Prayer

Prayer is calling back home.
Prayer is, in essence, coming home,
for it brings us into connection with our deeper selves.
It is the way we speak to God,
and its beauty and poetry and devotion should match that in our hearts.
Prayer is the broom that sweeps out our hearts,
so the home we offer to god is an immaculate and pure one.
Prayer is a time when our mouths, our minds and our hearts
are filled with the glory of god,
when we simultaneously speak, think and feel our love for Him.
Prayer is the blanket that wraps itself around our souls
and keeps us warm and cozy.
Prayer is water that quenches the thirst
of a man lost in the desert.
It is the stars that glisten in the dark of night,
giving light to all those who may need it.
It is the sun that shines in the middle of winter,
coaxing the flowers to open their petals.
It is medicine to the sick, food to the hungry, and shelter to the homeless.

1. When and where should one offer prayer? And why ? Is there a specific time of the day for it?

Prayer should be done anytime and all the time; anywhere and everywhere; for any reason and for all reasons. When we speak to God, that is called prayer. Therefore, prayer should be a minute to minute, moment to moment, integral part of our lives. Prayer makes us God conscious, it brings us into divine connection. It takes our focus away from the material world and into the spiritual world.

There are, of course, days which are seen as particularly auspicious for offering prayers, certain holidays which have special significance. Additionally, there are 3 times each day when it's particularly important to pray. The first is when we get up. We dedicate our day to god, "God, this day is yours. guide my actions, speak through my voice, make my hands your tools." Then, at the end of the day, we offer the day to god, whatever we have done - good and bad - we lay at His holy feet. Our successes are due only to His grace, and only He can take care of our weaknesses. Also, before each meal, we offer the food to Him, so that it becomes prasad, nourishing our being with not only calories and vitamins but with His divine light.

However, although certain times and certain days are especially important, the goal is to make everyday a holy day. Start every day with prayer. fill every day with prayer. End every day with prayer.

2. Should prayer include Mantra, Japa, Pooja, Archana, Havana or yagna? If so, why?

Mantras and japa help us to concentrate. We live in a world that is overflowing with sensory pleasures and stimulation. Our lives are over-busy with work, errands, chores, etc. Therefore, it is very difficult to simply still the mind. Mantras and japa and special pujas serve as bridges between this world and the divine realm. they offer us a way to transverse the water which may seem impassable.

They say a mantra has 3 essential components: we must simultaneously picture the mantra, hear the mantra and taste the mantra. It is an experience of the entire being, A mantra is not only the experience of the hand or of the tongue. It must fill our beings.

Mantras and japa also purify our minds and hearts. After practicing them for a while, they become automatic. Typically our unconscious thoughts are filled with trivial matters - conversations we have had or expect to have, groceries we must buy, what we will cook for dinner, or even a persistent commercial jingle. However, by practicing mantras and japa, these other thoughts get pushed aside by the automatic power of God's name. Soon, the mantra and japa will become as unconscious and automatic as the other thoughts. It is like if you hear a song on the radio over and over, during your drive to work, that song will play in your head all day long. Similarly, if you try to do your mantra or japa as much as possible, it will eventually become automatic. Your mind will no longer be filled with trivial thoughts and worries. Every free moment of thought will be filled with God.

Also, just like a mother can not ignore her child who cries out, "Mom, mom, mom, mom" so will God be always present with His devotees who chant His holy name.

3. Should one chant Sholkas during prayer? Does the Mantra given by Guru have any significance? If, so, why?

There are so many different shlokas and prayers; it is impossible for me to say - in a general sense - which ones we should practice. This is a reason we have the tradition of gurus. After much thought and meditation, the guruji will tell the disciple which mantra to recite. However until you have a sadguru, you can take any name of God, whatever form attracts you most. All of His names and holy; all of the mantras praising Him bring you to His feet.

Yes, a mantra given by a sadguru has special power, special significance. A guru transmits not only the words of a mantra, but the tradition and the sadhana of so many enlightened ones. He is giving you not only his wisdom but also the wisdom of his sadguru and his guru's guru. So, a mantra from a guru carries with it the guru's light and the guru's understanding and the guru's love.

However I always say that what matters is the faith, your shraddha. That is the real mantra. The words themselves are not nearly as significant as the heart that recites them. It reminds me of a story: a young boy went to church with his father. during the service everyone was offering different prayers to the Lord. The little boy heard so many different prayers recited by so many different people. Then it came time for the "silent prayer." The minister said, "everyone now close your eyes and offer your prayer to God." The little boy didn't know any prayers; he was too young. So, as he closed his eyes, he spoke silently to God, god, I have heard so many many different prayers today. I don't know which one to offer you. I don't know which prayer you will like. And, besides, I don't event know any of them by heart. the only thing I know how to recite is the alphabet. But, I know that all the prayers come from these 26 letters. So, let me recite the alphabet to you, and then you can make whichever prayer you like best out of these 26 letters." And the little boy began to recite, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G..." in his head to God.

I want you to know that god is so happy with the simple alphabet from that little boy, who is so filled with love and faith. so, when we recite our complex sanskrit slokas, let us make sure we are doing so out of shraddha and piety rather than out of ritual and habit.

