The Many Paths of Prayer

[mystical_mountain_9]

In my youth I read an anthropologist’s description of a tribal people (somewhere in the Americas, as I recall) whose priests took their job very seriously, especially in the early hours of the morning when they pray for the sun to rise. The anthropologist enquired about their morning ritual and asked the priests what would happen if they did not say these sunrise prayers. I clearly recall my surprise when I read the priests’ response (I am paraphrasing here): “We are bound by our duty to our ancestors and to the world to do this – for we know that if we do not perform these prayers the world will fall apart.” At that particular time in my spiritual path, this seemed to be putting the cart before the horse: do these priests think that they are commanding the turning of the Sun or the Earth (depending on their cosmology)? Is this not arrogance? At the same time, however, I knew that these traditional people were as humble as the Earth herself, and so I figured that I must be missing something. Decades later, I think that I “get it”. But first it may help to look at the bigger picture of prayer, its aims, and its various manifestations.

When I was growing up, prayer was not an important feature of my life. Living in a nominally Anglican family, the only time prayer entered my life was on the rare occasions that we went to church and, for a couple of years in school – maybe grade 2 and grade 3 – the teacher and class recited The Lord’s Prayer as part of our morning assembly (along with singing ‘God Save The Queen’). I never saw my family pray outside of church, nor did they discuss prayer, at least in my company. That all changed when I was 11 years old when a freak storm with hurricane-force winds and several waterspouts hit my family’s small sailboat while at sea. My fear grew as the intensity of the winds increased to the point that the tops of waves were shorn clear off and a waterspout came straight towards our boat. Just before the waterspout hit, I said my first heart-felt prayer to this mysterious God to spare my life. And I immediately felt a connection with some form of consciousness; not at all like addressing an empty void. Needless to say, I survived the ordeal, though the boat sustained quite a bit of damage – some of which I cannot explain to this day (what extremely high intensity winds can do boggles the mind), and I had taken my first tentative steps towards experiencing the Divine. My search began.

During my youth, I researched – and, to some degree, experienced – numerous religious practices from around the world. And much of my research focused on prayer – that is, an intentional activity with the purpose of contacting and communicating with the Divine. What I found sometimes amazed me and oftentimes puzzled me as I compared what I read and observed “externally” with what I did and experienced “internally”.

Obviously, from my personal experience, there are prayers for personal protection (an ‘SOS’ to the Divine, so to speak). When I was a teen, I was surprised and delighted when Wings’ new album “London Town” included a song “Deliver Your Children”. The song was never a popular “hit” but it was a “hit” for me, as the lyrics early in the song ran: 

Well, the rain was a-falling, and the ground turned to mud
I was watching all the people running from the flood
So I started to praying, though I ain't no praying man
For the Lord to come-a-helping, knowing He'd understand
Deliver your children to the good, good life
Give 'em peace and shelter and a fork and knife
Shine a light in the morning and a light at night
And if a thing goes wrong, you'd better make it right

Prayers during time of distress. Done it. And I’ve seen a lot of it. In this I would include the various prayers of protection such as St. Patrick’s Breastplate, for which there are functional equivalents in religions and traditions around the world. I think that they are wonderful.

What I have also seen a lot of is what I call “gimme gimme” prayers. It is turning to the Divine requesting intervention in order to grant one’s desires. I don’t mean to be flippant here. Especially when one’s desires are closely associated with distress (for example, one is unemployed and about to lose one’s house or can’t manage to sufficiently feed one’s own children), it is understandable. But there are plenty of prayers that go heavenward that are for non-essential things. You know, like the famous Janis Joplin song: 

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends 
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends 
So, oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

Some people’s desires seem to be endless, so I guess some of them must have endless prayers going to what (to me) amounts to being the Great Vending Machine in the Sky. Some make it like a business dealing: I’ll please the Divine with some virtuous deeds, good habits or small sacrifice in order to make it seem that what I seek from the Divine isn’t asking outright; rather, it is a transaction”. Still, if one is using the Divine as a means to obtain a worldly end – as these kinds of prayers can easily become – that’s not my cup of tea. I’m more comfortable with “in case of emergency, break glass” for prayers of this category.

More to my liking are prayers for endowing oneself with one or more Divine virtues or ideals. The Prayer of St. Francis – which I have shared with people of many faiths and who nearly universally appreciate and learn it – is one that is close to my heart: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Finally, I see the kind of prayers that do not seek anything in particular, other than accepting the Divine will as it is. Prayers of gratitude would fit into this category as well. From my perspective, “Thy will be done” is the highest prayer of this type. I see this kind of prayer as being most aligned with the mystical temperament.

