Prayer and Aspiration, Part 3

What is the experience of prayer in our being? If it is a form of bargaining, with an expectation of a return, then it takes on the colour of a business deal. We give from our side the prayer and the expression of gratitude or adherence, and in return, we get something we desire from the Divine.

But prayer need not be reduced to some form of a bargaining session! When an individual experiences the spontaneous movement of prayer, from whichever aspect of the being it originates, there is a sense of openness, a feeling of devotion, and a process of tuning the being to a vibration that brings with it calm, peace and assurance. There can be a sense of a flame welling up from the deepest parts of the being.

Many people create a ritual of prayer, for instance, prior to sleep, they quietly pray and express their gratitude. If this is a formulaic expression rather than some deeply felt experience, they may simply be calmed and moved to a status of peace in preparation for sleep. The practice may, however, have added benefits by creating an ‘auto-suggestion’ that works during sleep and thereby works to carry out the intention behind the prayer.

There is a reality and a truth that underlies the formulation of prayer, and if done with the correct focus and intensity, it can have real and palpable results. Prayer can unite the individual consciousness with the divine Personality, the Being in manifestation and thus, bring together our deeper aspiration with the adherence of the external being, the mind, the vital, and the physical. The aspiration of the psychic being can be brought into the external being through the instrumentality of prayer that carries that aspiration into the mind, the vital or the physical, as the case may be. A prayer that is filled with the consecrated energy of the psychic aspiration and expressed verbally, or non-verbally through these elements of the being can have a palpable impact in the external world. In particular the verbal expression of a prayer of this type sets up a vibration that impacts Matter, Life and Mind in a very concrete way.

The Mother notes: “Certainly, one may have an aspiration in all the domains, but the very centre of aspiration is in the psychic being, whilst one may pray in all the domains, and the prayer belongs to the domain in which one prays. One may make purely material, physical prayers, vital prayers, mental prayers, psychic prayers, spiritual prayers, and each one has its special character, its special value.”

“There is a kind of prayer at once spontaneous and unselfish which is like a great call, usually not for one’s own self personally, but like something that may be called an intercession with the Divine. It is extremely powerful. I have had countless instances of things which have been realised almost instantaneously due to prayers of this kind. It implies a great faith, a great ardour, a great sincerity, and a great simplicity of heart also, something that does not calculate, does not plan, does not bargain, does not give with the idea of receiving in exchange. For, the majority of men give with one hand and hold out the other to get something in exchange; the largest number of prayers are of that sort. But there are others of the kind I have described, acts of thanksgiving, a kind of canticle, and these are very good.”

“There you are. I don’t know if I have made myself clear, but this is how it is.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter IX Aspiration and Prayer pp. 86-87