The Task of Prayer, the Art of Meditation (Part 1)
If someone were to ask me, “Why should I bother praying when it seems that my prayers are hardly ever answered?”, I would gently, but firmly, give this answer:
Do you think God is bothered if you are not praying? Do you think the Sun will not rise, the wind will stop blowing, or the creeks will stop running? I suspect there are times you might believe the earth is going to stop spinning and hurling through space if you don’t pray!
Prayer becomes a reflection of confusion, conflict, and chaos in the jungle state of your mind, in the chattering state of your mind. Real prayer involves a calm mind. The calmness of the mind is the ground where you can place the seeds of your gratitude and love. Within calm ground, the seeds will flower into devotion and surrender, prayer and meditation.
But, prayer without a calm mind involves the acceptance of dualism: a separation between the one who is praying, and the other, to whom the prayer is directed. When one's prayer deepens to complete absorption, the mind stops and words are silenced. Then prayer flows into meditation, where all dualism melts into unity consciousness.
Don’t bother about praying. First, practice physical stretching, yoga exercises, breathing with awareness, and clearing your mind of its clutter. Each and every sincere effort to lift your life is a form of prayer. You will find space for prayer as you continue these practices. True prayer is spontaneous. It is not something “to do”, or to feel obligated to perform. True prayer is a way of keeping time with the flow of Universal rhythm.
It is simple to understand. When your prayer deepens, your act of offering yourself to the Divine intensifies, and then your ego melts. Your individuality melts into Universal existence. At that stage, meditation happens. You can pray intentionally, but Meditation has to happen naturally. It has to happen in the same way that sleep has to happen. Have you ever consciously tried to fall asleep at night, and been left awake all night? Sleep can only happen; you cannot make it happen. It is the same with meditation. You must meditate till Meditation happens as when buds open into fragrant flowers.
See Baba's website at www.feelinghearts.org
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