Surrender to God With True Prayer

[Guest guest]

Ammachi hits the Times of India's op-ed page again!

 

Jai Ma!

 

Keval

 

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SPEAKING TREE

 

Surrender to God With True Prayer

 

 

SUREKHA MOHAN

 

[ FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2002 12:07:14 AM ]

 

WHOLEHEARTED devotion to God is sometimes viewed as an

aberration of the mind. But many who’ve left their

footprints on the sands of time have attributed their

"little bit of greatness" to God.

 

According to Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma), it is

important for every individual to have a good

spiritual foundation. But, for this, there is no need

to renounce family and friends.

 

"The only condition is that we should perform our

actions selflessly, without any attachment,

surrendering everything at the feet of the Lord".

 

Amma says: "A householder should be like a bird

sitting on a dry twig. It knows the twig will break

any moment and so is always ready to take-off.

Similarly, worldly relationships may end any time. All

actions a householder is involved in are just

temporary works entrusted to him by God".

 

In fact, a person who runs away from life is not fit

to be a spiritual seeker, says Amma. That is why

Krishna did not let Arjuna run away from the

battlefield. Life is a battle which cannot be avoided.

 

 

"Just as you cannot run away from death, you cannot

run away from life, either. You can only try to

transcend both by living sensibly", she says.

 

There is a story in the Puranas about a self-assured

Sage Narada asking Lord Vishnu whether there was any

greater devotee than him. In response, Vishnu took him

to the hut of a poor farmer, who He said was His

greatest devotee.

 

The farmer welcomed the duo who were disguised as

travellers, and fed them to their heart’s content.

 

The farmer and his family went hungry that night. The

farmer lit a lamp and prayed twice a day. Even while

working, he could be heard singing the Lord’s glories.

 

 

When a sceptical Narada pointed out that he, on the

other hand, praised the Lord all the time, Vishnu gave

him a vessel filled to the brim with oil and asked him

to balance it on his head without spilling a drop

while he walked around a hill.

 

On completion of the task, Vishnu asked him how many

times he uttered the Lord’s name. Narada replied that

he didn’t remember the Lord even once as all his

concentration was on the vessel.

 

Vishnu pointed out to Narada that the poor farmer, on

the contrary, remembered Him several times despite his

poverty and exacting work routine. Not just that, the

illiterate farmer had surrendered himself to the Lord

without seeking anything in return.

 

Amma stresses that spiritual practice does not merely

entail sitting in lotus posture and meditating. It

means something more.

 

Mirabai and the gopis of Vrindavan constantly

remembered the glories of the Lord and cherished His

divine form within themselves, irrespective of time or

place.

 

They prayed until their whole being was transformed

into a state of constant prayer. They themselves

became the offering. "What is left is love. Prayer can

perform this miracle. There is no better meditation

technique than sincere prayer. Supplicate Him. Pour

out your heart to Him. Prayer is nothing but accepting

His supremacy and remembering your own nothingness".

 

The Bhagavatam says we can realise God by constantly

thinking of Him. No matter what the attitude towards

Him may be.

 

"We may love Him as a parent, as our child, as our

beloved or even our friend". Says Amma, "Contemplate

Him as your creator, protector and the final abode to

where you will return. Open your heart and pray to

Him. He cannot sit silent and unmoved when somebody

calls Him like that...Without love for God, no amount

of meditation will bear fruit. Rowing a boat against

the current is difficult but if there is a sail, it

becomes easy. Love for God is like a sail that helps

the boat move forward".

 

She says: "The tears that fill the eyes when we

remember God have tremendous power to purify our mind

and are more powerful than meditation. While mere

believers may also pray using the same terms and

engage in the same manner of supplication, their words

are meaningless as they do not pray from the heart.

They babble. Out of fear and in order to fulfil their

desires, they say something which according to them is

prayer. But in reality, they are suggesting to God and

even instructing Him that these are the things they

want and these are the things they don’t want".

 

How can this be prayer? This is just trying to

establish supremacy over God, she says. The so-called

believer is saying indirectly that he knows better

than God what is best for him. Desire is the central

point around which his prayer revolves, adds Amma.

 

A true devotee, however, offers himself to the Lord

when he prays. Prayer is real surrender. There is

nothing to ask, nothing to demand.

 

 

 

 

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