(To submit to the readers the Telugu terms ‘Nammakam’ and ‘Viswasam’ convey a great bundle of feelings, emotions, and package of sentiments for which in the true sense, there are no apt English words. To elaborate in this presentation, the terms ‘Faith’ for ‘Nammakam’ and ‘Trust’, ‘Confidence’ for ‘Viswasam’ are used which tend to be the nearest equivalents, having little choice,)
The individual, the devotee reposes faith in his chosen God. This is often quite likely his family deity or his personal God whom he revers and worships regularly in life. He also resorts to ritualistic worship spelt in several modes, as is the practice in our temples every day all over the country.
While doing so he submits his woes, problems, and all odds before the icon of the chosen deity for relief and redress. At times he finds solace and relief. At times not, yet, he must wade through the difficult straits whatever they be. This is the source from where faith emanates, springs up in the God he worships.
Faith based on such expectations wavers, tends to be fickle. Such is the crisis of faith. Some other times, he finds positive happenings that are beyond his understanding, even expectations, which often are deemed miracles. Such a basis of faith is not steady. AMMA always looked or counted on unflinching faith in all odds and woes in the person always. Because fickle faith never lasts. Quite likely fails.
From the foregoing faith is an equation or a relation that exists between the individual and his personal God. Such faith may endure or even be lost when dissatisfaction and discord are faced, found insufferable in real life situations. Whatever be the nature whether lasting or enduring over the flow of time, faith is verily the link and the connectivity between the person and the God he worships. The crux is faith is on the God with form, in a very limited mode quite often.
Sometimes, the individual worship continues before the icon. Over a period, it lasts, endures. Transcends the icon, the Godly form he reveres and worships. When grace bestows such perception, it extends beyond the temple precincts and the form he worships.
The worshipping individual begins to cognize the God beyond the temple and the ritual he observes. He perceives that while the icon of the God is limited and defined locationally, godliness, divinity is beyond the dimension.
Such divinity is not amenable to any scale or measure. It is all over, everywhere. It permeates into everything and prevails all over. Divinity is all inclusive. Neither space nor location restrict, confine such all prevailing ubiquitous divinity.
To cite AMMA’S pronouncement, “Divinity is so inclusive (permeating, pervasive), that not even a pin head can rest devoid of divinity, anywhere.” To paraphrase AMMA in the Telugu vernacular, “Soodi Mona Kooda Mopalenanthaga Vadu Vunnadu”. Here “Vadu” means the divine. If so, even the very minute space that a pin head can rest is not apart from divinity or exclusive of divinity that is all over and all inclusive.
Such perception when it lasts, continues, and deeply, regularly contained within the individual self, the person worshipping the personal God relates to the boundless Divinity. Deeper trust, confidence (Viswasam), emanates from within and the little self is freed from all bonds and restrictive, tunnel vision of the God he bows, prays.
To be more specific, ‘Faith’ (Nammakam) rests on the God, the form, or the icon. Trust, confidence (Viswasam) endures in the all inclusive, all prevailing, all permeating ‘Divinity’ that is all over beyond form and scale. The much limited faith yields place to a wider, universal vision of divinity and its omnipresence or total, absolute inclusiveness, which is the aggregate whole, conceptualized as ‘Sarvam’ by AMMA. Such ‘Sarvam’ is but the totality, the ‘Absolute’. In the essence, the “Absolute rests upon the Absolute”. (“:Sarvam Sarvaniki Adharam” AMMA)
In such true awareness divinity is but infinity in which the individual trusts and confides. Personal faith is in the godly form. Even so, faith has its own relevance, significance in the initial stage, may lead to the infinite divinity in the conducive conditions when grace favors.
Both faith and trust have relevance in their respective degrees, stages for the devotee and the spiritual aspirant, to be cherished in life.
Here it is quite pertinent to cite AMMA’S precepts on the crucial aspects of the individual equation with GOD and the DIVINITY. AMMA’S prescriptions for the aspiring individual are, “Trust in ME, or believe in yourself – either way it is the same. Reason being abiding trust is but GOD”, which is divinity too.
To paraphrase the same in AMMA’S inimitable vernacular Telugu, for greater clarity, “NANNU NAMMUKO, NINNU NAMMUKO, EDAINA VOKATE, VISWASAME BHAGAVANTHUDU” “IKKADA NENU ANTE ‘ANASUYA’ ANI KADU, VISWANTHARAATHMA”.
The aspiring, earnest seeking individual has two options in AMMA. Either trust in AMMA with implicit faith or believe in himself. Either way it is the same. Abiding trust under all climes and circumstance is but the abounding divinity, that is all pervasive.
Here the ‘I’ of AMMA does not imply, rather signify the form ‘ANASUYA’ of AMMA, the limited, visible entity of AMMA, but the everlasting, all pervasive, all abiding universal being of AMMA sans scale and measure, the seamless infinite self of AMMA, the truly timeless divine.
The seamless, limitless universal self, that is way beyond the limited, restrictive personal self of the individual. The limited personal self of the individual transcends into the transcendental, seamless, boundless universal self. The immortal, boundless, timeless self of AMMA. The person’s abiding, enduring faith shall become implicit trust and confidence in the divine, that lasts his life time.