The Difference Between Trust and Faith

Trust is frequently built on the basis of experience. We gain trust by confirmation of a particular development or response from our interactions. Trust is thus primarily based in the mental process. Through a process that develops credibility, an individual gains trust in the action and outcome. We view and analyze what takes place, and with repeated similar results, a measure of trust is built up. Sometimes trust is gained through measures taken to provide support or protection as a “fail safe” mechanism. In the exte
al world we gain trust in government guarantees, insurance companies and their asset base and history, and in the existence of collateral in case the promised result does not occur.

When we look at trust from the spiritual seeker’s viewpoint, we acquire trust in the divine process through our cumulative life experience, particularly if we reflect on situations where we were unexpectedly supported or aided, and we attribute that support to the action of the Divine.

Faith does not arise primarily in the mind, but in the psychic center. It is based on the knowledge of the soul of a reality that has not yet become fully evident and palpable to the mind. Faith may be awakened or reinforced through experiences that also can build trust, but it can leap ahead of trust to become a certainty in the soul.

Many people have reported returning from a near death experience and upon reawakening, they suddenly had an entirely new sense about the existence of the Divine, about the significance of their lives, and the purpose for which they had been returned to life. In most of these cases, there is not an exte
ally palpable factual basis for the newly acquired faith. It is something they simply ‘know’ through what Sri Aurobindo calls ‘knowledge by identity’, the oneness of the soul with the Divine.

A disciple asks: ‘… what is the difference between faith and trust?’

The Mother observes: “Faith is something… much more integral than trust. You see, you have trust in the Divine, in the sense that you are convinced that all that comes from Him will always be the best for you: whatever His decision and whatever the experience He sends you or the circumstances in which He puts you, it will all be always what is best for you. This is trust. But faith — that kind of unshakable certitude in the very existence of God — faith is something that seizes the whole being. It is not only mental, psychic or vital: it is the whole being, entirely, which has faith. Faith leads straight to experience.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 133-134