4. Should prayer include Namsmarana, (reciting God's name) Namlekhana (writing God's name) or telling beads? If so, why?

All of these are useful. They bring us out of glamour consciousness and into God consciousness. they focus our mind on something divine. However, they must be done in the right spirit. It is not enough to spend your days writingGod's name in a notebook. His name must be on our lips, in our hearts, and in our thoughts, not only in our notebooks. The ultimate goal, as it says so beautifully in one of our prayers, is to "have His name on our lips and Have His work in our hands." That is the goal, If we spend our days writing His name, or if our hands only have malas in them, then what are we doing for the world? Then what is the fruit of this sadhana?

5. Should one read Gita, Vachanamrut or Hanuman Chalisa regularly? If so, how many times a day?

Yes, it is important to recite our scriptures and important prayers like the hanuman Chalisa and other shlokas. We must recite these as much as possible, so that they become deeply ingrained into our beings. We must recite them so much that we live and breathe them, so that they become as much a part of our consciousness as the names of our family, as the job we do at work, as the things that normally fill our minds.

However, the key is not in how many times we recite them, or in how many verse we recite, etc. The key to salvation is in how much we live them. In the Gita, Lord Krishna says, "Bhagwad Gita Kinchidadhita". If we take even one shloka of the Gita, one divine word of Lord Krishna and actually live it in our daily lives, then we will see the true magic !

6. Should one sing hymns in praise of one's deity or perform Aarti during prayer?

Katha is important for the same reason that reading the scriptures is important. they give us inspiration and understanding and bring us into the lap of God. But, we must remember that Katha is not a social event. Katha is about God's word and God's message. That is why we should attend, not just to see our friends.

7. How much time during the day should one devote to prayer?

We should devote at least 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night, but as I said, our entire lives should be devoted to God. Ideally, there should not be a distinction between "prayer" time and "work" time; even the work becomes prayer. But, in this world that is difficult, I know. So, at least 15 minutes twice a day.

8. What should one do if one cannot offer prayer at the appointed hour during traveling?

We should not ignore our spiritual lives when our bodies are traveling. Our prayers should be offered as soon as we can. Do not worry about the time change or a delay or anything like that. God never sleeps. He is always awake and always for you. You do not have to worry about waking Him up when you reach your travel destination.

9. Can prayer redeem sins?

Yes, definitely. However, prayer should not simply be used as an antidote for sin. We should not think that we can sin as much as we want and then we can just pray it away. That is not how it works. The prayer purifies us so that we no longer commit sins. It makes us pure and holt. In the Gita it says, "Khsipram Bhawati Dharmatma" and "Api Chetsu Duracharo."

10. If a person offers prayers in the morning but does not observe the moral code of conduct during the rest of the day, can he or she benefit from the prayer?

Yes, all prayer is fruitful. But, they will also suffer the consequences of their dishonest behavior. One does not cancel out the other. The real goal of prayer is to make every thought, every action, every word honest and pure and loving. They say that prayer is the brrom which sweeps out our hearts. So, when we pray we should ask God to make us more divine, more holy. then, we won't have to worry about dishonest deeds.

11. What should one bear in mind during a prayer ?

Prayer has no side effects, no warnings and no precautions. We should offer ourselves fully to the Lord with no fear and no hesitation. That is true surrender. God is all loving, all embracing. It is only our own ignorance that we should fear. God is the shelter from everything harmful. He is the refuge, the salvation.

12. What kind of prayer bears fruit? And which one does not?

All prayers are fruitful. No prayers are ignored by God. However, it is not for the fruits that we should pray. The real fruit of prayer is connection to the divine, and that comes with any prayer at any time.

13. What do you say to people who offer prayer out of fear from God?

On the one hand it is good that they are praying. That is the main thing. However, God should never be feared. He is infinitely forgiving, boundlessly loving and always ready to take us into His arms. It is the temptations of the material world that should be feared. It is those that steer us in the wrong direction and bring us frustration and anguish.

14. Does God heed prayer? How does one know that God has heard his or her prayer?

Yes, definitely God listens. But, we must realize there is a distinct difference between hearing our prayers and gratifying our every whim. God listens to everything we say, to everything we think, to everything we feel. However, that does not mean that He will always give us what we ask for. God knows what we need; He knows what is best for us, both in the present and for our future growth. So many times we think we know what we want, we think we know what will make us happy. But, only god really knows. further, what happens in our lives is a product of so many past karmas, in addition to our goals of today.

So, there are many factors in whether or not our prayers are "answered"; but we must never confuse an unanswered prayer with thinking that God has not heard us.

How to know if God has heard us? We must establish a divine connection, a deep and strong relationship with God. We must have antennae in our hearts that are tuned to only one station: god. Then we will know that not only has He heard our prayers, but also that He is speaking back to us. When we speak to God it is prayer. When He speaks back to us it is meditation.

15. Is there any difference between prayer and thoughtful moral action? If so, what?

Yes, there is a difference, but there should not be. All of our thoughts and all of our observances should be prayer. Typically our thoughts are about relatively mundane things - our selfish desires, our expectations, our plans. Prayer is typically purer, more devotional. The goal, however, is to have every thought be focused on god, to have every thought be pure and holy.

16. If sincere prayer does not bear fruit, what should one think of prayer?

As I mentioned, there are so many factors that are woven together into the fabric of our lives. Our prayers are only one of those factors. Karma plays a crucial role in what befalls us, whether it's success or failure, prosperity or poverty. That is why we must not only be good, but we must also do good ! The more good we do in our lives, the more our prayers will be fruitful.

17. Can prayer which is not supported by action bear fruit ?

They say, "God helps those who help themselves." In other words, do sas much as you can, and then lay the fruits of your work in God's hands. I always say, "do your best and leave the rest to God."