Friday, September 25, 2009

Power of Prayer. March 2009, Toronto.

Q: We say that one’s future is pre-determined by her actions. We also say that it is determined by the Lord. Please reconcile.

A: Yes. It is correct to say that the future is determined by one’s actions. One performs actions. Actions yield results. The results are given according the Law of Karma. Since there is the Law, there is also the Law-giver. This Law-giver is the Lord. Since the results are coming from the nature according to the Law of Karma, we indirectly say that they are given by the Lord; determined by the Lord. The Lord and the nature are identical. The Lord and the Law-giver are one and the same.


Q: Why is God partial to those who pray to him? A person does all sorts of bad things, sins. He then surrenders to the God, and all his sins are forgiven. God even removes his (प्रारब्ध) Prarabdha Karma. Another person does not commit as many sins; but also does not pray. His sins, even minor ones, are not forgiven. Is that fair?

A: No! It is not fair! But then that is YOUR choice. To choose is the privilege of humans. When you decide to pray, you choose to do the right thing. Suppose it is a cold winter night and there is a nice, warm fire burning in the fireplace. You may decide to go away from the fire, suffer and complain about the cold. Or you may sit by the fire and stay comfortably warm. It is your choice. God is like the ever present fire, ever ready to warm you, bless you. It is your free-will, your choice to seek him. It is not that the non-praying person will retain his sins forever. He will reap the results of his Karma; suffer and enjoy accordingly. However, he may choose to take some action to mitigate the suffering. He might decide to pray.

To pray means to remove ego. You see, Bhagwaan’s grace is always there. It is the ego which is obstructing that grace from reaching us. When we pray, we seek to reduce this ego. To the extent the ego is reduced, Bhagwaans grace reaches us. When a person does not pray, he wishes to retain his ego: the barrier to Bhagwaan’s grace.


Q: How do we find time for spiritual growth in today’s busy life?

A: Plan. Plan your day. A busy person can find time for every thing. Bhagwaan does not ask a lot. Only three minutes of time a day. Remember him when you get up. Remember when you retire to sleep. Remember with sincerity. That is enough!


Q: What is the difference between surrender and giving up?

A: Surrender is deliberate. It is the awareness of the Lords presence and nature. It is a purposeful action undertaken willingly with understanding. Whereas, giving up is in despair, helplessness. There is a frustration, not knowing what to do. One is not happy.


Q: How to bring a child to the right path, when his life is too busy to have time for God?

A: This is a very common quandary for today’s parents. The answer is that you need to set an example. It is not what we tell kids, but what we do. Children do not listen; they follow. If we wish to raise disciplined, value driven kids, we need to be disciplined and value driven ourselves. If we wish kids to abstain from smoking, we need to be non-smokers. If you are a chain smoker, no matter how much you advise your son against it, he will go to his room and practice with a pencil!

“Having no time” is an excuse that does not hold water. One has time to eat, bathe, and sleep. Think of the Lord during the daily activities. If you set the priorities right, you will find time. After all God do not need much.


Q: I think that prayer is for the control of the mind. Does it always have to start with Lord’s praise, say a Strotra or a Bhajan? (स्त्रोत्र, भजन).

A: No. It does not have to be a Stotra or a Bhajan. It is also asked, “Does the prayer need to be in Sanskrit only? What about English? Or Tamil?” No. It needs to be the language of the heart.

To Pray is to be constantly aware of the Lords presence.

Once, a child was travelling with her mother on a boat. There was a mishap, a fire and the boat needed to be evacuated. There was a general panic. But the child slept through the ordeal. Later on she was asked: Was she not scared? How could she be relaxed enough to sleep through? The child simply replied: “Why should I worry? My mother was there to take care of me!” This thought, this confidence that Lord is always with me. He will never forsake me! This is called prayer!


Q: How to keep prayerful attitude all the time and not only at prayer time?

A: You can maintain Prayerful attitude only when you become aware of the Lords presence within. That the Lord is not too far. He is within you as your antaratma (अंतरात्मा). Right there with you. The most nearest to you! In our Shatsrtas it is said, that from this vantage position, the lord observes unblinkingly – aluptdruk (अलुप्तदृक). In Vrindaavan, the gopis used to complain to Bruhmaji (बृह्मदेव), the creator, that he should not created the eyelids and their blinking motion. Because that much time is lost without the sight of Bhagwaan. Then there is the case of another gopi, who was seen meditating with closed eyes by Naradamuni during his travels. He was curious as to the object of her meditation, as she was anyway a constant companion of Bhagwaan. She replied that the meditation was for the purpose of removing Bhagwaan from her mind, because his constant presence has rendered her useless, unable to do anything else. That stage is called prayerful attitude. Continuous remembrance! Never forgetting!


Q: Please explain the significance Rudram and Chamakam. Why is Lord Shankara depicted as very angry, scary, chief of thieves, and killer of cows? Why Chamakam is considered supreme form of prayer? What is the significance of odd and even numbers mentioned at the end?

A: Rudram has various aspects. One is the Viraat Swaroopa, (विराट स्वरूप) that the entire universe is looked upon as the form of Shiva. Everything in the universe is part of the Lord. For example, a human body carries certain waste products; they are rubbish only when they are outside. While inside, they are part of you. You! The same concept occurs in Geeta, Chapter 10. Bhagwaan says that in dyuta, (द्यूत), gambling, he is deceit. The concept is that everything in the world -as material cause- is the Lord. That is why the list is so long.

