Good morning friends
Yesterday I talked about Osho’s discourse on prayer and one half of the story that he narrated in this discourse.
Coming to the second part of the story: In the ship, which was caught in a storm, when everybody was praying to God, there sat a man calmly and quietly, doing nothing. Outwardly it looked as if he was not interested in praying. Everyone was surprised at his behaviour and the surprise was all the more because this man was a saint , he was supposed to be a very religious man. So someone asked him, “How is it that you, being a religious man, are not praying to God to save you ?“
The saint’s answer was a true indicator of his religiousness. He said, “If God wants to save me, I am okay with that. And if He feels that it is time for me to die, that too, is okay with me. I totally accept God’s will. Whatever he decides for me, is perfectly fine with me; so what is the need for prayers? “
A truly religious man has no disagreement with whatever is happening in his life. He totally accepts any situation without any questions. ( of course, if he can do something about it, he will try his best. But if it is beyond human capacity to control the situation, the religious man will unconditionally, accept the situation without any fight. )
As Osho talked about this acceptance, he further talked about the true meaning of prayer. He says, true prayer is one in which you express your gratitude towards God, towards the supreme power, towards nature, for all the blessings that you are receiving in life….. ( A religious man will also express gratitude for the trials and trainings that he has to go through in life ! )
So a prayer is not about begging or bargaining. A true prayer is about being full of gratitude. A prayer reaches much higher dimensions when it is about thankfulness, about gratitude. That is the prayer which reaches God immediately and directly, not needing any mediators ( like priests ) in between.
A religious man is a living example of gratitude and acceptance. So a formal prayer is not necessary for such a person. He is always in the prayer mode !
I hope that I can be in the true prayer mode in any situation.
How about you ?
Love,
Anjali Bhatawdekar
