Faith.

Faith, in my understanding, is the belief in something till knowledge of its truth is obtained. Once knowledge is gained of the subject matter, faith stops having any meaning or purpose.

Faith is usually used in common communication to indicate belief in God or some Higher Power, usually accompanied by religious beliefs and observances of rites and rituals.

If these two paragraphs are accepted by my readers, I submit that I am totally without Faith. I know. I therefore do not belong to any religion as is popularly understood. I can be counted among the one billion plus Hindus for lack of a better term. There is no organized religion called Hinduism. It is a totally anarchic way of living, with its own peculiar rules and regulation, not sanctionable by any religious authority, but followed, as a tradition and cultural baggage.

“Hinduism is not bound by any rigid text book or commandments, orders, declarations and revelations; but it is a storehouse of scientific facts and has in it, healthy impulses of a growing tradition. The Hindu religion or Sanatana Dharma, is the way of life of perfect living and of gaining mastery over oneself. This religion reveals the secret process which brings forth an effective personality out of a shattered man of despair and disappointment.”

(source: Hinduism: The Eternal Religion – By M. D. Chaturvedi p. 3-5).

A Hindu suffered a heart attack on the road and was picked up by an ambulance. He kept repeating – “Hari Om Hari Om Hari Om.”When the ambulance pulled into his home drive-way, his wife came out and screamed out to the paramedics: ‘Why didn’t you take him straight to the hospital?’,They replied ‘Because he kept saying ‘hurry home! Hurry home!’

That sums up my Faith, Religion and Belief.