Faith, although it can be blind sometimes and therefore fickle, is necessary for aspiring transcendentalists. Srila Prabhupada said this on 26 February 1973 during a conversation in Jakarta: “Religious idea without philosophy is sentiment, and philosophy without religion is mental speculation. They should be combined. Religious idea supported by philosophy. Then it is correct. And philosophy without religious idea is simply mental speculation. They should be combined. That combination of religious idea and philosophy, you’ll find in the Bhagavad-gita, provided you accept Bhagavad-gita as it is. If you interpret Bhagavad-gita in your own way, then you’ll miss the point.” Although Srila Prabhupada wrote and talked many times about ‘reason and faith,’ a key phrase in this excerpt is “provided you accept.” This string intimates that along with ‘reason,’ ‘faith,’ is a MUST, almost a pre-requisite. In a purport to BG9.3 he writes: “The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith in God. They are hesitant and cannot stay fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus faith is a most important factor for progress in Krsna consciousness. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that faith is the complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, one can achieve all perfection.”