Logic behind faith

Off late I am amazed by my growing fascination with things related to faith and religion. While earlier I questioned everything, taking nothing at face value, now I tend to at least give it an open hearing in my mind.

Earlier I associated faith with religion and in college I found myself questioning everything about my religion (Sikhism in case it is not obvious from my name): why should I wear kara? Why should I go to Gurudwara, since God is omnipresent? How does listening to a shabad help me and if there is no obvious gain why the bloody hell should I sit in a Gurudwara listening to something I just don’t understand?

Now I am kind of fascinated with both religion and faith. Over a period of time I have observed that my friends who are religious or are not as questioning as I am are better equipped to handle a crisis. To begin with they manage to stay calm but I tend to draconize the problem, increasing it manifold. I am not sure whether this has to do with religion but I have observed this without fail. Faith gives them a belief that there if they continue to believe everything is going to be fine in the end. Not that they dont do rational things to get themselves out of a crisis but they do things with a belief which a rationalist lacks.

Somebody I know would just start organizing fasts, pujas etc in any crisis. I used to find it ridiculous and openly made fun of it. Now I think there is a method in madness. When you think with an open mind, there is something logical in these illogical things—there is solace in ritualism. Whenever there is a disturbance or change in the rhythm of life, if certain aspects remain constant, it is bound to provide solace and peace as well as a sense of continuity. Rituals and faith perform this function beautifully.

However, I still don’t see any point in sitting in Gurudwara and listening to something I don’t understand or cannot relate to any level. Have to grow little more old for that, I suppose :-P.