Where there is loss of faith, the practice is imperative.
Sometimes we lose faith. It happens. Mother Teresa has stated that she once lost faith for over fourteen years, but she kept serving. It is not easy always keeping faith. Life oftentimes contains large amounts of suffering and difficulties. We can feel that we are doing everything we are supposed to do, yet the world is not providing a cradle for us to rest our weary heads any longer. So, we feel defeated, angry, tired – we simply lose faith. And when this happens, it is imperative we still practice, we still bow down, we still show up, we still pray.
It is the practice itself that will provide the relief. It is the ritual itself that will provide the cradle. We may not have the mind purified. We may not even want to be in practice. We may even feel that the practice is worthless. But we must continue.
My favorite part of all spiritual and religious foundations is the rituals. The ritual is always there, even when the faith is lost. The ritual we know. We find comfort in the knowing. Even when we have become lost in direction, lost in emotions or lost in mind, we know how to stand on the mat, we know how to place our hands in prayer, we know how to breathe and close the eyes in comfort. We know how to do our ritual. And it is the ritual itself that will unveil what we are incapable of generating on our own.
I have graduated over 100 teachers in the Teacher Training Program and upon graduation I tell every student the same thing. “It is not what you have read in your books or the notes you have taken I hope you remember. It is not the postures or the benefits. All you need to remember is to keep a practice. Do not stop the practice. Stay in practice. The practice is all you will ever need.” The practice alone will unveil the lessons, the wisdom, the calmness, the peace. It is the practice itself that will take you to Divine. All you have to do is show up and continue the steps in the ritual. It is that simple. It doesn’t require anything else. I wish I could tell you every student hears that. Because my studio would have to take reservations for spots in the room every day. But for some reason, us humans forget how simple the answers are. We like to complicate things. Thinking we should be doing more, or less, or studying more, or we simply get lazy and forget. All you have to do is keep the practice. All we have to do is keep the ritual. When the faith is lost, the ritual alone will bring you home.
Faith is a difficult connection to maintain to sustain at all times. All sages, scholars, swami’s and Guru’s know this. That is why the answer lies in the practice. No matter what – don’t stop the practice. Mother Tereasa kept going for 14 years, even without faith. Her faith returned and thankfully she was right where she was supposed to be when the sensation of pure faith returned. In the meantime, she stayed in practice. Many times the practice will be the only thing you have. The ritual will be the only fiber of hope left. And the practice will always be enough. For it is the practice itself that can take you home – not really anything else.
I hope to see you in practice soon. Standing in our ritual. Feet planted, hands in prayer, breath smooth, eyes quiet and the mantras there to sing the words we simply cannot sing for ourselves. The ritual restores us and I feel that is a blessing one should allow themselves to have every day. Don’t lose your practice. The practice is all you need