If we have prayed to Krishna once, should we repeat that prayer regularly?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. If we’ve heard a prayer to Krishna, then is offering it one or should we keep repeating it? It depends on how we view our relationship with Krishna and how we view the purpose of our life.
If some, for example, it’s a prayer for our spiritual growth, then it can infer when we chant, say, the mantra like the Hare Krishna mantra, that time the mood is Oh God, please engage me in your service. And when we are chanting in this mood, the essence actually is that we want to be connected, we want to be absorbed and that the connection is something which has to be consistently established by us by our regular practice. So, in that case, offering prayers regularly is vitally important.
Now, in other situations where, say, if someone is sick or someone has a relationship problem or we have financial issue and at that time we are praying to Krishna, should we pray repeatedly? We should know that we are trying to develop a holistic relationship with Krishna and a relationship has multiple dimensions to it. So, seeking help for a particular thing is not a problem. It is a nature of love, nature of devotion that when we feel something is important, we think about it and we seek it.
So, if we pray to Krishna for that, it can be okay. But the key thing is, don’t make the relationship with Krishna conditional to that. That means, that should not be the only thing that we pray to Krishna for.
And instead, we have an understanding of that ultimately we are spiritual beings, we have an eternal relationship with Krishna and we need to stay connected in order that we can be progressively elevated. So, we want to be steadily, progressively elevated and for that purpose, whatever it takes, we do. So, if that means that thought is burdening us, then we can’t repeat that prayer to Krishna repeatedly.
That’s just a way of showing that it is important for us. But while repeating the prayer, it is good if we can avoid obsessing over the prayer and that means, rather than focusing on the what we are seeking, we can focus on Krishna gradually. Just like when we have a holistic relationship with someone.
So, when we are focusing on a particular relationship, then, just like if we have a parent, if we need something, we may ask them for it. But the important thing is that we don’t want that to become like a thing by which we are constantly nagging them. And it’s not that we approach them only for that.
We have a holistic relationship with them and then within that relationship, we may request a prayer again and again. So, often more important than the prayer, seeking a particular thing, it might be better to seek a prayer by which we can get the strength to face whatever comes up in our lives. Whatever situation we have to face, if we can learn to deal with that and if we can get the strength to deal with that, that would be a far more empowering prayer to offer.
When Shri Prabhupada was asked, what is the best prayer? So he said, if you pray to Krishna, please give me the strength to serve you. And he said, that is a prayer which is the healthiest to offer because by that prayer, we will actually be able to face whatever situation we might be going through in our life. We will be able to face that in a steady way and in a way that strengthens our connection with Krishna.
And sometimes we may find sometimes we find that Krishna can answer that prayer in a, answer the underlying need below the request that we are making in a different way. So, we needn’t lock our expectation to the fulfillment of the prayer in the particular way that we think it should be. But we can open our heart so that we can be open to his plan working in ways different from what we need.
So, constantly praying is good, but let the praying not become like a nagging. Let the praying be a part of developing a rich and multifaceted relationship with Krishna. Thank you.
So, the question