Excerpts Chapter 14
THE MEDITATION BOOK:
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
The difference between prayer and meditation
The need for prayer
Prayer and meditation are medicines to cure us. As we go to a doctor for medicine to cure our physical body, similarly, prayer and meditation are the medicines which will cure us in our inner life.
Prayer is important for each individual at the beginning. Meditation comes later. With prayer we grow individually into the highest Divinity. But whenever we pray there is a subtle desire for something. We may call it an aspiration, because we pray to become good, to say something good, or to do something good, to have something divine which we do not have, or to be free from fear, jealousy, doubt and so on. In meditation we do not do that. We just allow ourselves consciously to enter into the effulgence of light, or we invoke the universal Light to transform our ignorance into wisdom.
In the West, many saints have realised God. They did not care for meditation; they only prayed most intensely. In the Western world we hear more about prayer than about meditation. In the East we pay more attention to meditation. This is the difference between prayer and meditation: when I pray, I talk and God listens. When I meditate, God talks and I listen.
If we want to differentiate between prayer and meditation, we can say that prayer is the conscious ascent of the human consciousness and meditation is an invitation to the Infinite or an offering to the Infinite. It is the individual who will choose whether he would like to make rapid progress by praying or by meditating.
We also use the term “aspiration”. Aspiration is within both prayer and meditation. He who is praying feels an inner cry to reach God, to realise God. When we pray, we go up, up, up. He who is meditating feels the need of bringing God’s Consciousness right into his being, into his own consciousness. Aspiration is the only key for both prayer and meditation. Either we reach up to Him or He comes down to us. Ultimately, it is the same. God lives on the third floor, but when He comes down to the first floor He is still the same God. One aspirant may go up and get Him; another may bring Him down. When we pray we go up and touch Him; when we meditate we bring Him down into our consciousness.
The best form of prayer
Question: I would like to know whether I should pray for something I want or whether I should just pray for God’s Will to be done.
Sri Chinmoy: To pray for God’s Will to be done is the highest form of prayer. But a beginner finds it almost impossible to pray to God sincerely to fulfil him in God’s own way. Early in the morning, a beginner will say to God, “God, I want to be Your unconditionally surrendered child.” Then, the next moment, when jealousy, insecurity or pride enters into him, his self-offering becomes all conditional. At that time the seeker says, “God, early in the morning I prayed to You so sincerely to fulfil Your Will in me, but You didn’t listen to my prayer. Otherwise, I would have been above jealousy, fear, doubt, anxiety and attachment.” If the seeker prays for something in the morning and his prayer is not fulfilled in a few hours’ time, immediately he becomes discouraged. Then he stops praying and meditating for six months. For a day he offers his sincere prayer, then for six months the seeker is ready to enjoy his ignorance. So when the seeker is just starting out, it is always advisable for him to pray to God for whatever he feels he needs most, whether it is patience, purity, sincerity, humility, peace, and so forth. This kind of prayer is always best for the beginner. Then God will give the seeker a little Peace, Light and Bliss, which are the precursors of something infinite that is going to come into his inner being. Then, when the seeker has received and achieved some Peace, Light and Bliss and has become established to some extent in his inner being, at that time he will have some confidence in God’s operation and also in his own life of aspiration.
When one is making very fast progress or is a little advanced, he feels that there is some reality within himself and that this reality is not going to disappoint or desert him. Then he feels that God is fully aware of what he desperately needs and is eager to supply him with the things that he needs, because God wants to fulfil Himself in and through His chosen instrument. God has to fix his choice Hour for that seeker, and at His choice Hour, God will fulfil Himself in and through that particular chosen instrument. When a seeker feels this kind of confidence within him, that is the time for the seeker to pray, “Let Thy Will be done.” At that time he can sincerely say, “God, now I want to please You only in Your own Way.” At that time he will feel that God wants to manifest Himself in and through him. He will feel that the moment God makes him perfect, he will be able to serve the divinity in somebody else or be able to help somebody else towards perfection.
The best way to pray for others
Question: What is the best way to pray for others?
Sri Chinmoy: The best way to pray for others is first, before you even start praying, to invoke the Presence of the Supreme. Then, once you feel His Presence, try to see or feel the people for whom you are praying inside the heart of the Supreme’s Presence. Once you invoke His Presence, He will definitely come in His Subtle Body. His Presence may not take a human form, and you may not see Him in a human body. But you will be able to feel His Presence, and in your feeling a form will be embodied. Inside the form, try to feel the person for whom you are praying. If you can invoke the Supreme’s Presence and feel inside His Presence the human beings for whom you are praying, then that will be the most effective way of helping them through your prayer.
But before asking the Supreme to help with your prayer, first ask Him whether you are supposed to pray. This you have to do. Otherwise, you may be praying for others out of sheer attachment, so that the other person will be pleased with you and do something for you in the outer world. If you get a message or inner feeling from the Presence of the Supreme that you should pray for that particular person, then only you should pray for him. Otherwise, the Supreme’s Presence will be there, but He might not be at all pleased by your prayer. And even if He answers your prayer, it will be with tremendous reluctance, because the after-effect may be harmful. Before you pray, if you get express permission from the Supreme to pray for someone, then you are doing the right thing. But if you do something in this world without His approval, sanction or permission, then you will be committing a mistake.
Suppose somebody is very sick. You may think that if you pray for him, it will be a good thing, because he is suffering. But perhaps God wants him to have this experience at this particular time. You have to know that God is infinitely kinder than any human being could possibly be. If you pray to God, “Cure him, cure him,” you may be standing in God’s way. God wants to give him the experience of suffering in His own Way. So always ask God if it is His Will.