Tuesday, January 13, 2009

How To Pray Teachings by Amma Bhagavan

About prayer: As Bhagavan says, prayer is a form of communication with the Divine. One may pray to the God of his/her own choice, not necessarily to Bhagavan or Amma alone.

1. Invoke the PRESENCE

Invoke the PRESENCE of beloved Amma Bhagavan before you start the prayer. The best way to invoke the PRESENCE is by chanting the "moola mantra". You may chant the moola mantra 21 times or 41 times and invite the PRESENCE to fill you or take over you completely. And request beloved Bhagavan to fulfil your prayer even if there are flaws in your prayer or possible errors in your belief system. You may note that mantras, vedic chants and havans have been identified as very powerful means by latest NLP practitioners.

Moola Mantra

~~*~~(((Om Sat Chit Ananda Parabrahma)))~~*~~

~~*~~(((Purushothama Paramatma)))~~*~~

~~*~~(((Sri Bhagavathy Sametha)))~~*~~

~~*~~(((Sri Bhagavathe Namaha )))~~*~~

~~*~~

2. Emotional bond

The first and most important thing in a prayer is the personal bond or relation you establish with God. Consider Bhagavan as your child, father, mother, friend or master. Bhagavan usually says that He is the happiest if the relation you choose is that of a friend. But then, look at yourself and ascertain that you too are a true friend who responds to the request of your friends immediately. Bhagavan's response will be similar to your response to the request of your friends.

3. Surrender and helplessness.

The prayer should always be prompted by a feeling of surrender and helplessness. If you feel that you can manage even without Divine grace and that you are just trying one more way, then, that is not the way of a genuine prayer. Surrender to Bhagavan's will that you are prepared to accept whatever the outcome may be. And that you are absolutely helpless. Whatever effort you put in is just as an instrument of the Divine and not as per your own volition.

4. Pray from the heart not from the head.

Prayer should come from the heart, not from the head. It is the feeling that is important, not the thought. When the feeling is intense, it creates waves of a higher frequency that get connected with the cosmic energy easily and make the fulfilment easily possible. The passion that you feel for God is very significant in raising the emotional intensity.

5. Clarity and completeness

Next, your request should be clear and complete in all respects. It is like a sort of communication with cosmic energy, and so, what you communicate is very important. If you communicate something different or incomplete, the response too may be what you do not expect. Hence before you pray, consider all aspects of your request and make it a perfect one.

6. Speak internally

As already mentioned, prayer is a communication. You have to speak internally to God. You can say it aloud also. But it is better to speak internally as it will not distract others. The involvement increases as you go on talking to God and there will come a time when you shall feel God with you everywhere, as an inseparable PRESENCE.

7. One request at a time

You should see that you request for only one thing at a time. It is much similar to cooking a delicious dish. You should not mix two recipes at the same time. Because what we finally get will not be either of the two, but a third distortion of both. Hence stick to the principle of "one at a time".

8. Visualisation

As you pray to God visualise the expected result of your prayer, that is, what you want to achieve in great detail. That means, visualise yourself in a state of having fulfilled your prayer, and then enjoy the happiness and joy. Accept that the situation has changed as you have been blessed.

9. Pray with full faith

Such an acceptance comes from full faith in God. As you know, it is very important to have faith without which nothing can ever happen. Have full confidence in the efficacy of prayer and the benevolence of Bhagavan.

10. Enjoy the feeling of Grace

Enjoy the blessing and flow of Grace into you. And request Bhagavan to fulfil your prayer even if there are flaws in your prayer or possible errors in your belief system.

11. Thank Bhagavan for the blessing received

Naturally, you shall be filled with immense gratitude for Bhagavan. Express it freely and sincerely to beloved Amma Bhagavan from the depth of the heart. Prostrate at the lotus feet of Bhagavan in deep gratitude and surrender.

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Contemplative Questions

Here is a set of questions that would provoke you and put you through some soul searching. They are not about religion nor about ethics. They are merely about you.

They are not meant to serve as solutions nor are they meant to lead you anywhere. These questions are meant to serve as tools to discovering yourself.

1) Do you perceive the Presence of a benevolent force guiding, protecting and shaping your life? What name do you give that Presence? When did you best feel this Presence?

2) What is your opinion of God? Is your opinion drawn from religion, books, parents and or your personal experience of life?

3) Do you pray? Do they get answered? How often?

4) Do you think it is possible to relate to the Divine? What relationship would you opt?

5) Here is a story for you - Two fierce enemies once did a penance to placate god and receive boons vying with each other. God appeared to the first man and asked what he wanted. He said "give me twice of whatever you give my enemy". Then God appeared to the second one. Even before God could say anything he asked, "God, would you please tell me what my enemy asked for? On knowing his prayer request, he said, "then God, blind me in one eye."
Now what would you wish for yourself, your best friend and your worst enemy if God gave you a chance?

6) Have you ever experienced a coincidence or chance that seems to have involved so many people and factors that you can't stop wondering if a mastermind was behind this operation? If yes, do you savour the experience often and have you shared it with someone close to you?