The Arrow of Faith

What meditation teaches us about the body, happiness, and letting go

Faith is not a random gift. It is a merit.

We often think that faith is something we either have or don’t. But the truth is, faith blossoms in the fertile ground of merit - a quiet accumulation of inner work, of seeking, of sincerity.

When faith is absent, we find ourselves lost - whether in the chaos of the world or in the restlessness within. Without faith, happiness feels like a mirage, always just out of reach.

But when faith is alive within us, happiness springs forth naturally. It is effortless. Joy bubbles up, not because of something external, but because we are no longer bound by the weight of our physical identity.

Forgetting the Body, Finding the Self

Think of the last time you laughed from your belly or danced with abandon.

In that moment - weren’t you free of aches, worries, and even your own sense of self?

That’s because true happiness arises when we forget the body consciousness.

And pain? Pain comes from clinging to the body, identifying with it too tightly.

So, this brings up an important question many seekers have asked:

"If happiness is forgetting the body, then why in meditation are we told to take our attention to the body?"

A beautiful question. And an even more beautiful answer.

The Wisdom of the Arrow

Guruji explains it like this:

“For an arrow to go forward, you have to pull it back.”

When we bring our attention gently to different parts of the body during meditation, we’re not reinforcing attachment - we're releasing it.

We are not diving deeper into the physical but gently loosening its hold on us.

Just as pulling an arrow back creates the momentum for it to soar forward, drawing attention inward prepares us to move beyond the body, beyond limitations, and into vast stillness.

A Gentle Practice

The next time you sit to meditate, don’t resist the moments your awareness is asked to visit your feet, your hands, your spine. Think of it as preparing the arrow - you.

And then, with grace, let it fly - beyond the body, beyond the mind, into silence.

Because in that flight is joy.

In that faith is freedom.

And in that stillness is the real you.

With reverence and light,

Teachings of Shri Shivanand Maharaj

Curated and shared by the author- Dilip Kumar Bhargava