Prayer is the way to connect with God (Bhagavan). Read this earlier article on the value and importance of prayer, why we need to pray and what we can pray for.
In this month’s article let’s try to understand the ‘how’ of prayer. Sri Swamiji would always say that prayer should not be done as though we are giving a piece of information to God. It needs to be sincere, heartfelt, a call out to God, and done constantly until it is fulfilled. Sri Swamiji would say that like a baby cries until its need is fulfilled by the mother, we need to pray and cry to Bhagavan until He fulfills our prayer.
At the same time, we need to understand that this does not mean only crying obstinately. When we have the right prayerful attitude, prayer can be more effective. Our scriptures, especially Srimad Bhagavatam, as well as mahatmas too, show us how we need to pray.
Drill down to the need
First think about what you really need and more importantly, why you need it. Many times, we hover in the space of ‘wants’. But every want, every desire, has a deeper need within it. My daughter may want an iphone, but the deeper need may really be for community, to be able to communicate with peers in a medium that they are active in. I may want a job, but the deeper need is probably one of financial security or a need to provide stability to the family. See how the need makes a stronger case for the prayer?
For the most part, Bhagavan works with our baggage of karma (past actions and their consequences), svabhAva (our nature), and kAla (time) while considering our prayer, not to mention His vAtsalya (motherly love) in also taking into account what is best for our future and long-term benefit. So when we pray for the deeper need, He can more easily find a way to fulfil the ‘need’; than if we are adamant with a ‘want’, in which case it may not always be fulfilled in the way we want it.
Hence being clear about the need behind the desire, before praying, can strengthen our prayer, make it deeper and more sincere, as well as give ourselves a better chance of having it fulfilled.
Pray for the prayer
Sri Swamiji would often quote an example of how a priest who is about to perform a Ganapati homa (to remove obstacles in a person’s life or home) would first make a little Ganesha out of turmeric and perform a Ganapati pooja as a prayer for the Ganapati homa to be conducted without any obstacles.
Hence before beginning our prayer, it can help us to first pray that we should be able to pray effectively with the right attitude towards Bhagavan and in such a way as to be able to connect with Him deeply.
Humility is a must
Like water, grace too flows more freely towards that which is low-lying. When our minds are bent low, grace gushes in there. Remember, Bhagavan is… well Bhagavan. He is God! He is grand and great. He has created and is sustaining this entire universe. Even great kings and presidents are but miniscule in His presence. With an underlying appreciation of Bhagavan’s greatness, it is important that we need to pray to Him with humility.
We cannot command Him to do things for us, for He is not at our beck and call. It makes no sense for us to complain or whine or blame Him, because He is perfect.
When we approach Him with humility, and remind both ourselves and Him about His greatness, we can be sure to be recipients of His compassion and grace.
Acceptance of the present; prayer for the future
Bhagavan is perfect. Make no mistake, He makes no mistakes. Everything that happens to us in life is a consequence of our own past actions that have come to us as a result of the wonderfully mind-boggling and absolutely perfect system of karma that the perfect Bhagavan has set in place. So if, under the pretext of praying, we question Him with statements like, “I have never done anyone any wrong. Why am I facing these troubles?” or “I have always worshipped you with devotion. Why should this happen to me?” we are basically accusing Him of being unfair and imperfect. We may not know – and we don’t need to know – why certain things happen to us. This emotional “Why?” question is a waste of time and energy.
Instead, let’s accept the present and pray for the future. “O Krishna, this has happened to me. I’m not going to question why. It must be perfect, because You are perfect. But it is a fact also that I am suffering immensely because of the problem and unable to bear it. Can you please shower Your compassionate grace and pull me out of the mire?”
Gratitude, the bottomline
No act can be complete without an element of gratitude. We all do have a lot of things going well for us in different aspects of our lives. Every one of these is due to the grace and blessings of Bhagavan.
Apart from our life and existence itself, which is but a gift from Him, He is also providing us with abundant resources for our lives – from air, water, food, shelter, to people around us, our skills, abilities, intellect, and more. Then there are also the innumerable circumstances that have actually played out according to our desire and will, our numerous prayers that have been answered, many situations where we have been protected, and various parts in our life where we are comfortable and happy. Above all, He has blessed us with satsang, with the Divine Name, and now has graced us to think and read about prayer from a higher perspective. How fortunate are we to have all of this in our lives!
Let us record these positives and intentionally remember at least some of them in gratitude, each time we pray to Bhagavan.
Pray from ‘abundance’; not from a lack
When we thus pray with humility, acceptance, and gratitude, we can pray to Bhagavan with the joy of already having been blessed. In such a frame of mind, when a positive prayer for a deep need is placed before Bhagavan, there is no doubt that it shall certainly be fulfilled.
The mantra for Bhagavan’s attention
Sri Swamiji says, “Prayers are powerful. Prayers with the Mahamantra are extraordinarily powerful.”
When we call out Bhagavan’s name, we have His compassionate, loving attention as He is pleased every time we chant His name. Thus, chanting the Mahamantra – Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare – as we go through each of the above steps, can help strengthen our prayer, our focus, our shraddha and carry our prayer to Bhagavan.
Based on discourses by Sri Ramanujamji
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