Does this mean that some prayers are “inferior” and others “superior”? For a long time, I debated and battled with myself internally with this question. Leaving aside those who may pray in order to show off how “pious” they are, or for similar reasons belonging purely to “this world”, if a person is genuinely praying, is there a “higher” and “lower” prayer? Is it fair to compare the prayers of a person who is living in a virtual “Hell on Earth” with the prayers of a person who is comfortable, has no wants, and can contemplate the Divine to their heart’s content? Is it right for me to even judge? The best answer that I have so far come across regarding the different types of prayers comes from the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 7, verses 16 and 17) which states that there are four types of persons who render service to the Divine:
1 - the distressed (who looks to the Divine due to sorrow or fear),  
2 - the desirer of wealth and related worldly desires such as position and power (who believes that happiness can only be achieved if such things are attained),
3 - the inquisitive (who wants to know the truth about the Divine and pierce the illusion of worldly existence), and
4 - he who seeks to merge with the Divine (that is, who identifies with, and is in union with, the Divine).

Of these four, the last is dearest to the Divine due to their single-minded devotion and unique love for the Divine.

I agree that it is best to strive for one’s prayers to be of the fourth category – but sometimes circumstances may encourage one to “gear down” to one of the other categories - if it works. The story of the sufferings of mystic-saint Ramakrishna due to throat cancer is instructive on this point.  As described in Christopher Isherwood’s book Ramakrishna and His Disciples (page 295): 

… Naren and the others who had been present begged Ramakrishna to cure himself – for their cause if not for his own. ‘Do you think I’m suffering like this because I want to?’ Ramakrishna retorted. ‘Of course I want to get better! But it all depends on Mother’ [i.e., the Divine Mother, whom Ramakrishna worshipped]. ‘Then pray to her,’ said Naren. ‘She can’t refuse to listen.’ Ramakrishna protested that he could never utter such words. But they continued to plead with him and at last he agreed that he would do what he could. A few hours later, Naren asked him, ‘Well, did you pray to her?’ And Ramakrishna told him, ‘I said to Mother, “I can’t eat anything because of this pain – please let me eat a little!” But she pointed to all of you and said, “Why, you’re eating through so many mouths already!” So, then I felt ashamed and couldn’t utter another word.’ 

 Regardless of the motivation of the prayer, I do believe that one can pray in the attitude of a conversation with the Divine. Rather than begging or petitioning, it is possible to raise particular points or concerns, as if talking to a person who is much wiser than oneself, and listen for a reply in the depths of inner silence and the "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding". Of course, it takes much self-discipline to silence the mind enough to perceive such silence and peace – especially if one is in dire circumstances – but the effort is worth it. After all, what greater friend and well-wisher have we than the Divine?

My post “The Three Hermits” brought up the point that it is the feeling that matters more than the words of the prayers. On the other hand, my post “Kipling the Mystic?” alluded to a view that all has been known by the Divine, even to the smallest detail, since before even the act of creation. If the latter is true, is prayer even useful? If the Divine has “written the whole play” ahead of time and will not be changing the lines or roles, why even have prayer?

Well, I have lived long enough to declare with conviction from personal experience that prayer indeed works. Not every prayer. And not every time. And often not in the way that the person who is praying expects or imagines. Each of us only knows as much as the limited “role” given to us in the “play” on the “stage” called the world. And, for all we know, praying may be written as “lines” in our “role”! Besides, for whose sake do we pray? I believe that prayer, ultimately, is for our own sake: if one is in a fearful situation, it is far better to pray than fret or freeze up; and if we are aware of others who are in need, then prayer is good to soften our hearts and keep our awareness expanded to other beings (human and non-human). 

I have also lived long enough to know that prayers to inferior Beings in order to harm others also works – and that it is wise for those who believe in the Divine to invoke Divine protection from such things, as hatred, ill-will and vicious thoughts (which are not as potent as prayers but are often more pervasive – like background radiation) pervade our present time. Returning to the anthropologist’s account of the tribe praying for the Sun to rise, at this later stage in my life, I am no longer puzzled by it, nor do I see a contradiction in it. Rather, I see great beauty, wonder and wisdom in it. In my search of prayer and religious experience around the world, I have come across a recurring ‘myth’ (I don’t know what else to call it, as I cannot personally verify it) that spans continents and many religions that states in various ways that cloistered in the remote parts of the world there exist groups of extremely pious souls whose sole work is prayer for the welfare of the world – and that if they cease their work, the force of entropy at all levels will take over. Given its prevalence, it is a myth that I consider to be entirely possible. It is a common turn of phrase that prayer moves mountains. Perhaps it does a great deal more than that.

Comments

greetings

[kallianeira]

Hello Ron,

Thank you for this thoughtful and elegant essay, and indeed for your new blog.
V Best wishes

iridescent scintillating elver

Re: greetings

[mystical_mountain_9]

Thank you Kallianeira (or should I call you 'Elver'? Glad to see you are using a Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature courtesy of Cosmic Oom) for your kind and encouraging words. Any kind of feedback is always welcome!