Sri Ramakrishna often said "faith follows longing like sunrise follows the rosy dawn." Perhaps we could also understand this, faith is the outcome of our spirituality, not necessarily a pre-requisite for it. After all, does faith come so cheaply? In some places, Swami Brahmananda suggests that real devotion and faith only comes after the vision of our Istha, our Chosen Ideal. So whether our chosen form of the Divine is Christ or Krishna, Kali or Shiva, Buddha or Ramakrishna, we find that often faith is difficult to come by and that even when there is a working faith it is something that waxes and wanes. One might even get the impression that faith is like singing talent: "you either have it or you don't." But don't let the panel of judges of American Idol deceive you. Just like singing talent, faith is something that can be developed with regular practice. But what are the practices that can help us develop and improve our faith in whatever form of the Divine we've chosen or been given? Here are a few: 1. Read literature associated with that form. For example: (a) Poetry (Mirabai, Theresa of Avila, Ramprasad, Kamalakantra, Tulsi Das etc.) (b) Epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (c) Puranas and Mythologies like the Shiva Puranas or the Chandi/Devi Mahatmya which appears in the Markandeya Purana (d) Hagiographies or writings left behind by great mystics who were devoted to that particular form. (e) The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga which both have something for everybody! 2. Watch movies associated with that Divine form. e.g "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", "Bhagavan Sri Ramkrishna", The Shiv Mahapuran series etc. 3. Spend time in the company of Lovers of God. 4. Visit holy places where many devotees have worshipped God. 5. Look for the arch-type which your Chosen Form exemplifies outside of your tradition and also in daily life. For example, every time you encounter dance or drumming you might remember Shiva, or every time you see an example of sacrifice and renunciation in your day-to-day comings and goings, you remember Jesus. Maybe the blue of the sky or the dark waters of the ocean at night remind you of Krishna? 6. Just make a start today! Faith comes through practice so go ahead and set up and altar in one corner of your house. Place upon it an image of your favourite form of the Divine. Learn a few songs to sing to your Deity every day. Read some poems to your Deity. Spend time at the altar everyday and just confide in your Deity, talking them as you would your teacher, your master, your friend, your child, your lover, your Self... The best place to start with Bhakti is to start just where you are. Here is a playlist of videos on Bhakti Yoga, the Path of Devotion: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGGe32PDNMb44Ft3IdvLbqZ2OLpmPJYH OM Tat Sat
