Prayer

The word ‘Prayer’ corresponding to Sanskrit Prarthana is from a Latin root meaning a solemn and humble request to God or an object of worship; supplication, petition of thanksgiving.

Prayer is one factor common to all religions. Religious practices, rituals, forms of worship, doctrine, forms of deities and ideas about God may vary. Prayer as human communication with the divine goes beyond the diversity of religious beliefs. It is the soft, delicate, enduring silken thread which does not snap, binding man with God; it is the bridge between the devotee and the diety.

“Prayer is the yearning of the heart to be one with the Maker, an invocation for His blessing” (Gandhi). “Prayer is the very breath of religion; for it brings man and God together, and with every sigh, nearer and nearer” (Baba).

            More things are wrought by prayer than
            This world dreams of;
            So the whole round earth is every way
            Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

(Tennyson)

“Different are the languages of prayer: but the tears are the same. We have a vision of Him in whose compassion all men’s Prayers meet” (The Encyclopedia of Religion: Volume II).

Prahlada describes nine approaches to the Lord – Sravanam (listening to stories of God’s glory), Kirtanam (singing His Praise), Smaranam (recollecting and pondering over God’s attributes), Padasevanam (serving at the Divine Lotus feet), Archanam (floral offering to the accompaniment of the recitation of God’s names), Vandanam (prostration) Dasyam (service ), sakhyam (friendship) and atmanivedanam (surrender of oneself to God). Lord Krishna identifies four categories of people who turn to God-those in distress, those seeking illumination, those seeking material possession and the men of wisdom. Two kinds of devotees are referred to in the Bhagavatha Purana: Uthamaha: (those at a higher level ever poised in God) and Madhyamaha (those at a lower level turning to God for material benefits). Most of us being mortal and bound by the limitations of our nature pray for limited ends. We present our charter of demands. When one set of demands are fulfilled, we are ready with another. And He meets our demands. The child has to be tempted with a toffee to take medicine or nutritious food. As the child grows into a man or woman, he/she realises that medicine or food is good for its own sake. Man is a grown up child. In the initial stages, he goes to God for what He can or will give. Gradually he learns to seek God for His own sake. “I will go on giving what you ask till you ask what I want you to ask.” (Baba) God is Kalpaka Vriksha. Does it not sound strange that standing under it, man should ask for his daily needs when God can flood him with His grace, ananda and shanti which no amount of material acquisition can bring?

Prayer may be classified as confessional, petitionary, personal, ritualistic, thanks giving, benedictory, adoring and universal. The elements of these various kinds of prayer are not mutually exclusive. They may overlap. In respect of form and content, prayer admits of a wide range of possibilities. Prayer may consist of syllables with esoteric significance, slokas and stotras. What ever be the form and content of prayer, it is charged with potency. Everyone is free to compose his or her own prayer depending on his/her frame of mind, circumstances and needs. A soldier going to the battlefield prayed thus “Lord, I will not have time to think of you. But I pray you, don’t forget to think of me.” This simple prayer, we can be sure, would not have gone unheeded.

What counts in prayer is not the duration or the number of recitations, but intensity. It is no real prayer when the words go up, but the thoughts remain below. “It is the attitude that matters, not the words muttered or uttered. One can pray, sing devotional songs not with the lips, but with the heart. That is why even the dumb, the stammerer, and the brainless can pray” (Gandhi), “Grace of Lord does not depend on the number of times you have repeated it. Whom are you going to impress with the numbers? The Lord will respond if you call him once from the depths of your heart. The Lord asks for the heart, the full heart and nothing but the heart” (Baba)

Prayer at the deepest level is built on the triple foundation of love, faith, and aspiration. It is an act of resignation and surrender to the divine will. This surrender leads us to reach out for life’s highest purpose, aims and ideals. The ultimate end of prayer, is identification or merging with the divine in oneself” In prayer, spiritual energy which otherwise would slumber, does become active” (William Jaules). It is the key to unlock the treasure house of divine experience and plunge into the depths of ecstasy and serenity.

