Wanting to learn how to pray...

Does anybody know any simple prayers?
I know only one mantra, but no prayers.
Could someone teach me please?

 

Prayer is tuning your mind to God. When you pray, don't ask for anything. Because by asking for things, you make God the means and the things your goal. God should be the goal of all prayers. In prayer we sing the glories of God, chant God's names, virtues, qualities, form (if you worship God in the form of a particular deity) etc.
Thus the mind gets soaked in God, filled with God. Every though becomes a fragrant flower offered at His altar. Such mind is (temporarily at least) free of ego and full of God.
Thus we pray, asking God for God, filling the midn with God, until the mind becomes free of ego and what remains is God alone. The prayer, the one who prays and the one who is prayed to become one.
This is the highest form of prayer. This is true communion. This is the state of liberation.

 

I think the major thing is to remember that you can't lie, because God is all-knowing. Ya can't lie to yourself!

 

This is why I didn't say anything last night when I read the O/P... b/c I knew either Bhaskar, BBB, Jedi, or gdkumar would have a much better more helpful answer.

However I can offer you this:

http://hinduprayercentral.blogspot.com/2008/01/boston-university-prayer-packet.html

this:

http://www.bhaktisangeet.com/

and this:

On Prayer
Kahlil Gibran

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.


For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?
And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.
And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.
When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and whom save in prayer you may not meet.
Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet communion.
For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive:
And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted:
Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.
It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.


I cannot teach you how to pray in words. God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.
And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.
But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart,
And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence,
"Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.


It is thy desire in us that desireth.
It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all."
--------------------------------

 

Beautiful... Gibran was a rishi.

 

A very deep teaching on prayer by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3870733554401994670

 

Hmm...there's another school of thought on this that says we should ask God for everything - every tiny little thing.
The reason is that by doing so, everything becomes re-connected to God, rather than being seen as something separate. It isn't that we have two lives - one in the spirit and one on earth. It's really all one.
Also, asking God for everything keeps the mind focused on God, and helps us realize our total dependency. Without the divine, really we can do nothing, not take even a single step, although it may appear to us that we act independently.

Often it's better to pray using simple words or prayers that come to you spontaneously rather than formal prayers, although those can also be very useful in my experience. It's a matter of finding out what works for you - there's no right or wrong way in this. Sincerity is what really counts.

Recently, I posted this from Julian of Norwich, a 14th c english mystic, it contains valuable truths regarding prayer:

"Pray inwardly, even if you do not enjoy it. It does good, though you feel nothing. Yes, even though you think you are doing nothing.

Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness. This is our Lord's will, ... that our prayer and our trust be, alike, large. For if we do not trust as much as we pray, we fail in full worship to our Lord in our prayer; and also we hinder and hurt ourselves. The reason is that we do not know truly that our Lord is the ground from which our prayer springeth; nor do we know that it is given us by his grace and his love. If we knew this, it would make us trust to have of our Lord's gifts all that we desire. For I am sure that no man asketh mercy and grace with sincerity, without mercy and grace being given to him first. "

 

Hare Krishna!

Very nice and helpful posts for dear Sarah from Nicole, Bhaskar and BBB.

Kahlil Gibran is wonderful.
"Who is most unhappy and sad in this world?" The teacher had asked in the class where as a eight-year-old student, Kahlil Gibran replied, "A fish Sir, because nobody can see its tears when it is sad, unhappy and crying."

Love to all,

Kumar

 

Hare Krishna!

From Sarah-The -Walrus....

Wanting to learn how to pray...
Does anybody know any simple prayers?
I know only one mantra, but no prayers.
Could someone teach me please?

...............


Dear Sarah,

First of all it gives me immense pleasure and happiness that you talk about Mantra and Prayers at such a young age.

But what do you want to pray for and about ? If you ask me I would say that there is no need to do any special and particular prayer. If you must then pray for Bhakti(Devotion), Jnan(Knowledge of God), Vivek (Conscience) and Vairagya (Detachment). The beauty is all these qualities you get automatically enriched with when you love and worship God as your nearest and dearest One. You already know one Mantra which is to adore and worship your Lord. That is enough. Repeat that Mantra as much and as many times as possible with all love for your Lord. The idea is to remember Him at all times in everything you do at every moment. Rest leave with Him. You will see the wonders of Japa (Repetition of Mantra and remembering Him at all times). What prayers would you need after that? He is looking at you and fulfilling all your needs at all times. He has already given you everything, what more you can pray for.

And please never pray for any material gain, it will be instantly granted to put a halt in the path of your spiritual quest.

With lots of love,

Kumar.

 

I'm convinced. There's a wonderful little plaque dedicated to him in front of the Boston Public Library.

I've actually been thinking a lot about him lately because someone had brought to my attention the song "God Rests in Reason" by Jason Mraz which actually has parts of the Prophet sown within the song. Its very beautiful. If you are interested, I will send it to you.

 

Yes, I have heard this before. In a talk on Swami Vivekanandaji's writings on Bhakti Yoga Swami Tyaganandaji from the Boston Vedanta Center was talking about the different ways of prayer and he mentions that we all must start somewhere and if we *must* pray for material things in this present level of spiritual life than it is better then to ask God, then to go outside and try and find fulfillment of those things elsewhere, however we must be aware that there are higher forms of prayer and spiritual life and through relying on God we will eventually find out ways to them and to more advanced spiritual life.

