The Power of Prayer

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The Power of Prayer

By Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji

It is becoming more and more complex. From morning till night, it is a rat

race, but the irony of it is, even at the end, we remain rats only! Isn't it

a pathetic situation? Oxen tied to the post revolve round and round

mechanically and the condition of many people is no different - turning

round and round, making no progress!

 

This is hard truth but not impossible to wriggle out. One way is to be aware

of our actions. This requires us to think and set our goal. This is not

enough and we ought to combine this with another powerful technique. God has

not left us in wilderness. He stands by the stream of karma and lifts us up

from the whirlpools of life. He gave us tools potent enough to match the

ordeal on hand. One such tool is 'Prayer' - a complete and an effective

method. Holding that we are alone in this world, zeroes we are, but endowed

with the understanding that the Lord is with us, we turn into heroes.

 

Ideally, prayer is a longing for God - a bridge laid to reach the realm of

God, a bond that unites both. In the back drop of our own negativity we need

the shield of God's umbrella to live our lives fearlessly. Thus, in

practice, prayer is, finding a true friend and companion of all times, in

God. Prayer helps us to communicate and plead with God. That is why Sai Baba

said:

 

" You look to Me; I look to you " . He also assured us: " Cast your burden on

Me, I shall surely carry it " . When we are at the crossroads of indecision,

sincere prayers point the right road. Then prayer is not a mere practice,

but is as natural as breathing!

 

Prayer need not be rehearsed speech or a jugglery of words. It need not take

a formal expression either. Silent communion with God is enough, as, in that

state, the mind turns tranquil and serves as a conduit to carry our message

to God. Only we should be sensitive to perceive the answers, which arrive in

a variety of ways.

 

to be contd....

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When we recite Vishnu Sahasra Namam or say 'Namo Narayanaya', we are

saluting to the Supreme Lord with reverence and love. Even if the chanting

were mechanical, it does not matter much, as the verbal expression is

endowed with potency. Let us not doubt as to whether God hears our prayers

or not. He does and enters the scene only at the appropriate time that is

best for us.

 

A person usually looks up for God when he is in rough weather. Unable to

bear the pangs of life, he relies on a power higher than he does. Trials and

tribulations give him wisdom, strength and devotion. When my Guru, Sri

Narasimha Swamiji, was admitted in the General Hospital at Madras for a

fracture of the thigh bone, after an accidental fall in 1953, he had

converted his ward into a miniature Sai Mandir. He tolerated the pain with a

smile!

 

There is nothing wrong if a prayer starts off for one's own betterment, as

in course of time it covers his family members and later extends to his

fellow beings in society, as he begins to perceive the Lord dwelling in all

beings. Look at the gigantic Banyan tree and the sprawling branches it

spreads, as it grows. Prayers made for others, their happiness and

well-being, goodwill and peace to the world at large, are appreciated and

quickly responded to, by God, in the form of granting the devotee an

expanded awareness.

 

Surrender to God is the toughest thing to accomplish. If a person says

outwardly that he has surrendered to God's will but in day-to-day life

quarrels with everyone on petty causes, he has not understood what

'surrender' means. Look at others with God's eyes, is the instruction. We

must develop an euonymus vision in all our activities, under all

circumstances. We may fail repeatedly in this arduous task, as the old

'samskaras' would raise their ugly hoods quite often, but let us strive to

rise every time we fail.

 

Curbing the ego, therefore, forms the basic discipline when we tread on the

path of spirituality. An egotistic man is possessive and cannot bow his head

when he comes across personalities endowed with wisdom. Unless he cultivates

a loving attitude towards existence as a whole and shares a part of what he

has with others, he soon abandons his efforts in a huff.

 

One need not be a man of letters to pray. In God's vision, there is no low

or high - a prince or pauper is held in the same esteem. Patience and

perseverance of a high order are needed in cultivating this art. Let us

chant His name as Hanuman kept on chanting Rama's name always.

 

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