“’O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.’ Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

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यदि शक्नोषि गच्छ त्वम् अतिचञ्चलचेष्टित
इत्य् उक्त्वा च निजं कर्म सा चकार कुटुम्बिनी

yadi śaknoṣi gaccha tvam aticañcalaceṣṭita
ity uktvā ca nijaṃ karma sā cakāra kuṭumbinī

1. For my new bicycle

“Please, God. Can you help me? I don’t ask for much. The kids in the neighborhood have these wonderful bikes that they ride with glee. I am stuck without one. My parents only buy me gifts on my birthday. If you can come through for me this one time, I will never ask for anything again.”

2. For my sick relative

“Please, God. Can you help me? This person has been wonderful. Ever since I have known her, she has been nothing but kind and loving. No one can utter a negative word about her. Now she has this terrible illness. This world is so cruel, sometimes. How could this happen? Could you please rescue her? I will never ask for anything else.”

3. For my exam

“Please, God. Can you help me? This exam means everything. It determines my destiny in the corporate world. I would like to be self-sufficient. I do not want to be a burden on others. A high mark will catch the attention of recruiters. I will be well on my way towards success in the real world.”

4. For my job

“Please, God. Can you help me? I may not have been the best person recently, but things are tight right now. There are sweeping layoffs at the company. I really hope to keep my job. I am an honest person. I work hard. If you can come through for me, I will never forget it.”

5. For my remembrance

Perhaps it is understandable that outsiders would apply a generic and practically meaningless term like “Hinduism” to describe something of which they barely know. After all, the culture itself bears little similarity with other religious traditions or systems of faith. For purposes of identification, in checking a box on a form, a person might identify as “Hindu”, but that barely begins to tell the story of their objectives in life, the practices they follow, the diet they adhere to, or the places they go to offer worship.

Most interesting of all is the variety with which to view the object of worship. There is nothing analogous to Vedanta philosophy in other traditions precisely because Vedanta is based on knowledge. It is not a faith. Vedanta is two Sanskrit words put together. Veda refers to knowledge. Anta refers to the end or conclusion. Anta is the finishing line. Vedanta is the last word on knowledge; it is the summit to strive for, to reach, and to take advantage from.

Vedanta falls within the category of Hinduism, and you might be surprised to learn that some people reach the conclusion that there is no God. At least not in the typical way we understand Him. God is impersonal. He is without attributes, nirguna. He is this formless concept known as Brahman. All of the variety associated with worship, in the different statues, paintings, and depictions, are merely different representations of this singular energy, which is the source of everything.

Except Brahman is not the final word of Vedanta. It is part of the conclusion, but not the complete picture. We see from the above review that there is something common in the people who approach a higher being. When they pray, they inherently acknowledge that there is a person on the other side. Granted, it is likely the highest concept of a person. The person praying may not know to whom their pleas are travelling, in how the response will manifest, but they always think of a person. If the highest concept were just that, a concept, then there is no reason for prayer.

The final conclusion, as nicely presented by saintly people of the highest repute, such as Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya, is that Brahman is but one glimpse into the mysteries of the understanding of transcendence. God is both impersonal and personal. There is both Brahman and Parabrahman. The impersonal is the way to realize that God has His presence everywhere. He is the sum total, but He is also different from that collection.

भक्त्या त्व् अनन्यया शक्य
अहम् एवं-विधो ऽर्जुन
ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन
प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप

bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya
aham evaṁ-vidho ‘rjuna
jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena
praveṣṭuṁ ca parantapa

“My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.54)

Those who understand this simultaneous oneness and difference tend to pray in a different way. They ask that the object of worship remove illusion. They ask for constant remembrance. More than asking for daily bread, a high-paying job, or good health, they wish to always remain in the presence of the Almighty, seeing Him in all His glory, in all His beauty, and in all His mercy.

Someone like Yashoda, who is a mother following household duties [kutumbini] in the farm community of Gokula, has such a high realization that she actively moves towards keeping the presence of the Supreme Lord within her vicinity. She attempts to bind Him to a mortar. She actually succeeds, to the amazement of yogis, karmis, and jnanis. She even taunts Krishna to try to move, to see what He can do now. Rather than pray, she commands. Overcome by her affection, Krishna feels obligated to oblige, as He does with the devotees who always chant His names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

As a child known to pray,
For just once getting my way.

When trouble times to send,
Straight on knee to bend.

A person on the other side,
With highest influence to preside.

But realization of Yashoda just see,
That God not from mortar free.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, prayer, religion