Watching the beads of the rosary turn, with eyes covering all and sundry, makes the whole rigmarole of prayer seem so hypocritical. Is this prayer? Chanting something you have memorized over the years and thinking about what you are going to wear to work, the breakfast, the outcome of yesterday's test....God! It is so important to first and foremost understand what prayer really is? If you are a believer in a higher power, call it what you like, then prayer is communication with that force. If you are a non-believer, then prayer surfaces in the form of that 'inner voice' that you communicate with, to reason and to understand the nuances of life. This way or that, called 'prayer' or not, it is an inseparable part of your life.
But, is it necessary? Let's see. From a neutral perspective. If you are a believer and feel a sense of accountability to a god with or without form, then praying or communicating with that higher form gives you a sense of deliverance. Here is a space that you can explore... you can beg and not be heard, confess and feel lighter and scorn and seek instant forgiveness. It is your space, with your 'personal god'. A picture, a sign, a sound, a scent, a place...just about anything helps to evoke that special feeling. Suddenly, the sense of belonging and surrendering all your troubles to god makes you feel protected and blessed.
However, if you are a non-believer, and there is nothing wrong with that, then introspection becomes a private conversation. You would ideally, in this case, be one empowered by reasoning and action. So what. If there is no god that you believe in, there is that power of reasoning that you bargain with, pacify, ignore and even feel soothed in the presence of. In this case, a situation, an action, people, your work and even your bank balance, all empower you with a sense of belonging and passion for life.
This way or that, the communication is essential. We have developed this funny rule that every conversation must have a speaker and a listener. If either one is missing then poor John needs help! What nonsense! It is for this very reason that prayer, to a god or any personal commune, is silent. The worry about what others will think! But there is no denying that communication of some sort, in the presence of an image or at the bank, is necessary. It helps ease the tension and stress of everyday life and you feel good after having 'spoken'. You may have spoken and listened to yourself, but you did what was necessary...reduced the baggage.
The disciple detested the way the master and the other boys at the hermitage prayed. Such hypocrites. Sitting there under the sandalwood tree, chanting away to glory and then hours at a stretch with eyes closed and praying. God knows for what! Did they even mean or know the meaning of any of the scripture they read everyday? Discourse after discourse. He could swear some of them slept as they meditated! He was so sure that even the master chanted and read out of habit. So sad! Poor man. No way was he going the same way. He was going to do what no one had dared to do before...he would confront the master and make him see sense.
That evening, as the master and disciples took their places in the clearing under the mighty sandalwood tree, the boy stood up. The master looked in his direction lovingly and inquired. Was he alright? Was something bothering him? "Do you even sink in the meaning of the holy text you read every day? You chant out of repetition, instead shouldn't you be asking us to do as we wish and allow us to see sense in the routine, through example?". The master smiled. He called the boy closer and gave him an old wicker basket lying close by. "Fetch me some water, my son, from the river. I have an answer, but must quench my thirst first". Obedience was one thing that master and student believed in, at the hermitage. The boy proceeded through the thicket to fetch water in the wicker basket! He stooped low at the bank and took one quick scoop. He attempted to run as fast as he could to the master, since the water was surely going to leak through the loose pattern.
He went a few steps and all the water had drained through. Good God! He ran back to the river and took another quick scoop only to be defeated again. This went on for some time and then defeated and puffing, the boy returned to the hermitage. The master smiled and it seemed almost like a snigger. What was he smiling about? Was he on a proving spree..who was wiser than whom? When the master inquired about the water, the disciple explained how ridiculous it was to ask him to bring water in the wicker basket. The master then spoke. "Was it not ridiculous of you to agree to the task" Anyway, let's look at what there is? What do you see?" "Only a cleaner basket with repeated washing!" Precisely.
We tend to blame certain habits on tradition and conditioning. But instead of looking at what is lost, try to focus on what is there. You may have been compelled to indulge in morning and bed time prayers by your parents. But as you grow, you have the choice to either discard the habit or continue in the same way. Nevertheless, with or without a god, there is a cleansing. If you are the devotional kind, then the cleansing happens in the form of a lighter head, a happy, giddy feel and a song of thankfulness on the lips, whenever you chant. If you are the reasoning kind, then the cleansing happens in the form of empowered decision-making and greater vision, every time you analyze your life. Either way, the paradigm shift happens. Everyday or when and as required, but a million times in a single lifetime!
"Only a cleaner basket with repeated washing!"
In our case, it is not 'only a cleaner basket', but a 'clearer head' and 'awareness'. Prayer can either be impromptu or memorized. So what if something dictated and written has the power to stir an emotion that otherwise gets lost in the monotony of a robotic existence. Prayer is essential. It is a communication that helps in the absence of friends, soothes in difficult situations and eases an anxious heart. It hardly matters whether the communication is one way or directed between a listener and a speaker. It is the communication that matters...for much-needed tranquility and peace.
If you want to get rid of those nagging black and white heads that get embedded and cause a facial to be virtual torture, then use the astringent called prayer.