How important is praying in bhakti?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
How important is Archanam in one’s daily activities? Yeah, Archana is praying and there is praying at the activity and there is prayerfulness as an attitude.
So our goal is prayerfulness as an attitude. The devotee is, tries to be always prayerful in whatever service they are doing. Once Prabhupada was asked by a lady, Swamiji, will you please pray for me? And Prabhupada replied, I am always praying for you.
Otherwise what reason did I have to come so far away across so many oceans? So here Prabhupada is not talking about activity or praying as an activity. Prabhupada is meeting that lady for the first time. So when you are saying I am always praying for you, it is an attitude of prayerfulness.
That he wanted the best for everyone and he was praying to Krishna for the spiritual elevation of everyone. So for us as sadhakas we want, for our spiritual seekers we want prayerfulness as an attitude. But prayerfulness as an attitude is quite elevated.
And praying as an activity is very helpful in moving towards that attitude. Now exactly how much we pray, when we pray and what we pray that will vary according to time, place, circumstance. It will vary according to individual nature.
But the important thing is we see prayer as a service to Krishna. Now there is a big difference between praying as is conceived in pious religion, in religious piety and praying as is conceived in bhakti. Normally in pious religiosity praying is conveyed as a means or praying is conceived as a means of petitioning God for something.
I can’t do this to God. Please do it for me. That is of course one mode of praying.
But if you see in the Bhagavatam praying is talked as one limb of bhakti. Shravanam Kirtanam Vishnu Smaranam Pada Sevnam Archanam Vandanam Dasyam Sakhyam Atmanivedam Hearing about Krishna is one limb of bhakti. Speaking about Krishna is one limb of bhakti.
Similarly praying about Krishna is also one limb of bhakti. And all these limbs of bhakti what is the result? It is said iti pumsarpita vishnu bhaktish chena navalakshana kriyeta bhagavatyaddha tan manye nityam uttama That these nine activities are the characteristics of devotion. And when these are done attraction to the Lord increases.
So here it is very significant that prayer is not conceived of as an activity to get God to do something for us. Prayer is seen as an activity to increase our bonding with Krishna. To increase our relationship with Krishna.
So if we conceive prayer this way That means when I have a problem I can pray to Krishna for solving the problem. But we don’t reduce praying to simply an activity to ask God to do things for us. See praying simply as a means of sharing our heart with Krishna.
Just like sometimes when we are burdened by a problem and we go and unburden our heart to somebody. Now that person may not be able to solve the problem. But just the fact that we shared our heart that unburdens us.
So in bhakti we see praying as a means of linking our heart with Krishna. So when we have that attitude then the praying is something which we can do much more regularly. Because we don’t conceive praying.
Just as when we hear now if we are hearing about Krishna. We are not expecting a tangible result, measurable, quantifiable result. It’s a deepening of understanding.
It’s a deepening of attraction towards Krishna. It happens through the process of hearing. Similarly if we see praying as an activity of bonding with Krishna more.
Then that whole uncertainty that comes when we conceive of prayer as a means of asking God to do something. Because when we conceive of prayer that way then the whole prayer becomes very uncertain. Will God fulfill my prayer or will God not fulfill my prayer? And then if God doesn’t fulfill my prayer then we start thinking does God care? Or does God even exist? We go into that whole zone.
But if we see prayer as a means of connecting with Krishna. Then irrespective of whether the particular petition we have made is fulfilled or not. We will see that by connecting with Krishna we are going closer to Him.
It’s like we are unburdening our heart. And we will become more attracted towards Krishna. So that’s how praying is actually very important in bhakti.
But we have to understand the conception of praying in bhakti as different from what it is normally conceived. Then that praying can help us to grow in our bhakti very nicely. Does the answer make sense?