Does prayer really work? Does it lead you to
God? Does it solve your problems?
I guess these are questions that often rise
in our minds at a deeply rational, logical level. But I have come to believe
that the questions are misplaced! The question we really need to ask ourselves
is, of what use are all the religious rituals that we conduct monotonously and
mindlessly when we are not mindful of Life’s gifts__the grace, abundance,
blessings in our lives__ itself and we continue to still worry, fear and
agonize over what the (unknown) future holds for us?
I am reminded of a conversation that I had
with our family priest a few years ago. A self-confessed champion of piety, who
called himself a ‘strict Brahmin’, he came to me asking for career advice for
his son who was looking to join an IT services company after completing his
undergraduate studies in software engineering. He explained that his son had
been selected by a leading software company through campus interviews. Yet he
claimed he was worried. Our conversation went somewhat like this:
Me: Why
are you still worried Sir?
Him: I
don’t know if IT companies can offer job security the way the government can!
Me: Why
would you, a faithful servant of the Lord, for years now, be insecure __ and
want to seek security in a government job?
Him: Sir,
how can God guarantee job security?
Me: What
is God there for then if HE/SHE can’t guarantee you security?
Him: Sir, velayadathengo!
Don’t pull my leg, Sir! God can’t come and tell me that my son’s future is
assured!
Me: If
God can’t tell you that, the one who has direct access to HIM/HER, who else can
reach God? Why do you pray then?
Him: Sir,
praying to God is my profession. I still need ‘something else’ to tell me that my Life is on track and that my family
and I will be secure!
With due apologies, and respect, to my
family priest, I must confess that this is the problem with praying mindlessly.
That ‘something else’ which my priest
was looking for__and I hope he found it in his own way subsequently__is
‘mindfulness’. When you are mindful of the present moment, and are grateful for
it, that would be prayer enough to make you realize your God!
You will then find God in this
blessing__that you have to access Facebook and are able to read a post. You
will then find God when you feel the air in your lungs. You will the find God
in the sunrises and sunsets that happen outside your window every single day
without fail. You will then find God in a child’s smile, in leaves rustling in
the night breeze, in a cow mooing and in a dew drop! You will then find God in
every form of creation that you connect with. You will then find God in each
moment. And then you will understand and value what being prayerful is all
about. You will then realize that such true prayer, of
living in the moment, alone can lead you to your God!
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