[ramakrishna] Digest Number 474

[Guest guest]

Swami Vivekananda was fluent in Hindi, Bengali and English; not in Marathi

Yogeshananda

[Guest guest]

I wish to respond to Gopi Krishna's post on prayer.

 

If one is is the sort of person who believes in the formless absolute, then

prayer

can be thought of as a tool to " educate the mind " . The mind is both the ally

and foe we have in realising the absolute and prayer is a way to make the mind

steadfast towards the goal of realisation and make it our ally.

 

If one believes in a god with form prayer still becomes an essential tool. Not

the way

modern priests and temples have made it out to be - A barter with god - God

please make

me pass this exam I will give you 108 coconuts as offering etc etc...

 

Prayer is the most intimate communion with god which we use to show our

gratitude to Him. Anything

else is not prayer but barter.

 

- Lord thank you for what all you have given me and what you are going to give

me in the future.

I do not know what to ask you for but you know what is right for me kind of an

attitude. An attitude

of total surrender of the self to him.

Even our vices are given by him for a given reason

Lord - Thank you for giving me anger. I can never overcome it with out you but i

can turn it on you for

not revealing thyself to me.

Lord - Thank you for giving me lust. I can never overcome it with out you but I

can be lustful to

realise you by direct experience

Lord - Thank you for giving me greed and envy. I can never overcome them with

out you but I can be greedy to realise you . I can be envious of people who have

realised you

 

Lord let me be the child which depends on its mother for everything ....

 

Personally whenever my spiritual practices on the Gnana path become dry and

devoid of feelings

resorting to this prayer and crying out like a child to him gives me an impetus

and strength to continue. The

feeling of cleansing it does to my body, mind and intellect is indescribable.

But pretty soon the

mind longs for the night soil (Kamini and Kanchan) which Thakurji refers to in

his discourses. But that's

another tale to tell ...

 

Continuing in this vein, I think when you have no more to ask anything for

yourself from God

you will ask for everything for others so that they are contended and happy.

Again you don't care about destiny/troubles in your life when you have done your

self surrender (Saranagathi) to Him - Like what

Vibeeshena brother of Ravana did to Ram in Ramayana.

 

with love,

sreedhar

 

 

> 1. Why one should pray? Can one pray for others? If yes, then when one is

> praying for others, if a bad thought crosses the mind, does it effect the

> person for whom we are praying? Does prayer remove the impending

> (preordained, or as we call it destiny) troubles in life?

>

> 2. I wish to have the five slokas of Sri Adi Sankaracharya virachita Manisha

> Panchakam along with its meaning and commentary, if possible.

>

> Thanks and Regards

>

> Gopi.

>

> P. Gopi Krishna

>