Prayers

Prayers and rituals have always been an integral part of most of our existence- they have evolved and taken various shapes depending on an individual’s caste, creed, religion, beliefs and so on. I feel very amused however by the whole idea of associating Prayers with such limitations, and mostly by the whole “fear of God” ideology. For me, prayers have always been more of a conversation with God, a way of communicating with this higher power that lies deep down inside my soul and knows me better than anybody else.

As any other child in India, I have grown up watching my mother do the rituals- lighting up an earthen lamp at the corner of the room where she kept the different pictures of God, mainly Krishna. And somehow I inherited that faith and found it easy to follow to my liking. It filled me up with this instant positive energy to face the day. Also every Thursday she would visit the Namghar, a place of worship in Assam where a group of women and children  gather and sing prayers before the altar. I would accompany her often, partly because it made her happy and partly for the love of the delicious Prasad offered at the end of every session...lol !

However, no matter how hard I tried, I could never have a peaceful conversation with God during those couple of hours at the Namghar. I would often run along in the middle of it to play with other kids who would come there with their moms. I would merely make a note of some of the main highlights I had to tell him at the end of the session where everybody prayed quietly for a while. And somehow seeing everyone around me so devoted and united in prayer atleast for those few hours made me believe maybe after all it was the time when He listened to you the most.

Now that we have gone past that innocent age, our beliefs and notions about praying have evolved to a stage where atleast I no longer feel the need to visit any Namghar or temple to converse with God. I do it anywhere and anytime I feel like, all I have to do is close my eyes. I thank him every day (well not everyday but most days!) for keeping me alive that morning and watching me through all the ups and downs in my life. For those couple of minutes, I feel free from any inhibitions and completely cherish the moments that I felt madly happy and in love with during the last few days. On not so good days, I would still find it soothing and calming to my senses to be surrendering my worries before this friend who sits there calmly listening, without judging. That feeling itself is enough to fight all the mountains of worries and uncertainties surrounding us! For some, it may be that voice inside our heads that guide us and empower us. Either ways, I feel those few minutes of self  dialogue and focus often help me find the answers to some of the most difficult questions in life. Here's hoping you find yours too :-)