– Oh! Mind Relax Please by Swami Sukhabodhananda.
We pray to God. But most often, what is the quality of our prayers?
‘Oh God! My wife is not good. Change her character. My children are not okay. Change their behavior! The next-door neighbor is a brute. He is always fighting with me for nothing, please change him…’
We continuously keep nagging God to change others around us. To put it in another way, we are actually saying, ‘God, you are keeping quiet by simply looking at all these! Please change yourself! Change yourself from being idle and do something favorable to me!’
Can you see how strange all this is?
We continuously keep nagging God to change others around us. To put it in another way, we are actually saying, ‘God, you are keeping quiet by simply looking at all these! Please change yourself! Change yourself from being idle and do something favorable to me!’
Can you see how strange all this is?
Do we pray to change ourselves or to change God?
Knowing well that prayer is not meant to change God, we even persist with our foolishness.
There are others who declare proudly to every one they meet, ‘I offer prayers for an hour every day without fail…come rain or shine.’ For them, even adorning the sacred ash is a matter of image. Hence they are married to the rituals of prayer, rather than imbibing the spirit of prayer.
There is yet another kind of prayer.
Knowing well that prayer is not meant to change God, we even persist with our foolishness.
There are others who declare proudly to every one they meet, ‘I offer prayers for an hour every day without fail…come rain or shine.’ For them, even adorning the sacred ash is a matter of image. Hence they are married to the rituals of prayer, rather than imbibing the spirit of prayer.
There is yet another kind of prayer.
A lady was sitting by the side of a window watching the scene outside. The mountain was very pretty. Suddenly she remembered a proverb ‘Prayers can move mountains.’ She wanted to test God.
Closing her eyes, she knelt on the floor and prayed thus: ‘God, if you move this mountain that is between the sea and my house, I would get the sea breeze. So please move the mountain!’
Closing her eyes, she knelt on the floor and prayed thus: ‘God, if you move this mountain that is between the sea and my house, I would get the sea breeze. So please move the mountain!’
When she opened her eyes, the mountain was intact, without moving an inch. She smiled and said, ‘I was very sure that the mountain would not move. The saying that prayers can move mountains is all baloney. My hunch that it would not, was correct!’ and patted herself.
She prayed with a conviction that prayer would not move the mountain. The essence of the prayer came from disbelief rather than belief. Here, prayer was a mere ritual and not an expression of commitment.
Again, there is another kind of prayer. A prayer just for prayer’s sake- a sheer mechanical one. That is to pray with minds wandering all over, with holy chants being only on the lips….
Again, there is another kind of prayer. A prayer just for prayer’s sake- a sheer mechanical one. That is to pray with minds wandering all over, with holy chants being only on the lips….
A disciple performed great service to humanity. The Head of the Church wished to give him a gift and presented him with a miraculous horse.
That horse was very pious. When one said, ‘Oh God!’ the horse would run very fast. If one wanted the horse to run continuously, one had to say, ‘Oh God, Oh God’ repeatedly. Similarly, if one wanted to stop the horse, it was not enough to pull the reins back. The horse would only stop if one said, ‘Thank you, God.’
The head of the church explained the language the horse understood and left. The disciple wished to ride the newly acquired horse and mounted it and said, ‘Oh God.’ The horse galloped. The disciple felt as though he was flying in air. Highly excited, he repeatedly said, ‘Oh God, Oh God.’ The horse galloped as fast as wind on the mountainous terrain. The disciple, who was earlier so enchanted with the ride, was shocked. The horse was racing towards a steep cliff. He tried in vain to hold back the reins to stop it. But the horse ran non stop. Suddenly he recalled the words of the head of the church. Closing his eyes, he screamed, ‘Thank you, God.’ His voice echoed over the entire mountain range and the horse stopped at once. The disciple slowly opened his eyes and looked. He was at the edge of the cliff. The disciple froze in terror, and thinking how he escaped a great danger, he panted in relief saying, ‘Oh God.’ The next instant, the conditioned horse plunged headlong into the gorge.
This story only goes on to show how mechanically we use the name of God, and how we pray without fully knowing the meaning of it.
That horse was very pious. When one said, ‘Oh God!’ the horse would run very fast. If one wanted the horse to run continuously, one had to say, ‘Oh God, Oh God’ repeatedly. Similarly, if one wanted to stop the horse, it was not enough to pull the reins back. The horse would only stop if one said, ‘Thank you, God.’
The head of the church explained the language the horse understood and left. The disciple wished to ride the newly acquired horse and mounted it and said, ‘Oh God.’ The horse galloped. The disciple felt as though he was flying in air. Highly excited, he repeatedly said, ‘Oh God, Oh God.’ The horse galloped as fast as wind on the mountainous terrain. The disciple, who was earlier so enchanted with the ride, was shocked. The horse was racing towards a steep cliff. He tried in vain to hold back the reins to stop it. But the horse ran non stop. Suddenly he recalled the words of the head of the church. Closing his eyes, he screamed, ‘Thank you, God.’ His voice echoed over the entire mountain range and the horse stopped at once. The disciple slowly opened his eyes and looked. He was at the edge of the cliff. The disciple froze in terror, and thinking how he escaped a great danger, he panted in relief saying, ‘Oh God.’ The next instant, the conditioned horse plunged headlong into the gorge.This story only goes on to show how mechanically we use the name of God, and how we pray without fully knowing the meaning of it.
How do we pray? To this question, the reply can be found in the life of Kabir.
Kabir says: ‘There was not a place left where I did not seek God. Temples, tanks, towers, all over the place I roamed around looking for God. I could not find Him.’ Finally exhausted, I said to myself, ‘So what if I cannot find God? Let me decide myself that I am a God realized person and experience Him.’ I began to live as loving, as silent and as blissful as God. Godliness came into me of its own accord.
Lo, the miracle happened. Suddenly I heard God calling me ‘Oh! Kabir, Oh, Kabir, where are you? I am searching for you.’
Lo, the miracle happened. Suddenly I heard God calling me ‘Oh! Kabir, Oh, Kabir, where are you? I am searching for you.’
Kabir said, ‘All along I was searching for you, Oh God; but now you are after me. I have realised the God within me and hence, I would have no more business with you.‘
Modern psychology calls this as ‘Act As If Theory.’ The very center of this theory is ‘trust.’ Trust you are blissful, silent and loving. This trust creates divine magic.
Modern psychology calls this as ‘Act As If Theory.’ The very center of this theory is ‘trust.’ Trust you are blissful, silent and loving. This trust creates divine magic.
Do everything with trust. If you do not find what you are seeking, behave as though you have already found it. After that, you will surely find it! This is how the mystery of prayer works.