The Rationale Behind Prayer - Sri Swami Chidananda

God, not only being transcendental, but also being immanent, not only being immanent but also being a specific indwelling divine principle within each and every body, why is there so much difficulty in attaining that which is nearer to us than anything else in all the universe?

Even if the most proximate thing is by your side, if you turn your head the other way and look in the opposite direction, you will not be able to see it. That is the trouble. That is the problem. There is nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His immanence, nothing wrong with His immediacy. What is wrong is that our gaze is elsewhere. So everything is wrong with the direction we have decided to turn our gaze to.

Therefore, all the saints and mystics have prayed, "O Lord, bless me and grant that I may constantly remember You. Let my mind be constantly thinking of You. Let my entire being look only in Your direction, and may I have no eyes for anything else, no ears for anything else. Having ears, let me hear nothing except Your Name, Your description, Your glories, Your praise—from saints, scriptures, teachers, mystics, yogis. Having eyes, let me see nothing except things pertaining to You, things that will help me to move towards You. Having a mind, let it think of nothing, but think only of You."

© "The Divine Life" (May 2003) published by The Divine Life Society, The Sivananda Publication League, Shivanandanagar post 249 192, Tehri-Garhwal, District, Uttaranchal. Reprinted with permission.