What is Prayer?
What is prayer? Prayer is outpouring of the heart.
What is prayer? Prayer is offering flowers plucked from the garden of the heart.
What is prayer? Prayer is the cry of the wounded heart to the Beloved.
What is prayer? Prayer is the soul's ascent to the mount of vision.
This word, this English word, "prayer", means literally, "asking". I recall the words of Jesus spoken on a memorable occasion to his disciples, Jesus said: "Ask and it shall be given to you." "Prayer is" "asking". Asking for what? And asking how?
Prayer is asking for the key to the treasures of the Spirit-world. And I sometimes say prayer is a voyage of discovery. For, if you but know how to pray, you begin to discover a mighty world around you, the Spirit-world. And even as you learn to pray, more and more, you come in touch, more and more with the Divine-world. To pray is to receive the key to a mighty spiritual treasure.
How shall we ask? And what shall we ask? We have a beautiful word for "prayer" in the ancient Indian language, the Sanskrit language. That word is Upasana. Do you know what Upasana means? The literal meaning of Upasana, "Sitting under. That is prayer, "sitting under" the influence of the Lord. And sitting here with you beneath these beautiful trees and under the ancient skies, I have felt that I have been sitting under the influence of the Lord. Prayer is sitting under – under the influence of the Lord. Blessed is Guruvaar day when we, sisters and brothers, are getting ready together with trusting hearts in the beautiful abode of Lord under the influence of the Divine Love for healing prayers. Praying for others, unknown sufferers, is more powerful effects than praying for self.
Many years ago, when I was in England, one sweet little girl came to me and said to me: "Teach me what to pray." I said to her "My child! The Spirit alone may teach us what to pray." But she said: "You must speak to me; you must give me some words which I may recite every day!" And I passed on to her the words of an ancient Rishi: "Out of darkness lead me into Light!" And I said to her: "Recite these words and in silence meditate on their meaning." I was staying with the parents of this girl; I was a guest in their house. One day I looked into a little room and in that little room I saw her sitting, this sweet English girl, and she was lisping the words: "Out of darkness lead me into the Light." And she offered the prayers in such sincerity, with such love in her heart, I saw her face illuminated, her eyes glow with light, and I said to myself: "I have seen the Face of God." True it is, that from time to time you see a person filled with the spirit of prayer, and gazing at his face you feel that you see the Face of God.
(Sadhu Vaswani in East and West Series, June 2013)
