Respected web admin,
what a beautiful quote from Swami Ji. I myself have problems with praying as it is commonly understood. I have passed through worse phases when I could not pronounce the word Rama and Laxmi. I used to repeatedly say kama instead of Rama. Ultimately I tried Ratnakar's formula and repeated Mara, Mara several times to yield one Rama! FOr Laxmi I used the term, "Alok ki Ma". I understood and I think God understood. Others would have thought me crazy. Now I can say Rama and Laxmi. Then for prayer, I can at best say, Guru's Will when it comes to praying for someone. That I feel to be sort of the best prayer. Not my will be done but the Guru's will, Mother's will be done and my will is not Guru's will. I don't know if you will find all this strange. But as Holy mother once said one has to improvise according to circumstances and being in the process of repaying old karmic debts, my improvisations are much needed though sometimes bizarre and scarcely to be revealed publicly but since it helps me survive with some peace of mind, I have no complaints. Ten years of experimenting and still I fail many times.
Regards,
Ankur
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Replying to:
Hi Tony,
When you say that you "have a problem with certain kinds of intoxicants", does this mean that the 'use of intoxicants' adversely effects your life?
In other words, do you miss work because of it, or is it destroying your personal relationships, and/or causing undue financial strain?
Otherwise, the problem may be in your own mind. Only you know for sure.
RE: Prayer
You wrote: "i can't sit in the altar room and from the bottom of my heart - ask for things"
Comment: Is there any need to 'ask for things', when God knows exactly what you need?
Swami Vivekananda said the following, quoting Lord Buddha:
"With every breath you are praying in God. I am talking; that is a prayer. You are listening; that is a prayer. Is there ever any movement of yours, mental or physical, in which you do not participate in the infinite Divine Energy? It is all a constant prayer. If you call only a set of words prayer, you make prayer superficial. Such prayers are not much good; they can scarcely bear any real fruit.
Is prayer a magic formula, by repeating which, even is you do not work hard, you gain miraculous results? No. All have to work hard; all have to reach the depths of that infinite Energy. Behind the poor, behind the rich, there is the same infinite Energy. It is not that one man works hard, and another by repeating a few words achieves results. This universe is a constant prayer. If you take prayer in this sense, I am with you. Words are not necessary. Better is silent prayer."
FROM: BUDDHA'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD
(Delivered in San Francisco, on March 18, 1900)
Om Shanthi Om
Nahabat Guestbook features Daily Readings from "In The Company Of The Holy Mother"
RE: " I used to repeatedly say kama instead of Rama."
Do I detect a Freudian Slip?
"A Freudian slip, or parapraxia, is an error in human action, speech or memory that is believed to be caused by the unconscious mind. Some errors, such as a woman accidentally calling her husband by another man's name, seem to represent relatively clear cases of Freudian slips. In other cases, the error might appear to be trivial, bizarre or even nonsensical, but shows some deeper significance on analysis." (From Wikipedia)
Additional Comment: Perhaps you could not pronounce the name of Rama, during japa, due to an unconscious desire for Kama (physical love)?
As far as I am concerned, this is only natural for a young man, such as your good self.
"It is as if the Divine Mother said to the human mind
in confidence, with a sign from Her eye,
'Go and enjoy the world'. How can one blame the mind?
The mind can disentangle itself from worldliness if,
through Her grace, She makes it turn toward Herself.
Only then does it become devoted to the Lotus Feet
of the Divine Mother." (Sri Ramakrishna)
Hey Tony,
For me, it is hard to find the right posture for prayer...Christians have always been taught to bow down on their knees... this has never felt right for me personally...no explantion or defense...it just doesn't feel natural...
I have found lately that sitting in a yoga position for prayer seems more natural to me...
In fact, I wonder if hand mudras would be useful to you...
NWA and Ankur,
I was helping a taxpayer who is deployed in Iraq by E Mail the other day...His name was Daniel Wagner and when I responded to his E Mail, I called him Mr. Webster by mistake...he E-mailed me back and wanted to know if I thought he was a dictionary
Get it? Daniel Webster who wrote the English dictionary...
Thaks Rosemary.. i sit in the "easy comfortable" asana - Sukhasana, as that has always felt natural.. however, the Japanese style of kneeling is quite effective for short periods - it's very hard not to have a straight spine!
As for mudras..sounds interesting; i have almost no knowledge of them, or what they do etc., so if anyone knows of a good book, or somewhere online, it would be appreciated.
Also, a good point about prayer there.. who, afterall, allows the prayer to form ? Jai Ma!
btw, i hear this friday is a very powerful day; the Laksmi Puja.