If I watch somebody else’s suffering, whether a human or animal or a tree being destroyed, and I feel as One with great empathy in my heart towards that being’s suffering–that is a prayer. If I keep a clear and truthful mind which sees through my own ego’s selfishness and frustrations–that is a prayer. If I consider my own body and mind sacred as the temple of the true God in me, so I eat healthily and feed my mind with compassion for others and for myself–that is a prayer. If I control my emotional reactions towards others and accept my own flaws and work on them–that is a prayer.
This is an example of what prayer really is. Because the ignorant people of the world believes prayer is a ritual, whether kneeling and repeating like a parrot stupid words or thinking about some saint and holding some religious object; however, this is the fantasy and ignorance of the ego, this is blasphemous and based on fear. The real prayer is Enlightenment, it is based on love, pure love for yourself and for all beings; therefore, the real prayer begins as a thought in your mind, then it turns into your better behavior–you eat right, you take care of your mind, you love yourself in all aspects, and thus this love expands onto others (thus it blesses others). Have you ever known real prayer then…?? Or are you still stuck in the prayer of the ignorant followers of the world…??
When you start living based on truth and see through the laziness and conditioning of your own ego, you will know true prayer; but until then you are bound to rituals, to empty words and religious views. Perhaps you are not religious per se, but still the influence of religions in this world is so vast that you see people kneeling and chanting mantras, baptizing themselves in some holy water nonsense, humiliating themselves in front of a crucified Jesus figure, or talking to some fantastical god in the clouds, and your own mind starts believing these forms to be prayers. These may fill the people with faith and good feelings, but these are just based on fear–they do this because everybody does it, they do this because it makes them feel superior as saints and good people, there is a selfish sentiment there, “I am doing it so people see me,” “I am a good person, a good saintly person,” “Look how devout I am, I deserve blessings!”
Do you see the mindset of these man-made creations…?? These people “pray” like this, as empty, as repetitive, as mere followers of some popular trend, and then what…?? They go home and treat their own bodies (their temples) as amusement–they think negatively, they argue, they eat greedily and unhealthily, they hate each other, they support wars and prejudice amongst different peoples, etc. Think about it carefully, answer yourself: Is this really praying…?? Do you pray like this…??
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- Asa Rodriguez - 