Prayer/ worship (bhakti) in Hinduism
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
‘No Prayer Really Stays Unanswered’
Abhimanyu Pati, Why No Prayer Really Stays Unanswered, December 30, 2017: The Times of India
At some point in our lives, we tend to turn to prayer, seeking divine blessings, to overcome problems. When the problems don’t go away, we attribute these problems to our destiny and look for solutions from external sources of power. In the Gita, Krishna identifies four categories of people, who pray: Aarta, the sufferers; Jignyanshu, seeker of the truth; Arthaarthi, seeker of materialistic benefits and finally, Jnani, the wise. Of these, Krishna says the quality of the prayer of the wise is pure, since it happens in a higher realm of consciousness.
People complain that their prayers are not always answered. So they resort to other sources of power to get blessings and protections. Sometimes, if they are lucky, they find solutions to their problems, which give them a feeling that their prayers have been answered and they become happy. But, prayer is a complex phenomenon and its dynamics needs to be understood properly before commenting on its effectiveness.
Prayer is a process to connect with the universal source of energy, which is our life force. Universe is considered to be a vast energy field, which contains all cosmic objects including galaxies, stars and planets. This field binds all cosmic bodies and regulates them to follow their defined paths in an orderly manner. Without this cosmic order, which is imposed by the omnipotent energy field of the universe, there would be only chaos.
The universal energy field vibrates with a frequency of its own like any other energy source and all have access to it, being a part of this field. Theoretically, all should vibrate with the same frequency as that of the universal field. With synchronised frequency, objects can tap energy from the universal source of life and sustain without any disturbance. But human beings have the potential to impose their own frequency, which is due to their mental activities, and in the process, they may remain completely out of tune and cut-off from the universal life source. If this continues for long, we end up in physical and mental sufferings.
Prayer is a process to tune the mind to the frequency of universal life source. Various methods for training the mind has been depicted as a prayer in the Upanishads. The first kind of prayer is Karma Yoga, selfless dedicated actions, that purify our karmas, deeds, and aligns its frequency with that of the universe. Second is Bhakti Yoga, path of surrender through singing devotional songs and Naam smaran, chanting. The Upanishads say that the word AUM has the same frequency as the universal energy field and chanting AUM can connect us to the universal field of wisdom. Third method is Jnana Yoga, the path of wisdom, which helps in purifying our thoughts and in turn, facilitates the process of connecting with the cosmic field.
One who remains always connected to the universal field of consciousness, transcends dualities and sufferings. He is never affected by problems and remains blissful always. He remains as a lotus leaf, without getting wet. Enlightened persons like Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Rama and Krishna have demonstrated that a life of continuous prayer and perpetual connectivity with the universal source of consciousness is absolutely possible. Therefore, no prayer, if carried out in a proper manner, stays unanswered.
What Happens In The Presence Of A Deity
Shammi Paranjape, May 17, 2018: The Times of India
Though a deity is usually made of stone, it has presence. But, to draw divinity out of stone, a devotee’s intense prayer and supplication are needed. The Vedas declare that God pervades every atom of the universe. By that logic, nothing can be excluded.
In Hinduism, the deity plays an important role. Proponents of the Dvaita school of philosophy wittingly create a distinction between God and devotee. They want a visible form to adore and worship. Though Advaita is the ultimate goal, there are those who relish bhakti marg, which establishes a personal and loving relationship between the devotee and the divine. This relationship envisages a personal god with form, who can be invoked and adored. Thus multifarious deities are crafted to exact specifications as laid down in the Vedas. Secondly, when a deity is placed at a shrine, a ceremony called, ‘Prana Pratishta’ is duly performed, as per Vedic guidelines, by which the divine essence of the god or goddess is invited and infused into the image.
The shrine becomes a sacred spot for the devout to express their devotion. Though the Divine is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, only enlightened beings can experience this. For simple, worldly souls, the hurly-burly of existence presents constant challenges and obstacles that call for daily attention. To ‘see’ the Divine everywhere through these daily struggles, is not always workable. Marked out consecrated spots, assist in marshalling faith and attention towards divinity. Just as a house has a living room, bedroom, and dining room, for specific associated activities, at different times, a marked out spot for God, at home or outside, becomes a sacred space to connect to the Divine.
Rituals always potentially facilitate direct communion with the divine. ‘God’ is ever immanent and all it takes is a heart brimming with devotion to draw Him out. The ardent belief that the deity is alive and responsive makes it so. This is not a fanciful fable to the community of the devout. They will go back again and again to their beloved shrine to repeat the experience and garner blessings.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba says of the many prevalent forms of gods and goddesses in Hinduism, “Each name and form is indicative of an aspect of divinity. Each one is a facet, a part, a ray of the Supreme… in fact, everywhere you look the attribute-less divine has taken on attributes. Without the help of name and form you cannot comprehend the formless divine. Even Shankara, the biggest proponent of non-dualism, worshipped images in childhood, and he realised the value of saguna-swarupa (worshipping gods with form)…therefore he advised saguna-aradhana to the large majority of people even later in his life.”
Places of worship provide structure and discipline for remembering the Supreme. This promotes humility, and nurtures the devotional instinct and desire for purifying impulses. Legion are stories of devotees visiting a shrine at a hallowed spot, and feeling overwhelmed with bliss. Tears streaming down their cheeks, with the devotees not knowing why or how. This is the power of deity, and the faith resposed in the saguna version of the Supreme or whatever name you give it. The experience lies beyond the region of the mind – so reason and logic flounder in the face of it.
