Faith is not blind belief or mental slavery to doctrine, creed nor gospel.
It is not an unquestioning acceptance of dogma, or the words/teachings/ideas of others.
Faith is a knowing, an intuiting, an inner conviction, that there is more than just the surface universe generally apparent to us.
It is a confidence in something deeper, something perhaps undefinable but nevertheless more real than the temporary passing of material “daily reality”.
It is an inner knowing that we are more than just carbon-based, meat-machines living mechanically at the mercy of our genetic inheritance.
Faith recognises that there is benevolent intelligence, holding and guiding us, a something which makes whatever happens “ok”, because whatever happens happens with good reason, as part of a Bigger Picture, a flow, a design.
In the current turbulent moment in history, when fear is so prevalent that it can easily be overwhelming and depressing to us, cultivating faith will help us to overcome our own internal anxieties and move forward on our personal path.
Appropriate, committed practice supports us in this, giving us direction and strength.
Meditation, service to others, devotion to deities or higher powers, physical/breath exercises are all good options for us to choose between.
Regular, committed practice will help us to calm our agitated thoughts/emotions/feelings, thus allowing our deeper knowing to radiate out into our daily lives.
The practice of Yoga requires no specific deeper beliefs, but it is common for these to arise when walking the path.
The sanskrit word for faith is śraddhā.
Yoga sutras 1:20
“śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti-samādhi-prajñā-pūrvakaḥ itareśām.”
“Through faith, which will give sufficient energy to achieve success against all odds, direction will be maintained. The reaslisation of the goal of Yoga is just a matter of time.”
(trans): TKV Desikachar