By Paulo Coelho
Sri Ramakrisna tells the story of a man who was about the cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man’s back, and said:
- Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown.
The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.
He took it and read what was written:
“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”
“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”
The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.
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in other word “Que sera , sera”
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i’m wondering this question about those words,faith,to believe..i see behind acceptance,with faith,and refusal with doubt.and behind this refusal i see also something that we can’t understand.we have no doubt that the earth is round,do we go to space to check it,no,so does it mean that we believe in it,no i don’t think,we know, it’s true,we don’t need to have faith,we got pictures,pieces of evidence.so maybe we see all the time god,maybe we are all the time with god..in fact i always see doubt with this word, faith.
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You revised the story didn’t you? The man - Peter, was saved. He didn’t drown Sir. Christ saved Him. Peter got scared the time when he was drowning and he asked for Gods help and Jesus said to him, “Your faith is too short” that is not really the exact words but its somehow getting to the point. Jesus didn’t get angry, instead, He saved him. He grabbed Peter’s hand. That’s the real story. That is our belief. I respect your too.
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The story is taken from the Bible. It’s a parable sir, and it’s God who spoke there. He was talking to one of His disciples, Peter. Im a Christian that’s why I know all of those things said. And I do read the Bible. Im sorry sir, but Jesus Christ is the real God. Not the one that your talking about.
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Dear, Heart:
Now you have me laughing! Thanks!
Savita
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Savita: I loved what u posted! i had a great laugh. I rememeber the first time i had put on a sari, it looks beauiful, but jesus it takes ages to put on correctly!
I read all of the posts here, i think all of you people are blessed:)
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I love that post Savita - very funny :-) lol Blessings Tania
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@Gail.. Thats a very scary thought.
Why do you think the man walking on water looked at the leaf? It may not be that he was losing faith in Bibishana, he just might have been ‘greedy’ (not in a negative sense of course.. or maybe curious cud be a better word?) for more ‘powers’/'miracles’.
What would have happened if the man had thought “Wow!! Who is this awesome guy Rama whom Bibishana himself draws powers from?” Could such a thought be interpreted as a lack of faith???
Is that a not a natural progression for humans? And hinduism does say that Siddha’s(yogic powers) are a serious hindrance to spiritual development, taking the seeker on a ego trip and stuff. Mebbe Bibishana wanted the man to learn that??
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me !
if u feel like drowning, become intensely aware of the experience of drowning ! life seems to be funny, it keeps on repeating its lessons till we wake and say ah ! got it!! ( even if that getting it is only an accepatnce that some things cannot be ‘got’, an acceptance that mystries are not to be solved but to be lived ~ whistling sometimes and weeping at others, best still smiling inwardly through the thick & thin of it all )
love
aditya
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“And who is this god Rama, anyway?”
curiosity killed the cat? did it ? then faith be dammned, it is better to get killed then have a phony faith.
faith is not imagining that some devi or for that matter even zesus would appear out of nowhere and save us from our ‘foolishness’ faith is just a trust that Ok, i don’t ‘understand’ everything that i perceive, sometimes i am angry also and somtimes helpless i feel too, but then there is some power who ‘knows’.
that chap had faith in bhivishana, did he ? if i have ‘faith’ in someone then how can i doubt that someone having faith in a third person/ faith is accepatnce of past to present and a ‘hope’, a trust for the future !!??
but yes faith can move mnountains ! or can it, show me someone !!!!!?????
love
aditya
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Heart and Savita,
reading the reponses I did not expect any jokes at this point and I was surprised.
And now I am sitting here in front of my computer and can not stop laughing.
It´s a pleasure to have the possibility to laugh and to recognize the following fact: All of us believe in different gods, religions and faiths, but all differences can be reconciled by humour and openness.
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sometimes your posts are so linked to my thoughts and sychronized..it s rather scary…But i cant use words to my benefit anymore..I read words and they tell me nothing..I find an awful blank behind them..Lately i dont understand meanings, i stopped following intuitions and even the simplest thing feels complicated..I believe i ve drowned without even bothering to read the note on my back.
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The power of faith is immeasurable.
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Where there is doubt, there is no hope. Where there is hope, there is no doubt.
Bryan
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Dear Savita…hehe. Believe it or not, once in my life I did wear a sari to dinner in Calcutta. But never again! We found it must take generations of experience to get dressed and wear a sari right. Anyway…you joke, and I was thinking…faith…it has so much to do with the Holy Spirit…so here is a joke from me;
It was God Father, Jesus and The Holy Spirit who discussed where to go on vacation. ‘Lets go to America’ suggests the Holy Spirit. ‘No, no’ says God Father ‘They think I’m a woman there’. ‘No, lets go to Israel’ says God Father. ‘No, no’ says Jesus. ‘They crucified me there’. ‘We should go to Rome’ says Jesus.
