PRAYER
Our
devotion and prayer to God should not for the sole purpose of obtaining
something or fulfilling some desire of ours. This should be for the sake
of ATMA( the inner divinity) and for
the sake of becoming one with the Lord and for the sake of getting the bliss
that one can get by being close to Lord.
Summer Showers 1974,p 176
Prayer must emanate from the heart, where God resides, and not from the head, where doctrines and doubts clash.
Sathya Sai
Speakes 7,p 83
Not knowing what we should ask, we are asking him
for something else. In this process, we are getting ourselves into difficulties. God is
always ready to give you all that you want, but you do not seem to know what is
good for you and what you really want. Since
you do not know what you should want and under what circumstances, it is better
and easier to surrender yourself completely to God and simply ask for his
grace. SS 1973, p134
Prayer has
to be united with practice. You should not prey for one
thing and practice another. Such prayer is a means of deception. The words you utter, the deeds
you do, the prayers you make must all be directed alone the same path.
Prasanthi Vahini p,34
If all
Humanity pray at one time that unrest, injustice, disorder and falsehood
might be transformed, into peace, truth, love and mutual service, things
will certainly become better.
All prayers of man do not reach God Himself - they are
attended by His ‘ministers’. Only those prayers which have their origins in the
spirit of action without concern for the outcomes, infinite
and pure love, and an unsullied heart reach the Lord directly. It is not
possible for prayers of any other kind to reach Him directly. Therefore, it is only through these
three media, that is action without an eye on the fruits, boundless love and
unsullied heart, that we can hope to secure direct contact with the
Lord and obtain His divine sanction to our request.
Study Circle
for Divinity, p 170
If the
devotee(BHAKTHA) has dedicated his
all, body, mind, and existence, to the Lord, He Himself look after everything,
for He will always be with him. Under such
conditions there is no need for prayer. But have you dedicated yourself and surrendered everything to the
Lord? No when losses occur, or
calamities come, or plans go away, the devotee blames the Lord. Some on other
hand, pray to Him to save them. Avoiding both these, as well as the reliance on
others, if complete faith is placed on the Lord at all times, why should He deny you His Grace? Why
should He deny you His Grace? Why should He desist from helping you? Men do not
rely fully and unswervingly on the Lord; therefore, though you have to be the agent and the instrument doing everything, keep on praying with devotion and faith.
Faith is the product of SHANTHI(peace), not of haste and hurry.
Prahlada knew that the Lord was ever
by his side and that he had no need to call out to Him for protection. Prahlada was unaware of anything except
the Lord; he could not distinguish between one function of the Lord, and
another. So how could he pray for protection, he who did not know that, He
punished? For all such God-intoxicated and dedicated souls, prayer is unnecessary.
But until that stage is reached, prayer is an
attitude of peace is essential for aspirants. Prayer of this type will promote
equanimity. The Lord can be prayed to by
means of contemplation of God, repetition of Name, meditation or devotional
singing. When repetition of the Name is done, it is better to recite aloud,
and make it a spiritual song and
sing in a sweet voice, people will be drawn towards the Lord. Gradually, it will develop into the Love for God, and
his Grace will follow in due course. One should patiently wait for that Grace.
Prasanthi Vahini 17
1.
What should we Pray for?
See Paragraph 3, page1.
God gives you
whatever you prey for, so take care, ask for the right things.
Sathya Sai
Speakes 3,p 230
2. Is it possible to get world peace with noble thoughts and prayers ?
Certain others declare that prayer can bring about
world peace and they ask people to pray. Of course, it is good to pray; but,
peace can never be gained by that alone. Prayer
must be united with practice. You should not pray for one thing and practice
another. Such prayer is only a means of deception. The words you utter, the
deeds you do, the prayer you make must be
directed alone the same path. While
repeating prayers for world peace,
if you cannot patiently put up with
others, if you slander others and look down upon them, you yourself will
have no peace; you will have turmoil instead!
1. Some people say “God can give us only what we need (according to Him) or what we deserve”. Will the Lord
like to give us all that we ask for, in our prayers to Him? Under such
circumstances, what is the use of prayer?
Last three Paragraph
of page 1.
4. What
obstacles may keep prayers from being answered?
TIMING, KARMA,
GRACE, THE DEGREE OF PERSONAL EFFORT, FAITH, DEVOTION & DETERMINATION. ?
5. How do you deal with a situation where, if
somebody ask ‘How should I pray?’
The following steps are
suggested(by Baba himself)
(a). Have a picture of Baba or your favourite deity or God form
on the alter. If
you find that form is not acceptable to your belief, than even this is not
necessary. After all the photo is merely a symbol, a
reminder, a focal point.
(b). If you wish, you may
light on oil lamp or candle. These again
symbols, for God is light, knowledge is light, Truth is light. Flowers
and other decorative items may or may not be used depending on individual
inclination and availability.
Sit in front of the picture, candle and try to let your mind come to a rest, try either singing some songs, or playing a tape of spiritual songs. Reading spiritual book could be equally effective. Alternatively try deep, rhythmic breathing - to calm the mind.
Then say SHANTHI
MANTRA 3, 6 or 9 times. Before saying the mantra, say 3 x OM
It can be said in its original Sanskrit or in
English.
ASATHOMA SATGAMAYA (From the Unreal, Lead me to the Real)
THAMASOMA, JYOTHIRGAMAYA (From
Darkness Lead me to Light)
MYRUTHIOMA AMRUTHAMGAMAYA (From Death
Lead me to Immortality)
OM
SHANTHI, SHANTHI, SHANTHI (OM Peace, Peace , Peace)
Then, The following prayer that Bhagavan Baba has written himself can be repeated.
Oh! Lord! Take my love and let it flow in fullness or
devotion to thee,
Oh! Lord! Take my hands and let them work incessantly
for thee,
Oh! Lord! Take my Soul and let it be merged in one with
thee,
Oh! Lord! Take my mind and thoughts and let them be in
tune with thee,
Oh! Lord! Take my everything and let me be an
instrument to work.
OM.. SHANTHI…
SHANTHI… SHANTHI…
END.
Journey to God
III, 199-200
6. If a person
is not having any material or worldly needs, then what is the proper subject
for prayer?
Peace of mind. One should pray for peace of mind.
Conversations p
49