Prayer can only happen when there is an utter helplessness or immense gratitude. When you feel so grateful, prayer automatically happens in you. When you feel totally helpless - ‘I can’t do anything’ - at that time also prayer happens.
Prayer cannot be cultivated, it is a phenomenon. It just happens to you. And who is praying to whom – the mind is praying to the self, the wave is praying to the ocean; and you are both. You are the ocean and you are the wave as well. Inside you there is mind, inside you there is ocean. That is why in the Yajur Veda it is said, ‘devo bhootva, devam yajeta’. So you get established in the Divine and then you pray to the Divine, not as somebody outside.
The mind curling back on the Self is prayer. So prayer automatically happens, spontaneously it happens. All that you need to know is, wake up and see how much you have received in your life. Even all Devis (goddesses), Devataas (gods) have one hand upraised, and one hand lowered, palm facing outward. Do you know what this means? This is all symbolic of, ‘I am giving you so much, don’t worry’. Then that gives a sense of comfort. The upraised hand is for ‘abhaya’ which means don’t worry or fear not. The lowered hand is ‘varadaa’ which means, you are getting.
In the Rig Veda, in the end it says, ‘sanat pitev soona’, like the son says to the father, ‘Parmatma (God), you are giving so much and you continue to give. Protect me, like how the father protects his son.’ In the same way the divine protects you all the time. So he is giving you all the time.
