Faith and Confidence

There are countless stories of what may be called the “placebo effect” for confidence in action. Athletes sometimes believe they will perform better if they are wearing a specific shirt or pair of socks. People have their ‘lucky charms’ that they believe provide them success in certain endeavours. There are also certain rituals people carry out with the belief that those rituals ensure success. In all these instances, the faith that the individual placed in the item or the action gave them the confidence to move forward and carry a positive energy into their activity. The item or act, in and of itself, has no actual intrinsic value as a success supporter, but it allowed the mind of the individual to believe in success. It was the faith of the individual that changed his mindset and his ability to overcome obstacles and difficulties.

The Mother observes: “Long ago some people used to believe that a perforated coin… It was in the days when coins were not perforated… now we have perforated coins, don’t we, some countries have perforated coins, but in those days they were not perforated, and yet sometimes there were holes in a coin. And there was indeed a superstition like this, that when one found a perforated coin, it brought good luck. It brought you good luck and success in what you wanted to do.”

“There was a man working in an office whose life was rather poor and who was not very successful, and one day he found a perforated coin. He put it in his pocket and said to himself, ‘Now I am going to prosper!’ And he was full of hope, courage, energy, because he knew: ‘Now that I have the coin, I am sure to succeed!’ And, in fact, he went on prospering, prospering more and more. He earned more and more money, he had a better and better position, and people said, ‘What a wonderful man! How well he works! How he finds all the solutions to all problems!’ Indeed, he became a remarkable man, and every morning when he put on his coat, he felt it — like this — to be sure that his coin was in his pocket…. He touched it, he felt that the coin was there, and he had confidence. And then, one day, he was a little curious, and said, “I am going to see my coin!’ — years later. He was having his breakfast with his wife and said, ‘I am going to see my coin!’ His wife told him, ‘Why do you want to see it? It’s not necessary.’ ‘Yes, yes, let me see my coin.’ He took out the little bag in which he kept the coin, and found inside a coin which was not perforated.”

” ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘this is not my coin! What is this? Who has changed my coin?’ Then his wife told him, ‘Look, one day there was some dust on your coat…. I shook it off through the window and the coin fell out. I had forgotten that the coin was there. I ran to look for it but didn’t find it. Someone had picked it up. So I thought you would be very unhappy and I put another coin there.’ (Laughter) Only, he, of course, was confident that his coin was there and that was enough.”

“It is the faith, the trust that does it, you see…. The perforated coin gives you nothing at all. You can always try. if you have the confidence, it gives you… When one has confidence…”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter VI Faith, pp. 57-58