People who wish to check the quality of gold, draw a line with it on a piece of stone and assess its quality by examining that streak. The test that will reveal the quality of your faith is whether you are practising sincerely the injunctions laid down by God. Your beliefs and actions must be expressions of faith. They must have holiness as their core. They must be so full of love and compassion that they attract to you the grace of God. Such karma (actions) is what is advocated through karma kanda of Vedic scriptures. It is the taproot of human progress, the very breath of happy human existence, the food that alone can allay the hunger of people and the life-sustaining water that can cure their thirst. Therefore the first and continuing duty is to engage oneself in activities that are taught or approved in the Vedas. Three types of activity reach God and earn His grace: (1) Activity not prompted by personal desire (2) Activity emanating from unselfish love and (3) Prayer arising from pure hearts.
