Col Satish Singh Lalotra
‘Some times all you need is a big leap of faith’—Sean Bean.
In the world of philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher ‘Soren Kierkegaard. When in an idiomatic usage the term refers to an act of believing something that is unprovable or such a risky venture that is hoped to turn out with a positive outcome by a person. The implication of taking a leap of faith can, depending on the context carry positive and negative connotations as some may believe in something without evidence while others feel it is foolishness. For the human beings now accustomed to the modern ways of life that is all timed and programmed to the last detail and digit there are still areas of grey shade that are beyond the comprehensible limit of their brains. This is where the phenomenon of ‘Leap of faith’ makes its entry to tackle them and turn the intangibles of life into a possible list of tangibles. Who could have thought a few years back that the scourge of Pandemic Covid -19 would spare none from this face of earth and bring all the high and mighty at par with the man on street or that the forces of armed might of Russia & Ukraine (once part of USSR) would clash for more than a year and still raging in the European continent for supremacy thus throwing all calculations of pundits of peace to a resounding six. In this topsy-turvy world of jockeying of power that is being played out by the major powers of the world where does that leave the human race in the new year of 2024 which incidentally is a leap year? Does the human race cling to the phrase of ‘Leap of faith’ as enunciated by the famous Danish philosopher to tide over such intangibles that has been his wont since times immemorial or should he look somewhere else for the deliverance of his very being?
With the year having just gone by leaving a bloody trail of conflagrations in its wake in the form of Hamas -Israel tussle , Azerbaijan offensive in Nogono-Karabakh, Nigerian bandit conflict etc what is that should cheer us in this leap year of 2024 to repose faith once again in a brighter future for our progenies ? Has all been lost in this quest for peace for the humans or is there still a sliver of hope that they can cling to and redeem their faiths in themselves and their fellow beings?These are some of the searching questions that the leap year of 2024 may fling across the faces of us to ponder upon? Though there are dime a dozen reasons for us to call ‘May day-May day’ when seen from the point of view of above developments around the globe, the situation in fact is not so grim and doesn’t behove upon us all to sore our throats by raising the decibels of our protest for all and sundry to hear. The Corona pandemic which rocked the world few years back and still has its reverberations felt in many parts of the globe made the masses turn to religion or take refuge under the wings of spiritualty. This was one such unorthodox way of the world to cope up with the unfolding tragedy that had visited upon them at such a large scale after almost a century. The Spanish flu of 1918 that swept the entire globe and struck the masses along with the ongoing 1st WW took its inevitable toll in our country too. Two of India’s leading and foremost poets Surya kantTripathiNirala and the firebrand Bengali poet, KaziNazrul Islam(later Bangladesh national poet) suffered the most during this Spanish flu of 1918,having completely lost their entire family and turned religious in their later outlook of life. Even Mahatma Gandhi lost two of his close cousins to this pandemic flu.
Various researchesin the US and the UK have thrown very startling results about the relationships between the impacts of religion on mental health and their way of coping with any trauma. Psychologists in their research have shown that while some people can find peace, during any traumatic period others may be struggling with their faith. These researchers have in fact identified positive and negative forms of religious coping as well as have evidence that people experienced and expressed their faith having implications for their well-being and health. People who made more use of positive religious coping had better outcomes than those who struggled with their God, their faith or other people about sacred matters. Does it amount to saying in so many words that the new year of 2024 may gravitate us to our religious mores combined with a typical ‘Leap of faith’ when seen in the light of various disruptions to life and limb? It seems that is what is precisely happening to the world at large with a liberal dosage of both ingredients in copious amounts to make for a heady potion and the ultimate panacea that a man is hankering about. Since man has already reposed complete faith in his religion to take him out of his quagmire of problems, whatever grey areas which he finds not within the realm of religion for resolution he turns and reposes complete confidence in the age old dictum of ‘Leap of faith’ to fill in those accordingly. Both these tenets are interchangeable by nature and complementary too because both are sub-set of each other. One could only repose complete faith in his religion when he or she does a leap of faith and vice versa.
What are those positive effects that are an off shoot of ‘Leap of faith’? Do the readers of this article have any idea? Again research shows that the typical ‘leap of faith’ can help people cope with adversity by encouraging them to reframe events through a hopeful lens. Positive reframing can help people transcend difficult times by enabling them to see a tragedy as an opportunity to grow closer to a higher power or to improve their lives. Leap of faith fosters a sense of connectedness the like of which was seen by the world last October when droves upon droves of Israeli conscripts and servicemen were taking off from distant lands of the world to be with their country and fellow brethren who were under attack by the Hamas-Hezbollah combine. Some people see this phenomenon of ‘Leap of faith’ as making them part of something larger than themselves. These events often mark the beginning of something momentous taking place. Trauma or tragedy can challenge conceptions of ‘God as all loving and protective’. As a result, some people struggle throughout their lives in their relationships with God and experience feelings of anger, abandonment or being punished by the almighty. Notwithstanding the above, the concept of ‘Leap of faith’ finds more resonance in the Indian context with majority of Indians following the abstract of ‘Fatalism’ or fatalistic attitude in their daily lives. This is where the former negates the later concept since both are divergent in nature and their applicability in daily lives. On the one hand the ‘Leap of faith’ reinforces something positive outcome from its manifestation in the lives of the masses ,the later concept lays stress on resigning to one’s fate and wait for the outcome of his or her actions in life. It would do well for us in this new year of 2024 which happens to be a leap year to repose our full confidence in the concept of ‘Leap of faith’ when none else is working in our favour.
(The writer is a retired army officer)
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