Importance of Faith in a Sadhana

The Shiva-Samhita (3.16, 18 -19)

Success comes to a person of faith and self-confidence, but there is no success for others. Hence practice hard.

The first sign of success is confidence that [one's efforts] will bear fruit. The second is being firm in that faith; the third is worship of the guru;

The fourth is equanimity (samata-bhava); the fifth control over the senses; the sixth is moderate eating; there is no seventh.

Madre Teresa

I watched "Madre Teresa" last night on DVD and I heard the prayer of Saint Francis for the very first time. It resonated with me greatly after spending more than 3 months in the holy city of Rishikesh, UP, India. That prayer embodies not only the spirit of Christ but also Shiva, Krishna, Vishnu, Ganesh, Allah, etc.

I had left India with a negative view of organized religion and Christianity in particular but watching the film made me realize that individual Christians can practice as they please and Mother Theresa was the exemplar of a good Christian. She embodied the spirit of Christ unlike so many people of the cloth.

Without further ado, the text of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

I find that with Westerners especially (I was no exception prior to the start of my sadhana in Rishikesh) are jaded and cynical, so reading an extraordinary passage like the above makes no impact on one's psyche. If this was the case for you then try and close your eyes for a second and pray for clarity and comprehension. Then slowly and with presence, re-read the passage —perhaps out loud — and I pray you will find the deeper meaning to resonate within your own heart and perhaps make a lasting change in your outlook on life.