“My dear Lord, the garlands, scented substances, garments, ornaments and other such things that have been offered to You may later be used by Your servants. By partaking of these things and eating the remnants of food You have left, we will be able to conquer the illusory energy.” (Uddhava, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.6.46)

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त्वयोपभुक्तस्रग्गन्धवासोऽलङ्कारचर्चिता:
उच्छिष्टभोजिनो दासास्तव मायां जयेमहि

tvayopabhukta-srag-gandha-
vāso-’laṅkāra-carcitāḥ
ucchiṣṭa-bhojino dāsās
tava māyāṁ jayema hi

1. Drug addiction

“I was really down. It was the first thing I thought of each day. How was I going to replenish my stash? Where would I find the money to pay for everything? I never want to go down that road again. I have been saved. I have found my higher calling. I have now started my own ministry, to help spread the word.”

2. Financial destitution

“I was really down. I can try to blame the politicians and the corrupt business leaders for ruining the economy, but then I should have paid more attention. Maybe then I would have been more prepared. I was so hopeless that I finally considered prayer. I looked up to the heavens. In total desperation, I asked for help. Those prayers were answered. I will never forget. I will keep praying from now on, no matter what.”

3. Health emergency

“I was really down. That illness struck at the most inopportune time. They put the word ‘turbo’ in front of it. The doctors say they are baffled. They can’t understand why so many young people are getting sick, seemingly out of nowhere. Of course, if I ask them about the experimental medication that was recently forced upon practically the entire population, they get upset. They are prepared to fire me as a patient. Never mind the cause for a moment. I finally looked to the man upstairs. He answered my prayers. I think I am on the road to recovery. I will never forget.”

4. Conflict emergency

“I was really down. I can tell you that family life is not easy. Whatever visuals people put out, with their carefully timed and appropriately filtered images shared with the rest of the world, understand that there is likely trouble brewing underneath the surface. I found out the hard way. It was too much to take. I could not sleep at night. I finally took to prayer. It must have worked. Everything changed, soon thereafter. I am eternally grateful.”

5. Direct recommendation

“I had a chance encounter. Someone briefly mentioned some book and how great it was. Amazingly, they were actually referring to something besides worship. They were talking about mysticism and reaching optimum health. Nevertheless, that book ended up having all the answers. I am so fortunate. I will never stop reading that book.”

…

You are enjoying a night out. It is at a public event, for a change. Gathered together with thousands of like-minded individuals, at least in terms of interest in music, it is nice to get out of the house. The singer of the band stops in between songs to speak to the audience. As part of their crowd banter, they ask who has seen the band before. A significant number of hands go up. This means that loyal and faithful fans make up a large contingent. The singer then asks who is seeing the band for the very first time. Surprisingly, many hands go up. The singer then resolves the two distinctions by acknowledging that it does not matter whether you have been listening for years or only started recently, as long as you are here, right now, that is what counts.

Saints of the Vaishnava tradition such as Goswami Tulsidas carry a similar outlook with respect to perfection of the conditional existence. It does not matter from where a person has come. It matters where they are going. Whether they spoiled countless previous births or they were spotless from the moment they entered this world, they can find release today. Right now, at this very moment, if they chant the holy names and give up bad association.

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

The above reviewed hypothetical situations describe impetuses for prayer. Something happened unrelated to approaching the Almighty that then led to a change in course. The shift might be so dramatic that the person who previously paid no attention to spiritual life suddenly carries a vow so strong that it is like a heavy rock. The determination is there to always chant the glories of the Almighty, to bow in front of objects directly representing Him, and to discuss higher topics with like-minded individuals.

सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां
यतन्तश् च दृढ-व्रताः
नमस्यन्तश् च मां भक्त्या
नित्य-युक्ता उपासते

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.14)

The outsider may not understand what is going on. They might mistakenly attribute the process to make-believe, mythology, or worse, something deleterious like making up gods who are false and turning away from genuine religion. Such individuals simply do not know better. They are stuck in the dichotomy of good and bad, of saved and sinner. The people worshiping their authorized objects of worship hope to escape from illusion, which is created by the Supreme Lord to begin with.

हरि माया कृत दोष गुन बिनु हरि भजन न जाहिं
भजिअ राम सब काम तजि अस बिचारि मन माहिं

hari māyā kṛta doṣa guna binu hari bhajana na jāhiṃ
bhajia rāma saba kāma taji asa bicāri mana māhiṃ

“Good and bad, which are part of the illusion created by Hari, cannot be removed without worshiping Hari. Keeping this in mind, worship Rama and renounce all desires.” (Dohavali, 127)

We see that there are often external causes that act as a trigger for worship. The one who is regularly making offerings, who is accepting what is left behind, known as prasadam, is no longer waiting. They are taking the call to action seriously. They understand that right now, in this auspicious human birth, is the time for inquiring into spiritual matters. They have a practical realization of the Sanskrit phrase, athato brahma-jijnasa.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

In Closing:

No more to wait,
Emphatically to state.

That this life is mine,
And transcendence will find.

Whether previously scared,
Or my own way dared.

Saved now by transcendental light,
In prasadam of Hari to delight.

Categories: the five, the maya of hari

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, prayer, yoga