I am that I AM – Part Four
We remain ever free in life to spin the web of our dreams. But while our lives are constantly absorbed in this effort of spinning, we seldom grasp the fact that we ourselves are responsible for the web of circumstance that now confronts us.
Our web is not the product of some alien fate, but results from strands which we alone have spun. This web may be for us a home, and a playground for our pleasure. It may also be a prison which holds us fast behind its iron bars.
In either case the web remains the product of our spinning. We are the sole architects of our lives, and the source of all the events which confront us. Our ability to change the outer circumstances of our lives into patterns which better reflect our true desires, demands a capacity of mind called faith.
Faith is the ability to anticipate in the mind, the manifestation of physical circumstances which do not yet exist. Referring to faith, the apostle Paul wrote in the first verse of the eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 11
Speaking of faith, Saint Augustine asked, “What is faith unless it is to believe what you do not see?” Sri Aurobindo, the sage of Pondicherry, wrote of faith:
“Faith is the soul’s witness to something not yet manifested, achieved or realized, but yet the knower within us, even in the absence of all indications, feels to be true or supremely worth following.” 26
Faith is that inner conviction that something that does not at present exist, is nevertheless capable of manifesting within our world of personal experience. This conviction is central to the ability of any individual to alter his or her circumstances of life.
Faith provides the stimulus to proceed when all outward signs point to the contrary. Only those who are capable of maintaining faith and sustaining their image of a chosen goal, are ultimately successful in creating and achieving what they desire.
Again, the time it takes for this new condition to appear depends on the clarity with which the goal is formulated, and the zeal with which it is pursued, remembering also that doubts and fears serve only to undermine the efficacy of this pursuit. Persistence is the key to ultimate success.
The fact that we are able to alter the circumstances of our lives, finds support in the Book of Job: “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” (Job 22: 28) 11
Maharaj also gives us the assurance that “whatever deep conviction you hold onto in the core of you will happen.” 27
In the pursuit of our desires, it is our personal attitude that is the vital ingredient which attracts those opportunities which allows us to fulfill our goals.
Opportunities do not occur by chance. They are attracted to people by the force of their thoughts when these are focused upon a particular objective. The person who seeks to achieve a special goal will recognise opportunities as they occur, and utilize them to advance towards that goal.
To the skeptic, these opportunities are dismissed as the random effects of chance. Doubters refer to such events as “luck”, those fortunate breaks that just “happen” to occur at a fortuitous time.
Enlightened people know better. They recognise that each one of us is the initiator of our own good fortune, and that there is no such thing as arbitrary luck. While these beneficial circumstances may often appear mysteriously and unexpectedly, and against all odds, they nevertheless represent the due outcome of the originating desire.
We hear again the echo of Maharaj’s words:
“It is the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfilment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire? A desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous.” 13
The ability of people to order the circumstances of their world through the power of faith, was a dominant theme in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus constantly exhorted people to believe in the power of faith. Although he upbraided many for their lack of faith, he also marvelled whenever he found it.
Jesus invariably performed his miracles to bolster people’s faith, and to demonstrate the potential powers that existed within them. He also taught his disciples that what he did himself, others could do as well.
More than this, however, he assured his followers that they would be able to do even greater things than he had done, through the power of faith. His emphasis on the power of faith is a common refrain throughout the record of the Biblical miracles.
During the three years of his ministry, Jesus campaigned constantly against the prevailing climate of ignorance and unbelief.
On one occasion Jesus was observed walking upon the surface of the water. His disciple Peter impulsively jumped out of the boat to join him. Although he was initially able to walk on water also, Peter succumbed to his doubts and began to sink beneath the waves. When he called on his Master to save him, Jesus replied, “O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) 11
The people to whom Jesus ministered were simply unable to comprehend that the power of thought was capable of transforming their ordinary “reality” in accordance with their needs or wishes. The power of faith was capable of achieving undreamed of miracles.
When Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road to Jerusalem one day, they came upon a fig tree that had no fruit on it. Jesus announced to the tree: “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever.” With that, the fig tree withered away in front of the amazed disciples. Then turning to them, Jesus said:
“Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, ‘Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea’, it shall be done.” (Matthew 21:21) 11
When Jesus cursed the fig tree, it was not an act of retribution inflicted upon the unfortunate tree, nor was it a simple fit of pique by Jesus at not finding any figs. Instead it was an ideal opportunity for him to hammer home in dramatic fashion the vital significance of the power of faith.
Similarly, on another occasion, Jesus exhorted his disciples, saying: “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, ‘Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea’, and it should obey you.” (Luke 17: 6) 11
Unfortunately, we tend to laugh at these ideas today, for we regard ourselves as citizens of an enlightened scientific age. In these skeptical times we tend to regard the stories of the miracles performed by Jesus as fables designed to entertain the gullible.
For is there anyone today who seriously believes that a plant can be uprooted by the power of thought and then be made to grow in the sea? And who believes that a vast mass of solid rock such as a mountain could be transplanted by the power of the mind?
We know better than to believe such stories, for our science and our common sense have amply demonstrated the impossibility of such things. Yet it is a sad reflection on our times that, were Jesus to return to earth in these troubled times, he would no doubt raise again his age-old cry:
“O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?” (Mark 9:19) 11
The truth is simple, but how few there are who can bring themselves to believe it.
“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9: 23) 11
As Jesus taught two thousand years ago, there is no limit to what can be achieved in the world of physical form by the power of a focused mind. Even in our sternly critical times of doubt, we continue to find examples of people who are able to do things that science deems impossible. These people do these things simply because they believe they can.
Those who perform these astonishing marvels are often young children, and those of poor education, who have not yet been conditioned into accepting what is possible and what is not. For those who were weighed down by their troubles, Jesus offered a simple remedy. It was the technique of prayer.
Prayer was a direct call for help to the Father of all creation in times of need. Again, like faith, in order to be effective, prayer needed to be undertaken in a spirit of confidence that the help requested would be forthcoming. Jesus gave his assurance that whatever a person prayed for, in faith, would be granted.
“Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11: 24) 11
“And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believingly, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) 11
In today’s world of harsh reality, the power of prayer tends to be regarded as a remote and unreliable remedy. Churchmen and women everywhere talk glibly about the power of prayer, but seldom believe it to be capable of revolutionizing the physical circumstances of their lives.
Yet the power of prayer is able to transform the “real” world around us, and to answer our needs in mysterious, but truly miraculous ways. Those who unshakably believe in the power of prayer can literally move mountains. As Alfred Tennyson wrote in his epic poem Morte D’Arthur:
“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
Now the efficacy of prayer is not due to some arbitrary response drawn from a divine personage who happens to be on call. The technique of prayer is a direct call to the Atman, the inner Reality within each one of us, and that is always available in time of need.
Through the art of prayer, the individual soul establishes contact with this inner source, and is able to draw on its unlimited power in response to a particular need. This mysterious power then rearranges the outward conditions of life in a way that is perfectly adapted to the need which prompted the appeal.
By means of prayer, the individual is able to transcend his or her personal limits of power, and draw on the limitless power of the universe. This power then intercedes in ways which are truly miraculous, for it represents the inexpressible potential revealed in true freedom of expression.
The results of prayer are often breathtaking in their creative manipulation of what we call “reality”, as we shall see in the following instalment.
Continued in Part Five
References:
11 King James version of the Bible. (KJ21)
13 “I Am That”, Conversations with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, translated by Maurice Frydman, Book I, Chetana, Bombay, 1973, p. 19.
26 Quoted in “Sai Baba, The Saint of Shirdi”, by Mani Sahukar, Somaiya Publications, Bombay, 1971, p. 13.
27 “Seeds of Consciousness”, The Wisdom of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, edited by Jean Dunn, Grove Press, New York, 1982, p. 119.
