Never thought about reasons to pray.....

Customary praying

 Since childhood almost all of us have imbibed the habit of praying to the almighty. We have seen God in calendars, books, idols and picture frames. Different gods of different religion, some clad in gold jewelry while some in white clothes. Customarily, we pray for our well being, good health, and wealth and so on. We may not pray in happy times, but surely don’t forget to do that during bad times. God suddenly becomes the lender of last resort then.

Pray to god for every lil thing

I remember my lil sister praying and worshiping God during her exams. She asked for good grades in subjects. My brother prayed during his sports tournament for his victory. My relatives prayed for their children to get married to suitable partners. When my teacher told me about Santa Clause, I would tie a pair of socks at the door and pray to Santa God to drop gifts for me. During Diwali we pray for prosperity. During Holi we pray for colors and happiness in life. We pray when our dear ones are ill or hospitalized. For every little wish to be granted, we pray and call out to God. Wow, there are so many reasons to pray!

My reasons to pray? Well there are many. I often cry at the news of war, blasts or death due to natural calamity. On one hand, crying relieves
me to an extent, and on the other hand praying to God gives me the strength to bear the pain. It makes me strong enough to wade through the hurdles. 

There was a time when I had stopped praying to God. My innocent mind was angry because he had snatched away my uncle (Chacha ji) when his kids were barely 2 years old. He was on his way home during Durga Puja to meet his family when he met with an accident and left us in grief. I had lot of questions for God. Why did he do that when he was coming to meet his family, that too on the occasion of Durga Puja? Did not God think about his young kids? I bonded really well with my Chacha ji and missed him a lot. I stopped praying or believing in God for few years till I realized that not doing so will not bring him back to life anyway. There was a long life ahead for his wife and kids. All I could do was pray for them at least.

Today I don’t wish for wealth, because I know that I can earn it with hard work. I don’t long for happiness because I know I can achieve it with willingness and love. I long for mental peace, which is a rare thing in stressful lives these days.

While I don’t believe in idol worship or praying to a “Physical form” of God, I certainly believe in spirituality and inner peace. You can say that I pray for my own selfish reasons. I resonate with the sound of "AUM" to build strength, peace and positivism. A neat environment around creates that positive aura. Lighting candles in church or offering oil/milk in temples is not my way to pray. I may help a beggar on the street and that’s a pray to God indirectly, asking for his well being. I regularly feed the stays near my house out of love and kindness. Later I came to know that feeding strays bring you close to God! Wow, that sounded like an incentive for doing good. My neighbours call me crazy on seeing me talking to the dogs on the streets. No, I don’t speak their language, but certainly understand the emotions in their eyes. When my favourite stray dog(whom I named Champ) was ill and no medicine worked for him, I prayed to God. Was it the medicine or the prayers, I am clueless, but Champ survived and recovered soon. I had tears of joy in my eyes and prayed to God again. This time it was to thank him. We forget to count our blessing daily. We forget to thank God with all he has showered on us. I pray to thank him for the lovely life on this planet, for the wonderful parents I have, for the food I eat daily and to ask for strength to endure all problems.

Cycle Pure Agarbathies Lakshmi Pooja Pack

This year on Diwali, the auspicious occasion for Hindus, I would use the Lakshmi Pooja Pack for a positive environment. A nice fragrance not only refreshes mind and soul but also makes you feel connected spiritually. Godess Lakshmi is said to enter those places where she finds positive people. The Pooja Pack would act as a gift to my mother & relatives besides being a way to achieve peace and goodness. I have refrained from fireworks and crackers all these years and would continue to do so. However, the Lakshmi is neither hazardous for the environment nor health. On the contrary it would build a nice aura of positivism and happiness.  Looking forward to Diwali and the rituals with the pooja pack. My reasons to pray would continue forever.

This contest is a part of the http://www.pureprayer.in/default.aspx blogger contest.