Does our Faith require us to do something to attain our salvation or is Faith enough?

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an Enlightened being, says,

“Faith does not come by force; it arises spontaneously. Faith develops automatically when you have experienced some result, you have benefited in some way or you have experienced some change within yourself. You do not need to keep faith, it should come automatically, and once it comes, it never leaves under any circumstance. Without faith, everything you do is mechanical.”

Without faith, everything you do is mechanical

Where there is faith, there is devotion.

“Devotion means to approach nearer and nearer to the one you are devoted to”, says Gnani, the Enlightened One, and further elaborates, “It is said to be devotion only if you are going closer to the one you are devoted to. And the day, the devotee and the one he is devoted to come so close that they actually become one, the objective is said to have been accomplished!!! There remains no difference between the two thereafter and both become inseparable; they cannot be separated ever after.”

Similar is the case with salvation!

If we have the right faith and devotion toward God, we will approach nearer and nearer to God. And the day will come when we’ll be one with God and will attain salvation!!!

Right Faith arises with the Right Knowledge

Can we have faith in someone we don’t know?

No! Just imagine, whosoever we are devoted to, if we do not know Him - we do not have any information about Him, we have no knowledge about him, how can our faith arise in Him? It is not possible! And even if we suppose that faith arises, it would be blind faith, isn’t it?!

Only when we get to know One more and more, faith starts developing inside us. Then, without we having to enforce it; devotion begins to arise naturally. Such knowing is called Knowledge. Our faith arises in proportion to the knowledge we have of the One we are devoted to. As much our knowledge is right, that much our faith will be right. That’s the principle!

For anything to come into practice:

• One attains its knowledge (Gnan) first.

• Thereafter, the faith (Darshan) sets in. Knowledge without faith does not last long.

• The faith in turn strengthens the attained knowledge, making it stronger and stronger.

• And finally, the knowledge comes into conduct (Charitra).

Thus, knowledge and faith together lead to salvation. The two co-exist; either cannot run alone, as they are actually two sides of the same coin.

To Enhance our Faith, We Need the Right Knowledge, Which We Can Get only from Gnanir
So that the right faith in God arises, we ought to know who really is God.

God really is our own Self. The Absolute Soul that resides within is the Self, and that verily is God. But to gain the right knowledge of this God that resides right within us, we need the grace of a Living Gnani, the Enlightened One.

It’s because Gnani alone has the right knowledge of God and also the right experience of God. Furthermore, he has the divine, spiritual powers to make us experience God (Self-Realization) too!!!

Having received the right knowledge of God (Self) and having tasted the experience of God, our faith in God begins to get right. And as explained above, whomever we have the right faith and devotion towards, we will approach nearer and nearer to Him. Soon, the day will come when all our ego will dissolve; we’ll be one with God (the Absolute Soul) and will attain salvation!!!

Thus, the right faith and the right knowledge received from Gnani are enough to attain our salvation! And Self-Realization is the first step in that direction.

To read more: https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/relationship/guru-disciple-relationship/power-of-faith/