“Prayer generates spiritual currents and produces a rare tranquility of the mind. It elevates the whole emotional nature and is accompanied by inward grace, inner strength and a sense of oneness with the Supreme Being. The intensive purified feelings raised in the act of prayer bring about the most beneficial change in the heart. The receptive attitude of the praying mind puts the soul of man with the infinite, links it with the cosmic power house of inexhaustible energy and surcharges it with strength, grace and light. When prayers are raised on foundations of absolute devotion, purity of motive, detachment from all worldly concerns, and unyielding faith in the Divine they lead the inner being of man into the highest spiritual experience” (Swami Sivananda).

Prayer is a potent force to elevate the soul. It is an inward quest, an intense yearning for God’s grace. Prayer opens the door of heart to let in God and let out ego, to let in love and let out hate, let in faith and let out hatred, let in humility and let out spiritual pride to let in God’s light and let out ignorance. Prayer is not begging or bargaining. By praying not to get more, but be more, we discover a way to serve, a purpose for which we live. It is a means of self-­knowledge and self-discovery.

In prayer, we expose our weaknesses to ourselves and. God, seeking His grace to attune our lives to His goodness, love, justice and mercy. Prayer does not change God. It changes us, deepens our insight, clarifies our understanding, enriches and expands our consciousness and works as a healing force.

Prayer brings God into our transactions with our fellow human beings. We gain an awareness of their needs and the wisdom to respond in the right spirit. We learn to become more tolerant and forgiving. Prayer develops in us a resolution to good life and conduct. It fills us with an intense desire to be worthy members of the Kingdom of God. Prayer leads to quiet meditation which culminates in the sacred, purifying silence when our whole being vibrates with the living, dynamic, divine presence.

PRAYER: A FEW ILLUSTRATIONS

I know neither mantra nor yantra; I know not songs of praise; I do not know how to invoke you or meditate. I do not know the stories about you. I do not know the mudras. I do not cry out in anguish. I know only this, that taking refuge in you alone will destroy my sorrows.

You have many worthy sons; among them I am the most insignificant. O Mother! it does not become you to give me up for there may be a bad son, but never a bad mother. There is none to beat me in sin, none to surpass you in forgiveness. Knowing this, O mother, do what is proper:      (Adi Sankara)

* * * * * * *

Lead, Kindly light, amid the encircling gloom.
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet! do ask to see
The distant scene - one step enough for me.
I was never thus, nor prayed that thou
Should lead me on;,
I lov’d to choose and see my path; but now
Lead thou me on!
I lov’d the garish day; and spite of fears
Pride rul’d my will; remember not past years     .
So long Thy power hath bless’d, sure it still
Will lead me on
O’er moor, and fen, o’er crag and torrent till
The night is gone
And with the morn, those angel faces smile
Which I have lov’d so long and lost awhile.

-Cardinal Newman
* * *

Jewish Prayer

We have abused and betrayed. We are cruel. We have destroyed and embittered other people’s lives. We were false to ourselves. We have gossiped about others and hated them. We have insulted and jeered. We were obstinate. We have robbed and stolen. We have transgressed through unkindness. We have been violent and weak. We have practised extortion. We yielded to strong desires and our zeal was misplaced.

Yet you know everything, hidden and revealed. You know the mysteries of the universe and the intimate secrets of everyone alive. You probe our body’s state. You see into the heart and mind. Nothing escapes you, nothing is hidden from your gaze.

Our God and God of our fathers, have mercy all us, and pardon all our sins. Grant atonement for all our inequities forgiveness for all our transgressions.

* * *

This is my prayer to thee, my Lord ­
Strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart
Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows,
Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.
Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might
Give me the strength to raise my mind above daily trifles
Give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.
- Rabindranath Tagore
* * *
Lord, make me a channel of your peace, that
Where there is hatred, I bring love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sorrow, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may console rather than be consoled
Understand rather than be understood
Love rather than be loved.
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in forgiving that we are forgiven
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.      
- St Francis of Assissi

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right.

May we put the trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred. We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, praying always for the inspiration and power to fulfil the destiny for which we are created.

(Week of Prayer for World Peace 1978).