“For them. life begins with death”
“Which is as if one were to say ”Day begins with night.'” (from Quo Vadis)
The belief that death can be defeated, that there is a life afterwards, that one may be reborn and all those fondest of imaginings, plays some part in all religions. Such unsupported beliefs are bolstered up by countless other surrounding scriptures, sayings, accounts of supposed miracles and divine interventions, of what seem to be answers to prayers (i.e. the relatively very uncommon fulfillment of a strong desire that comes about). In short, beliefs, once adopted, tend to grow of themselves. When fed by what are marshalled together rather uncritically as supportive ‘facts’ and experiences, they continue to grow. Otherwise, they tend to subside and fragment. The same goes for doubts. One adopted, they grow and the more so when facts appear to justify them. Doubts can also weaken and disappear if facts and positive experiences arise sufficient to counteract them. The religious believer invariably seeks all that can reinforce belief and inherently tends to ignore and rejects whatever may conflict with the belief, especially radically. Often a belief may help inspire with an apparent meaning to life and strengthen good qualities in oneself and positive action towards the world. When the tinder of such a positive intention are fed by constant supportive ‘spin’ and stories of many others’ subjective experiences (i.e. which no one can control and the fewest can investigate to any reasonable extent), they ignite more faith by reinforcing what one want to believe. Our personal experience – being all that we really know first hand (however delusive or deceptive it may be) can often be interpreted and distorted by a doctrine or ideology.. whiten is what religions are. Personal experience becomes formed by indoctrination and narrowing of one’s scope of information, and is easily overshadowed by false expectations generated by a sect or a cult.
When serious doubts emerge, doubts that could only be ignored with difficulty, however, they too can grow as the facts support them further. But if, when confronted face on and investigated, one’s doubts prove unjustified as mere unsubstantial rumours with no one to testify to them, they would dissipate and fall away. This does not happen with the allegations about Sathya Sai Baba , rather quite to the contrary. In his case, unfortunately, my strongly-held belief in him for many years was gradually weakened, then greatly challenged by indisputable facts that came my way, and my doubts were only reinforced as events, new reports of disturbing facts and deceptions unfold. The off-handed and sometimes demonising way in which Sai Baba reacted to such facts, and especially the denial of them by his followers only serve to strengthen my convictions that I understand the entire pertinent ‘mentality’ of those still having faith in him.
See also Faith and belief vs. Doubt
Sathya Sai Baba Deceptions Exposed 