centuries that the sun
revolved around the earth.
27
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,720
When scientists began to assert
facts and proofs that concluded
28
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,840
that the earth actually was not
the center of the universe but
29
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:04,960
itself rotated around the sun,
they were ostracized, penalized,
30
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,440
tortured, and made to retract
their facts to preserve what we
31
00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,520
now know was an entirely
misplaced application of faith.
32
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,840
There is a role for faith, just
as there is a role for the
33
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,280
mind's action in its search for
truth through the mental powers.
34
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,800
Once we recognize that the mind
has its own limitations and that
35
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,960
knowledge is progressive, we can
begin to accept that there are
36
00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:38,640
forms of knowledge which rely on
senses, intuitions and methods
37
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,120
which are not based in the
mental activity, and which thus
38
00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:48,120
rise up within us in such a way
that we call it faith.
39
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,840
Faith in its deepest sense is
not faith in a particular
40
00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:58,080
doctrine, teaching, book,
teacher, or modality.
41
00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,480
Rather, it is the deepest sense
of the soul identity, espousing
42
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,120
and expressing its innate,
deeper knowledge through its
43
00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,720
connection with the divine and
the divine reality.
44
00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,120
Once we understand that faith is
not the same as dogma and that
45
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,400
we need not suppress, torture or
be fearful of the mind's
46
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,760
approach to knowledge, we can
find the harmonious interplay of
47
00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,200
both aspects of our being.
Whereby faith brings us to a
48
00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,080
knowledge that lies outside the
mental range at present, and the
49
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:39,240
mind works to consolidate and
organize this knowledge as it
50
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:44,040
becomes available to us.
We take an article of faith and
51
00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,560
focus intensely on it until it
reveals its deepest secrets to
52
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,120
us.
What starts out as faith may
53
00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:58,040
indeed turn into fact over time.
This is particularly true when
54
00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,400
the soul awakens to the deeper
realities of existence and
55
00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,720
begins to understand things that
the mind cannot define with its
56
00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:12,520
narrow and limited capabilities,
Triorobindo notes quote.
57
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,279
Faith is the soul's witness to
something not yet manifested,
58
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:22,280
achieved, or realized, but which
yet the knower within us, even
59
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:26,920
in the absence of all
indications, feels to be true or
60
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,720
supremely worth following or
achieving.
61
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,760
This thing within us can last
even when there is no fixed
62
00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,840
belief in the mind, even when
the vital struggles and revolts
63
00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:41,800
and refuses.
Who is there that practices the
64
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,720
yoga and has not his periods,
long periods of disappointment
65
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,600
and failure and disbelief and
darkness.
66
00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,920
But there is something that
sustains him and even goes on in
67
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,800
spite of himself, because it
feels that what it followed
68
00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:04,360
after was yet true, and it more
than feels it knows The
69
00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,320
fundamental faith in yoga.
Is this inherent in the soul,
70
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,360
that the divine exists and the
Divine is the one thing to be
71
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,680
followed after?
Nothing else in life is worth
72
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:23,200
having in comparison with that.
So long as a man has that faith,
73
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,000
he is marked for the spiritual
life.
74
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,160
And I will say that even if his
nature is full of obstacles and
75
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:35,320
crammed with denials and
difficulties, and even if he has
76
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,640
many years of struggle, he is
marked out for success in the
77
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,920
spiritual life.
It is this faith that you need
78
00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,720
to develop, a faith which is in
accordance with reason and
79
00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,240
common sense, that if the Divine
exists and has called you to the
80
00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,160
path, as is evident, then there
must be a Divine guidance behind
81
00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,120
and through and in spite of all
difficulties.
82
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,520
You will arrive not to listen to
the hostile voices that suggest
83
00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,920
failure, or to the voices of
impatient vital haste that echo
84
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,640
them.
Not to believe that because
85
00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,080
great difficulties are there,
there can be no success, or that
86
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,720
because the Divine has not yet
shown himself, he will never
87
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,360
show himself but to take the
position that everyone takes
88
00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,720
when he fixes his mind on a
great and difficult goal.
89
00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:35,320
I will go on till I succeed, all
difficulties notwithstanding, to
90
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:40,440
which the belief in the Divine
adds the Divine exists.
91
00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,880
My following after the Divine
cannot fail.
92
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,760
I will go on through everything
till I find Him.
93
00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,760
End Quote.
Reference.
94
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,120
Srioro Bindu and the Mother
looking from within.
95
00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:00,280
Chapter 5.
Attitudes on the Path, pages 128
96
00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:01,400
to 129.