The Power of Prayer

When I was about 5 I asked my grandmother what was the reasoning behind the way we did our elaborate hindu ceremonies. I wanted to know the significance of each action and she got impatient with my pestering and told me that I did not need to know the meaning of each action and should just do some things because I was asked to. That left an indelible mark on my inquisitive mind and I just did not want to participate anymore.

At age 9 my parents sent me to a Christian boarding school as that was the best they could find in our region but that meant that we were herded regularly to a chapel and made to sing hymns without any real basis for understanding of why we were partaking this exercise. This was also a strict, sullen old school atmosphere where we were bullied and caned. So, Christianity itself got associated with very painful memories for me.

I grew in a culture where prayer ceremonies was a norm and there was no way to escape. I would participate but my heart was never there.

I embraced being an atheist in my younger years. Everything was about science and logic. But even then my soul would yearn for more. I would read widely and loved books like ‘Road less travelled’ and ‘Jonathan Leavingston Seagull’. I was attracted to Osho and his teachings spoke to me as they were so brain and logic oriented even though they are deeply spiritual.

By my mid-twenties the awareness of a higher consciousness and presence beyond our visible understanding was clear to me and my exploration became meditative. I went in all sorts of tangents and explored widely with various Gurus, writings, paths and compatriots.

The practice of Vipassana came to me at 40 and felt like homecoming as it was shorn of all stories. It was all about going within and being present and observant for what was. I did not need to believe in anything abstract and could cocoon myself in my own awareness and understanding.

I continued to read somewhat narrowly now, oriented more and more towards this path of self awareness and texts came more from Buddhism, Yoga and teachers who did not believe in any denominations like Ramanna Maharishi, Nisargdatta Maharaj, Eckhart Tolle etc. It was tough for me when my mentor urged me to go beyond and read the beautiful Tulsidas’ Ramcharitamanas. I would find all excuses to avoid and drag my feet as it was not overtly delving into the eclectic. The verse’s are fundamentally rooted in appreciation and exploration occurs through surrender instead.

I would in many ways ‘look down’ upon those who ‘needed’ to pray. I found my justifications which went in a variety of directions which would orient themselves around the idea of not believing in the universe’s benevolence and asking unknown deities for help (sounds trite right? ??). It definitely continued to feed my ego.

Life begins to show us different aspects once we become so righteous! There are impacts in front of us and we are unable to see because we are so blocked. I will share some of the changes that I observe.

My father incorporated a practice in our organisation to start the day with a prayer and although the ceremony is hindu leaning it has a significant impact. People come together each day to bow and ask for guidance together whether they realise it or not. There is a power in that joint voice. There is a camaraderie that is created and there is a reduction of ego. Not a bad way to come together in joint mission at the beginning of each day.

My wife, who comes from an organised religion and is devout has brought in various influences and I begin to see some changes happening. The one big one is to pray before a meal. I have probably embraced it even more than her! I realised that there was so much violence inside me when it came to food probably because of my growing up years in boarding school where food always seemed less and you had to grab what you could get. I think we loose the connection to our bodies and dont even know when it is full. A little pause began to change that. Thanking this enormous interconnected chain from the farmer to the cook that brings the food to us and becoming aware and thankful of our consumption changes the way we eat. Our awareness shifts and we realise the impact that each morsel has on us. I see my food and methodology of consumption continuing to shift as awareness grows.

My wife and me were recently giving a talk on interfaith and intercultural marriages at BYU Hawaii and the teacher asked for a prayer before the class (Mormons do pray before everything but this one still caught me by surprise). The energy shifted and I could feel more openness. I thought what it would be like if the whole world prayed before any learning to make us more receptive and open to what was coming our way. We also visited the Polynesian Cultural Centre that was attached to the university and mostly managed by students. I was amazed at their receptivity and levels of service. I asked our our ‘exchange’ daughter Charity who had worked there how this worked so well and she of course informed me that everyone gathered before their shifts and prayed to be a vessel for the work they were being handed and talked about how they could be of better service.

My mother-in-law is an epitome of prayer and of receiving wisdom and we know no other person with her level of kindness. You know she is constantly looking out for you and she will be of service wherever she is. She will touch as many lives as she can and do more good than one can possibly imagine. I believe she is able to achieve this as ‘ego’ is so far from her because of her prayers and her belief in the almighty.

My maternal grandparents dedicated their lives to Mother Teresa and worked closely with her for over 40 years and all this while my grandfather remained staunch atheist! Mother would ask him to pray with my grandmother and he would not follow. His only belief was Mother himself. However, this enabled us to spend time with Mother and we didn’t realise that power enough then but now I can feel myself reverberate even when I remember those interactions. The deep power, presence and humility that shone through her and her belief in prayer. You could feel that her whole being was in your service and that she saw the divine through you. You were her entire world for the time she was with you. There were absolutely no distractions.

I am recently embraced by the Mayan priests in Guatemala thanks to my wonderful friend Monica and these interactions have been so powerful as they invoke the spirits and you feel they presence of beyond literally in your skin. They ask for permission and make us humble to enable the spirits to guide as we set forth on ventures.

CS Lewis famously said that he prays to change himself and not to influence ‘God’ and that is the gist for me. I see myself change.

I dont know who I pray to (and that is probably not important for me either) but it alters my very core. I let go of my ‘I’ness.

I understand now what my grandmother could not explain. Each ceremony is created not really to appease another being. It is for our realisation. We share it all with the spirits- food, energy and ideas. We begin to feel more as we let go of the armours that get created from our experience and gain more acceptance.

Prayer just makes us better and enables us to live in humility and connectedness. I am both stubborn and a contrarian. It takes a lot for me to shift my leaning and understanding. I hope and ‘pray’ that most of you do much better than me and are able to see the light in letting go of ourselves and becoming a conduit for the work that is to me done through us.