Now, Shiva is perceived as angry at places. That is because the devotee while praying is aware of his own bad deeds, transgressions, and is apprehensive. He is requesting to be spared from the Lords displeasure. It is a form of prayer.

In Chamakam, and Namakam which precedes it, there is long list, some 238 bullet points of things the devotee asks of the Lord. It is a very exhaustive list; whatever a human mind can possibly conceive of is included. But it is all asked for the welfare of mankind. Not for some the parochial interest. It is very beautiful prayer.


Q: In times of distress, we pray for others. Is it effective?

A: Praying for others is a selfless act. That is why it most definitely is very effective.


Q: At the end of many a strostra, Falsruti (फलश्रुती), list of the rewards due to chanting, is appended. Are we not supposed to pray without expectations?

A: That is correct. But, human mind is what it is. It always seeks to know the bottom line. So, the Rishis attached this carrot to the prayers. These prayers, particularly the Vishnu Sahasra Naama (विष्णू सहस्त्र नाम) , are so effective that chanting them purifies the mind. The result is that no desire is left. However, the Falsruti acts as incentive to get devotee chanting.


Q: I am a Hindu. Recently, I had a dream of Jesus Christ with light coming out his chest. It felt very real! What does it mean?

A: It is a dream. Typically, when one is exposed to some thoughts or sees some pictures, the subconscious mind projects them in dreams. If you read Ramaayana, you might dream of Shri Ramachandra. Since your dream had Jesus Christ in it, it is a noble dream. May his blessings be with you!


Q: Why does God not reveal himself to every one, whether one prays or not?

A: But he does! He makes himself known to everyone all the time. Once a visitor asked Bhagwaan Ramana Maharshi, to arrange a darshan of God as the Maharshi was known to be in touch with God. Maharshi consented, but warned that the visitor may still not be able to see the Lord. The Maharshi then lifted his hand, wiggled his pinkie and looked quizzically at the visitor. The visitor said that he had observed only the wiggling of finger and nothing else. Maharshi then explained, that the pinkie if cut from the hand will be lifeless, unable to move. This power to move, this life force is the Lord. The Lords grace is always present. It is our inability to recognize it. That is the problem. Like a goldsmith who sees only the pure gold content of your old ornaments, and is not concerned with their outer form, we must train ourselves to see the essential God in this universe and not be dazzled with the outer glitter.


Q: I am Bruhman (बृह्मं). So are my Guru and everybody else. Why should I then respect my guru?

A: That is correct. If you realize that you are the Bruhman, then you do not need to. In Nirvan Shataka it is said that:

Na Punyam Na Paapam Na Soukhyam Na Dukham,
Na Manthro Na Theertham Na Veda Na Yagna,
Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhoktha,
Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham
4


Na Mruthyur Na Sankha Na Me Jathi Bhedha,
Pitha Naiva Me Naiva Matha Na Janma,
Na Bhandhur Na Mithram
Gurur Naiva Sishya
,
Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham
5

If you reach the state of perfection, there is no distinction between Papa and Punya, the Guru and the Shishya. But that is only after achieving the state of perfection!


Q: I come out of Pooja room and see a thief. Do you say that I should see God in him? How is that possible?

A: That is possible but not easily. One has to train to oneself to see the presence of God in the person that is the thief, and then the thief will not be a thief for you. There is a story of a saint. Once while he was getting ready to sit down for his meal, a dog ran away with his roti. Now, half eaten by a dog the bread was of no use to the saint, but he still ran after the dog with a cup of butter in his hand. For he was concerned that the dog might develop a stomach ache if it ate the roti without butter. This is the capacity to see God in everyone.


Q: In my prayer room there are many deities out of which I feel a special connection to one. When I am praying to her, I get concerned that I am ignoring the others. What can I do about it?

A: All deities are the same Lord appearing in different forms. Once you realize this, there will not be any similar confusion.


Q: Is the power of prayer derived from the Mantra itself or the intention of heart?

A: It is the intention of the heart, the bhava (भाव) in mind, that gives the power to the mantra. Chanting mantra without the bhava, will help in purifying the mind and creating the bhava.


Q: Do you take objection to Singing and Dancing? What is wrong if we derive some little joy from such activities?

A: Nothing wrong in them. We have tradition of gopi’s raasleela or Garba dance etc. Even Gurudeo used to encourage people to getup and dance. You are not a sanyasee, and even sanyasees dance. I only suggest that if you sing and dance with bhajans, you will have mind purification in addition to mere exercise.


Q: What is Faith? What is the Lord? He is prayed to impose discipline and self control, asked favors. Seems mystical power rather than philosophical.

A: Faith is belief supported by knowledge. One needs to start somewhere, so we start with belief. But slowly, with gained knowledge, the belief gets reinforced and becomes faith. What is Lord? Lord is your own self. The touch of life in you is the presence of lord in you. It seems from your question that prayer is not for you. Your nature is intellectual. You do not need to pray. You should start to enquire, seek the nature of the truth. Once you discover the nature of truth in you, your own self, then looking at the creation that admiration will come to you. That very admiration and wonder is the prayer.


Q: How to pray for others?

A: After the prayer, please indicate that the prayer is for the benefit of that certain person.


Q: Is it selfish to pray for ones own children?

A: Praying for yourself might be a little selfish. But the children are distinct entities. We should pray for them. It is a selfless act!

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