Thanks 'unpret' for your comments to my previous post. I had drafted this as response to your comments but as it was getting too lengthy, thought I’d put it up as a new post :)
As you said, there must be some reason behind telling that we are not supposed to read/write during Saraswathi Pooja. Old customs do have a purpose. Maybe it is to acknowledge man’s dependence on the natural forces and bounty of his existence. Ancient people instinctively recognized the debt and reverence owed to a higher force and intelligence working beyond the physical dimension. Hence such customs have come into existence I guess.
I do believe that mantras have a meaning. No question about that. It can have an effect. But just reciting the mantras without understanding the context and the proper meaning – would that serve the purpose? A student can study by-heart computer programs in C, Java, etc without understanding the proper concept. It might help the student pass the exams, but would fail to serve the purpose of moulding him into a successful engineer – which is the ultimate goal. God is not a supermarket where you can get anything you want by chanting mantras. Praise and persiflage works with us humans, but would it work with HIM who is beyond all ego? Isn’t God an ego-less entity?
We worship God in different ways – as the Heavenly Father or Divine Mother, or as a Divine friend like the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna, or as a Divine lover, as a Divine beloved, Divine Master, or a Divine Child. I personally feel God responds to the devotee in whatever aspect the devotee holds dear. But when you pray “God, please help me build a bungalow,” its more an act done out of expectation.. that you already have a self will – that of building a bungalow and you just need the help of God to execute it, just like you seek the help of an architect, except that here God is cheap labour where you expect the work to be done by offering him coconuts. A devotee will get better results if he plunges himself into God’s love rather than thinking like a businessman “I will buy God with such amount of chanting and meditation.” Suppose, if a terrorist chants the same mantra seeking God’s help to kill innocent lives, would the mantra work? Therefore it has to be believed that ultimately it’s our good will and our consciousness which is going to be the deciding factor.
Prayer is important, but when it is used as a short cut only to get your things done, it looses the purpose. Prayer should be a two-way communication where you share your thoughts and feelings openly as if you are talking to an intimate friend. Your thoughts and plans may or may not work out, but God shouldn’t be held responsible if it doesn’t work out. Just like you wouldn’t blame you close friend, say Teena, if you happen to fail in your exam! You will hold God responsible for the bad events only if you consider him to be a superman who is expected to get all your things done. And you just can’t form an intimate relationship with such a superman. You would consider such a superman or God only as living external to you. Instead, when you treat God as a good friend with whom you can share your joy in your successes.. and as an intimate friend or a guide who would remain with you in your failures as well, you are setting yourself to the right tone. Intimacy can be formed only if you treat God as an understanding parent whom you can approach without fear and rest on her lap for consolation even if you fail 100 times. A great friend or a loving master who reassures you that even if you fail, the world is still going to be the same. An intimate friend who gives you the reassurance that no matter whether you win or loose, he would still be with you unconditionally.
You may succeed in your exams or in your profession or in life, or you may fail.. And even if things don’t go the way as you wished, there should be no severance in communication or regard with God. That way, I feel one can take life as it comes – by being never too exuberant in success and never too defeated in failure. And the best prayer or the mantra is “Thank you.” “Thank you for being with me throughout my good and bad times.” Nothing brings more joy than to feel the presence of a master or an intimate friend who’ll be with you throughout your good and bad times.
Why would God need any praise or money? He would be happier if one chooses to praise, without any trace of jealousy, his fellow being who managed to achieve something remarkable. He would be delighted if one chooses to utilize money for the needy instead of excessively spending it on temples.
As you said, there must be some reason behind telling that we are not supposed to read/write during Saraswathi Pooja. Old customs do have a purpose. Maybe it is to acknowledge man’s dependence on the natural forces and bounty of his existence. Ancient people instinctively recognized the debt and reverence owed to a higher force and intelligence working beyond the physical dimension. Hence such customs have come into existence I guess.
I do believe that mantras have a meaning. No question about that. It can have an effect. But just reciting the mantras without understanding the context and the proper meaning – would that serve the purpose? A student can study by-heart computer programs in C, Java, etc without understanding the proper concept. It might help the student pass the exams, but would fail to serve the purpose of moulding him into a successful engineer – which is the ultimate goal. God is not a supermarket where you can get anything you want by chanting mantras. Praise and persiflage works with us humans, but would it work with HIM who is beyond all ego? Isn’t God an ego-less entity?
We worship God in different ways – as the Heavenly Father or Divine Mother, or as a Divine friend like the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna, or as a Divine lover, as a Divine beloved, Divine Master, or a Divine Child. I personally feel God responds to the devotee in whatever aspect the devotee holds dear. But when you pray “God, please help me build a bungalow,” its more an act done out of expectation.. that you already have a self will – that of building a bungalow and you just need the help of God to execute it, just like you seek the help of an architect, except that here God is cheap labour where you expect the work to be done by offering him coconuts. A devotee will get better results if he plunges himself into God’s love rather than thinking like a businessman “I will buy God with such amount of chanting and meditation.” Suppose, if a terrorist chants the same mantra seeking God’s help to kill innocent lives, would the mantra work? Therefore it has to be believed that ultimately it’s our good will and our consciousness which is going to be the deciding factor.
Prayer is important, but when it is used as a short cut only to get your things done, it looses the purpose. Prayer should be a two-way communication where you share your thoughts and feelings openly as if you are talking to an intimate friend. Your thoughts and plans may or may not work out, but God shouldn’t be held responsible if it doesn’t work out. Just like you wouldn’t blame you close friend, say Teena, if you happen to fail in your exam! You will hold God responsible for the bad events only if you consider him to be a superman who is expected to get all your things done. And you just can’t form an intimate relationship with such a superman. You would consider such a superman or God only as living external to you. Instead, when you treat God as a good friend with whom you can share your joy in your successes.. and as an intimate friend or a guide who would remain with you in your failures as well, you are setting yourself to the right tone. Intimacy can be formed only if you treat God as an understanding parent whom you can approach without fear and rest on her lap for consolation even if you fail 100 times. A great friend or a loving master who reassures you that even if you fail, the world is still going to be the same. An intimate friend who gives you the reassurance that no matter whether you win or loose, he would still be with you unconditionally.
You may succeed in your exams or in your profession or in life, or you may fail.. And even if things don’t go the way as you wished, there should be no severance in communication or regard with God. That way, I feel one can take life as it comes – by being never too exuberant in success and never too defeated in failure. And the best prayer or the mantra is “Thank you.” “Thank you for being with me throughout my good and bad times.” Nothing brings more joy than to feel the presence of a master or an intimate friend who’ll be with you throughout your good and bad times.
Why would God need any praise or money? He would be happier if one chooses to praise, without any trace of jealousy, his fellow being who managed to achieve something remarkable. He would be delighted if one chooses to utilize money for the needy instead of excessively spending it on temples.
Isn't it the right perception to feel him as a bliss, welling up from your infinite depths instead of yearning for visions or thriling experiences? The path to the Divine can't really be a circus!
-Balu
1 comment:
:)am glad of te people i associate many help me believe that God is a friend and a parent and not some external being who needs to be satisfied from time to time to perform miracles for you.
Dharma also keeps telling this to me. it is just so amazing to me that people can trust so much in someone they cannot see. I strongly believe that this faith will definitely help those who believe in Him.
I feel i should have that kind of faith too. i should say thanks for this post:)
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