I somehow received a couple of US $5 bills in my hand a few days ago. I looked at the back of the bill. At the top are the familiar words “In God We Trust”. I thought, “Alright, this is going to be a good subject to write on.” It is a world-famous line as it appears on every US dollar bill. I must admit that it is always heartening to see the mention of God in the first place. After all, we are living in kali-yuga, the age of quarrel, hypocrisy and a significant deficit of religiousness.

THE SYMPTOMS OF TRUST

Going back to the line “In God We Trust,” it is a deceivingly simple statement. There is a big word in that statement — trust. For a moment, let us apply that idea of trust in a mundane setting. Whom do we trust usually? A person can be morally very upright. Still, we may not trust him. Why? We simply may not know him. So there are two things involved when we speak of trust — first, the integrity of the person to be trusted and our knowledge of or acquaintance with him. If either is lacking, trust is hard to establish.

When it comes to God, He is the most trustworthy person by definition. If He is not, He cannot be God. His integrity is unparalleled. Lord Kṛṣṇa, in His various incarnations, displayed this quality by protecting the devotees who have surrendered to Him. Even for the agnostics, He has been supplying all necessities of life since time immemorial. Although we have failed in loving Him for many lifetimes, He has never failed to love us all this while and He never will.

The only factor remaining for trust in God to be established is knowledge of Him. Official knowledge of God is not sufficient. One has to know Him on a personal level. It is just like any other relationship. Ordinarily, the more thoroughly we know a trustworthy person, the more our trust in that person grows and it eventually it develops into love. Same goes with God.

Until and unless there is sufficient knowledge of God, trust in Him is a misnomer. It will remain just lip service. The vast majority of people do not know much about God, if anything at all. Then how can the trust develop? This is hypocrisy.

How do we know whether a person is God conscious or not? By the symptoms. Just as a person who has infected malaria has certain symptoms, or a rich man has certain symptoms, a God conscious or Kṛṣṇa conscious person also has symptoms. These symptoms are mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. The chief symptom of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is that He is always chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa or talking about Kṛṣṇa. It is said that a fool is not known until he opens his mouth. He may dress in a very dignified way but we can know him considerably well when he opens his mouth. Similarly, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is recognized by his speech. He only speaks in relation to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise he is silent. There are many other symptoms but this is the chief. Another prominent symptom is that he does not harm other living entities as he sees everyone as parts and parcels of God and therefore equal.

So just saying “In God We Trust” does not denote real trust. We have to know Him thoroughly first. Then we can establish our trust or faith in Him and make advancement towards the kingdom of God. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this truth in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

 

janma karma ca me divyam

evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma

naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

 

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” The word tattvataḥ in Sanskrit means to know in depth, not just superficially.

THE SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

So the next question is where to get such authorized knowledge about God? The best way to know anyone is to know from the person himself and from other persons who are close to him. The same goes with God.

All religious scriptures have some hints at His existence but in the Vedas, there is extensive detail regarding God. His names, form, pastimes, His devotees, paraphernalia, His feelings, likes and dislikes, etc. are explained in explicit detail. The Vedic scriptures are words of Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham. In those scriptures, He is explaining many nice instructions about how to conduct life so that the ultimate aim of going back to Godhead is achieved.

 

Among all of the Vedic literatures, two literatures stand out as the cream — the Bhagavad-gītā which is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself and the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam which is spoken about Kṛṣṇa by His confidential devotees who know Him very intimately. When such transcendental literature, free from all defects, is explained by a God-realized soul, it infuses in the audience a powerful faith or trust in Lord Kṛṣṇa.

This is the authentic method by which we can trust in God. Once we become aware that God is all-powerful and that we are His minute parts and parcels, our natural position then is to serve Him and cooperate with His interest. When one renders Him devotional service in the authorized ways under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, one begins to feel Him and his attraction for Him matures and eventually culminates into love of Godhead. Then there will be no hindrance in seeing the Lord face to face at any time. The kingdom of God is wide open for such a great soul. That is the ultimate end of all religious practice.

We therefore strongly recommend you to read the Bhagavad-gītā so that you know Kṛṣṇa substantially. Trusting Him and loving Him will be a natural consequence. [End]