FAITH AND BELIEF

                Religious belief refers to a mental state in which faith is placed in a creed related to the supernatural, sacred, or divine. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on the teachings of a spiritual leader. In contrast to other belief systems, religious beliefs are usually codified.

While the term religious belief is often considered to have the same meaning as religion, the latter term usually deals with both ideas and practices.

        Philosophy is sometimes confused with religion since the two topics cover many of the same issues. Both religion and philosophy address questions such as:

• Why are we here?
• What is the nature of reality?
• What is good?
• How should we treat each other?
• What is most important in life?

Religion often has rituals marking important life events and times of the year. Unlike philosophy, religion makes a distinction between the sacred and the profane. Religions also often have a belief in the “miraculous.”

From Hinduism

• A well-known Rig Vedic hymn stemming from Hinduism claims that "Truth is One, but sages call it by many names."
• Krishna, incarnation or Avatar of Vishnu, said: "Whoever resorts to Me in whatever manner, in the same manner do I favour them; men experience Me alone in different ways, O Arjuna." (Bhagavad Gita: 4:11);
• Krishna said: "Whatever may be the form [of the deity] a devotee - whosoever he may be - desires to worship with faith, I assume that form which is firm and is according to [his] faith. Endowed with that faith, he seeks to worship that deity and therefrom receives his desired objects that are ordained by none but Me. (Gita: 7:21-22)
• Another quote in the Gita states: "O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship other deities (e.g., Devas) with faith, they also worship Me, but following non-injunction" (Gita: 9:23)

          

Faith

            is trust, hope and belief in the goodness, trustworthiness or reliability of a person, concept or entity. It can also refer to beliefs that are not based on proof . Religious faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition, "things will turn out well in the end," can be enjoyed in the present and secured in the future. Consequently, religious faith appeals to "transcendent reality," or that reality which is beyond the range of normal physical experience (e.g. the future). "Transcendent reality," therefore, constitutes a reality which is off limits to material measurement and other rigors of scientific inquiry such as falsifiability and reproducibility.

Hinduism

Śrāddha (ITRANS: shraddhA) is translated as faith in Sanskrit. All schools of Hindu philosophy posit that consciousness (ātman) is distinct and independent from mind and matter (prakṛti). Therefore, Hindu faith is based on the premise that logic and reason are not conclusive methods of epistemic knowing. Spiritual practice (sadhana) is performed with the faith that knowledge beyond the mind and sense perception will be revealed to the practitioner.

The schools of Hindu philosophy differ in their recommended methods to cultivate faith, including selfless action (karma-yoga), renunciation (jnana-yoga) and devotion (bhakti-yoga).

In chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes how faith, influenced by the three modes (guṇas) lead to different approaches in worship, diet, sacrifice, austerity and charity.
Swami Tripurari states:

Faith for good reason arises out of the mystery that underlies the very structure and nature of reality, a mystery that in its entirety will never be entirely demystified despite what those who have placed reason on their altar might like us to believe. The mystery of life that gives rise to faith as a supra-rational means of unlocking life's mystery—one that reason does not hold the key to—suggests that faith is fundamentally rational in that it is a logical response to the mysterious