 

To know truly that everything comes from the divine is itself quite a high level of the spiritual life I would venture to suggest.
Never will the time come so long as we are in this body when we don't have on-going needs.
If I begin to think I've reached a level beyond where I need to ask God for stuff, I'd be lost. Is it me that's going to do it all? I'm not capable.
Only 'little children' get in through those shining gates....

But it's not only our 'daily bread' we should ask for - but all the qualities we need to continue on the path - sincerity, patience, stregnth, equanamity - all those things. We only posess them in the sense that we hold them from God anyway.
As Julian says in the piece I quoted, even our prayers come from God...even the will to pray, the capacity...everything.

 

Yes please. Also, what's that cute little buddha type toon in your sig?

 

This is equally valid a path. The Bhagavatam tells us
akAmah sarvakAmo vA mokshakAma udAradhIh |
tIvreNa bhaktiyogena yajeta purusham param || (bhAga. 2.3.10)

Whether without desire, or all desires or desire for liberation, with intense devotion pray to the Supreme Lord.

From another point of view, there is nothing other than the lord to ask for, that is the highest teaching of the Upanishads. God has taken all forms and is all things. So what are you asking for when you ask for your daily bread and water? Christ said that the bread is his bone and the wine his blood. So even these things are really God in another form that we are asking for.

While this is true, there's the other side of the coin. Seek first thy Lord and all else shall be added unto you. In the Gita, we find Sri Krishna's famous promise: In the case of those who think of me alone and worship me with no other desire, I take the responsibility to look after all their needs, both spiritual and material.

ananyah chintayante maam ye janaah paryupasate
teshaam nityaabhiyuktanaam yoga kshemam vahamyaham.

 

That little Buddha is from a very cool webcomic called SinFest:

http://www.sinfest.net


Also:

God Rests in Reason- Jason Mraz
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7egc0n

you were born together
and together ye shall be forever
until death could scatter
shouldn't matter in the memory of god above
let the wind of heaven dance between you too
allowing time and space to bring you closer to everlasting love
so what should you do if god moves through you

when love beckons
its ways are often hard and steep
and his wings unfold
ye yield to all that it speaks
though a sword it might be hidden there among the pinions
oh you may wear a wound that truly spoke to you
believe in all that voice and follow through
so what should you do when god moves through you

love possesses nothing
nor would it ever be possessed
love is love sufficient unto love
and you can figure out the rest

god rests in reason
so what should you do, oh oh
when god moves through you

well your children will not be your children
maybe the daughter, the son of a beginning
they'll come through your womb but not be coming from you
they will be with you, but they do not belong to you
you can give them your love but not your thoughts
cause they'll arrive with their own hearts
they're the coming of angels this blessed season
and then they'll sing oh yea god rests in reason
god rests in reason
so what should you do
when god moves through you

and think not you can direct the course of
love itself directs the course of love
believe not god is in your heart, child
but rather you're in the heart of god

so you see so far i'm all right
pleasant and awkwardly polite
watching carefully the comedy
the tick tock moments of the grid lock day
and why i'm singing
about the fact that i'm giving up everything
and giving back to the people that made me want to change
my evil, lazy ways
i'm gonna give you one more phrase to explain

see i believe in only one thing
i believe in good orderly d-i-r-e-c-t-i-o-n
i'll spell it again, roll it with abbreviation
easy as a 1,2,3
spell it backwards it's a d-o-g
cause it's a dog eat dog world
what a life girl, maybe you should make you my wife girl
and i believe in omni possibility
it's nothing more than good orderly direction
nothing more than good orderly direction
nothing more than good orderly direction
this is nothing more than good orderly direction
so what should you do when god moves through you
what should you do when god moves
through you

 

But if we actually knew that with certitude the question of prayer wouldn't arise because who would be there to ask?
Prayer is probably for those who don't actually experience that God is the only existence, or only experience it partially, or know it theoretically. And very likely that includes nearly everyone with a human body.

 

I love sinfest. I've started at the beginning and am working my way up, so i haven't got to the lil Buddha yet.

 

I think that oneness is the highest prayer. Ramana maharshi said that to truly pray or remember the Divine is to be the Divine.

 

I can't say if it's the highest or not.
It might, on the surface, seem that such prayer would be a kind of talking to oneself.

I wonder though if this once again doesn't come down to definitions. What is really meant by 'prayer'? Is it the same thing as contemplation or knowledge?

A simple definition usually says it's something like approaching that which is beyond oneself.

To be the divine would indicate having all knowledge, power etc etc - That is, to be the complete divine. In such a condition, what would there be to pray for?

Christianity teaches that Jesus was the divine, an avatar. Yet it is also said that he prayed, for instance in the garden of gethsemene, and that he prayed to God, whom he called Father. Not that he was just aware of himself as the divine.

 

I feel like that sort of prayer *is* useful ... its a tool to teach us humility... but I also think its necessitated based on what sort of path you take to the Divine... in certain ones of the bhakti relationships.... offering yourself as a servant or an instrument of the Divine seems more appropriate for that particular path than perhaps realizing yourself as One with the Divine which I am guessing comes as a later realization...

... I could be wrong though... lol...