‘Oh, yes’ says The Holy Spirit. ‘Lets go to Rome, because I’ve never been there before’.
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Na vida temos sempre que acreditar em algo, para que ela tenha algum sentido!
Por vezes acreditamos em coisas impossíveis ou até mesmo sem sentido, mas o importante é ACREDITAR!
Abraço
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How about flower beetle, zlatni skarabej - golden beetle called in Croatia or latin name cetonia aurata ?
By all aerodinamical laws that beetle can not fly, but it seems that nobody told him….. and so it flies !!!
Another thing about that beetle. Before its transformation in beetle it lives in manure, animals’ excrement….but after transformation you can find on the most beautiful and sweet flowers and sweet succulent figs !
Love
Luce
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It is strange how even the most uncivilized group of people have faith in God, on at least, on this mysterious force, though they have no knowledge of science. This paramount existence of God, lies everywhere, only the method of pursuing God varies greatly. I am from the land of Shri Ramakrisna, and have read many stories about him. The one that touched me most was his realisation of God.
Ramakrisna had followed every religion that you can find in the land of Bengal. He continued this for many years. When he was done, people asked, ‘What did you find?’
He replied, ‘No matter which path I followed, I always found the same God.’
This fundamental belief in God is what matters, the path one follows matters not.
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In the history of mankind doubt has brought disaster.
In the myth of Orpheus in the underworld, he looked back, contrary to God’s instructions and he lost Euridikes.
Lot’s wife in the disaster of Sodoma and Gomorra, she looked back and she became a statue of salt!
In the Gospel, Peter was walking with Jesus on the waves and in an instant of doubt, he was nearly drowned.
Believe in God, in our Path, in our Task, in our Love. We must be faithful to ..ourselves and dreams too.
LOVE,
THELMA
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P.S. Hope that no one takes offense at my previous post. None intended. I’m Hindu myself. On top of that, if you’ve ever had the experience of putting on a sari, especially in a hurry, you’ll know what I’m getting at.
Love to all!
Savita
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This reminds me of a story, which has nothing to do with faith in this sense, but which I think is very funny:
There were these four holy men at a global interfaith conference - one was Muslim, one Christian, one Jewish and one Hindu. After the seminars were finished that evening they were up on top of the hotel, in a sort of roof-top garden, enjoying the view. This is when one of the men said to the Hindu, “You know, I can accept all things about your religion, except this idea of God as a woman. After all, God is supposed to be our Saviour in our time of need. How can a woman save us - women are weak.” At this, of course, the Hindu took offense. He said, “You think Devi is too weak to save me, do you? Well, I propose then a little test: Let’s all jump off this roof, while calling out to our respective gods, and we’ll just see who gets saved.” Well, at this, the other men were a bit hesitant. “This is crazy!” one of them declared, until another reminded him, “If we are indeed religious leaders and we believe in what we preach, then we have no choice - we have to jump.” Okay, they all agreed. So they walked over to the edge of the building, stepped up on the railing, and all in unison, jumped from this twenty story building! On the way down they each called out: The Muslim, “Allah, save me!” and instantly his fall was abated - he floated like a feather to the ground. Next, the Jewish man called out, “Adonai, save me!” and the same thing happened - floated to the pavement like a feather. Then the Christian cried out to Christ - same result, saved, instantly! Meanwhile, starting from the moment his foot left the railing above, till the second he hit the pavement, full force, the Hindu was crying out, over and over, “Devi, o Devi, save me!” No response. Splat! Then, of course, he was instantly transported to the realm of the gods, where he was met by none other than Devi, the feminine incarnation of the divine. “Here I am, here I am!” she called out. “What do you mean, hear you are?!” replied the infuriated Hindu holy man, “It’s too late now. I’m already dead! Where were you when I called?” “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she replied, “I had to put on my sari.”
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Does this parable tell us that a higher power is lurking nearby, just waiting for us to make a mistake so it can take our life? Sounds like fear-mongering veiled in religious dogma to me…
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I laughed little,seemed funny story.I am sory for the poor fellow.But I dont understand,why he stoped for reading,in the middle of such an interesting ,rare experience,as walking on the wather surface?I would have walk just for the pleasure of a magic moment,and feel at the highest degree the link with God and the Universe.
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It is true: if we have absolute faith, do not question at all, have not one single doubt in our mind, then ‘miracles’ do happen. But it is so difficult: our mental reasoning gets in the way: ‘what if?’ ‘ it is not possible’ ‘I am not good enough’ ‘I don’t deserve this positive thing’. So many conditionings that make us smaller prevent us from having faith that we can do Great things. How sad. We should be very careful how we speak to our children and not make the same mistake.
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really cool!!! its so true! and the concept is larger than it seems but the basic idea is very clear in this story
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A fundamental ingredient of success, is belief… especially in yourself…
Don’t be a clone… be yourself, Love Paul
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