The followers of various religions, cults and faiths sport various articles in the form of :-
robes,
dresses,
rings,
bracelets,
bangles,
head gears,
daggers,
swords,
marks on the forehead,
facial and skull hair,
rosaries,
threads around wrist, biceps or torso,
turbans and scull caps
and many more which have been invented from time to time as symbols of faith. Unfortunately the articles of faith take precedence over the faith itself. The devotees are so attached and feel so touchy about such articles that they forget the true essence of the faith that they are following. They often fight with the establishments, in case these articles are required to be removed due to security or other reasons which sometimes even leads to bloodshed too. There is a very fine example of clash between true faith and the article of faith in the story given below which was doing the rounds on the net some time back.
There was once a climber who attempted to climb a very high mountain all alone. After many days of difficult climb, up the vertical cliff, when he was about to scale the summit, his foot slipped and he fell down deep into the gorge. It was night time. As a trained climber, he had made sure that he was secured with the help of a safety rope. As he was suspended in the air, tied to his safety rope, he tried to look below but could not see anything as it was pitch dark. He, naturally, remembered God and prayed for his life. A voice called out to him from the mountains and asked him to cut his rope. He was further dejected as he felt that, it was perhaps the devil's voice asking him to cut his rope so that he died instantly. He kept hanging there through out the night in the sub zero temperature. Next day when the rescue teams arrived, they found his lifeless frozen body, hanging with help of the safety rope, just a few feet above the ground.
Similarly our articles of faith are like those safety ropes to which we cling more dearly than the faith itself. In trying to maintain our grip over these articles we loose our grip on the true meaning of faith. While there is no harm in having our own safety ropes, which may provide us the psychological comfort, let us not forget that there is someone more powerful than these safety ropes, who is guiding us to safety all the time.
Only we have to Listen to HIM.
robes,
dresses,
rings,
bracelets,
bangles,
head gears,
daggers,
swords,
marks on the forehead,
facial and skull hair,
rosaries,
threads around wrist, biceps or torso,
turbans and scull caps
and many more which have been invented from time to time as symbols of faith. Unfortunately the articles of faith take precedence over the faith itself. The devotees are so attached and feel so touchy about such articles that they forget the true essence of the faith that they are following. They often fight with the establishments, in case these articles are required to be removed due to security or other reasons which sometimes even leads to bloodshed too. There is a very fine example of clash between true faith and the article of faith in the story given below which was doing the rounds on the net some time back.
There was once a climber who attempted to climb a very high mountain all alone. After many days of difficult climb, up the vertical cliff, when he was about to scale the summit, his foot slipped and he fell down deep into the gorge. It was night time. As a trained climber, he had made sure that he was secured with the help of a safety rope. As he was suspended in the air, tied to his safety rope, he tried to look below but could not see anything as it was pitch dark. He, naturally, remembered God and prayed for his life. A voice called out to him from the mountains and asked him to cut his rope. He was further dejected as he felt that, it was perhaps the devil's voice asking him to cut his rope so that he died instantly. He kept hanging there through out the night in the sub zero temperature. Next day when the rescue teams arrived, they found his lifeless frozen body, hanging with help of the safety rope, just a few feet above the ground.
Similarly our articles of faith are like those safety ropes to which we cling more dearly than the faith itself. In trying to maintain our grip over these articles we loose our grip on the true meaning of faith. While there is no harm in having our own safety ropes, which may provide us the psychological comfort, let us not forget that there is someone more powerful than these safety ropes, who is guiding us to safety all the time.
Only we have to Listen to HIM.
