Guest guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Hare Krishna, Many people, are not very clear about the underlying philosophy of prayer. Here, is an attempt to provide some insights into the logic behind prayers. To begin with we must understand as to why do we pray ?. There are basically 12 reasons for prayer : 1. We pray for surrendering ourselves to God completely . 2. We pray for communion with God through single-minded devotion . 3. We pray to depend on God for help in distress . 4. We pray for asking God for enlightenment . 5. We pray for asking for peace from God when the mind is restless . 6. We pray to God for giving us the ability to comfort others . 7. We pray for thanking God for his blessings . 8. We pray for expecting God to decide what is best for us when we are in a dilemma . 9. We pray for making friendship with God . 10. We pray for melting the mind and ego in silence in God . 11. We pray for requesting God to give strength, peace and pure intellect, e.g. Gayatri Mantra . 12. We pray for asking God to purify the heart and make us abide in Him forever. In essence, what the above 12 reasons convey to us is that a prayer has two parts : one is soliciting a favor from the God and the other is surrendering ourselves to His will . While the first part is practiced by most of us on a daily basis, the second part is the real and ultimate goal because it implies dedication. Dedication means feeling the light of God within your heart . If your heart is devoid of divine light, you will not be happy, cheerful and successful in your lives. Remember, your success depends on the inward state of your mind. Your mind will create hindrance if it is not in communication with Lord Shree Krishna , the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He alone is the Lord of Maya (illusion) and therefore the permanent abode of peace . It is true that most of us want to have riches, healthy lives, nice children and prosperous future. But if we always approach Lord Krishna with a begging attitude then we are treating Him as our bearer to supply the things required by us at once. This is no devotion to Krishna but devotion to our own selfish desires. This suffering is external and temporary and it is glorious that you are turning to Lord Krishna , the causelessly merciful Godhead , due to your suffering. Your suffering will go away. Lord Shree Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad Gita ( 7.16 & 9.22) : catur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukrtino 'rjuna arto jijnasur artharthi jnani ca bharatarsabha O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me--the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasatetesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy hamHowever, for those who are always absorbed in thoughts of Me, and who worship Me with one-pointed devotion by every means, I Myself attend to their needs (i.e., achieve what they lack and preserve what they have) . Jai Shree Krishna !!! Author : Shree Gyan Rajhans, MSc., P.Eng., CIH, ROH. Scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Health. Producer/ Broadcaster of Vedic Religion. ***************** To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Security Centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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