Prayer

[ConfusedLearner]

Hello all,
I asked this question a while back and I still remain slightly unsure about the practice and method of prayer in Hinduism.

I consider myself to be fairly educated about Hinduism, but the aspect of prayer in Hinduism (and other Eastern spiritualities) has confused me.

Is God available for me to simply talk to? May I simply address the Gods and ask for guidance, express gratitude, and talk to them?
Or would it be dishonorable to address Divinity in such a way? Must I perform the elaborate pooja rituals that I am fairly uncertain how to properly perform, and speak in Sanskrit?

I am very interested in slowly beginning to practice Hinduism, but I must admit that I am more comfortable, for now at least, praying to the Divine the way I am used to- simply addressing, conversing, and seeking solace, in English- my native language..

I want to practice properly; I don't want to seem like an uneducated Westerner who picks and chooses from other religions and does whatever he wants with it.

[Eastern Mind]

Is God available for me to simply talk to? May I simply address the Gods and ask for guidance, express gratitude, and talk to them?
Or would it be dishonorable to address Divinity in such a way?

Vannakkam: This is perfectly fine, and the way most people pray. I think Ganesha would be honoured of you talked to him in this way. The elaborate pujas are more about bringing him into the location, be it temple or home. This is just my limited understanding.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ashwin]

Namaste Confused Learner,,

What ever you do just make sure that it comes from your heart and while you continue to do this you will be guided to a guru if you do not have one.


Ohm Namah Shivayah

[Anirudh]

Namaste

EM has answered you fairly. I have sent you a PM.

[surrenderindailylife]

Namaste

Hari Om

Hello all,

but I must admit that I am more comfortable, for now at least, praying to the Divine the way I am used to- simply addressing, conversing, and seeking solace, in English- my native language..

IMHO, best prayer is deeply listening to HIM. However IMHO, this just 'happens' over a period of time by HIS Grace. Till then we simply converse with HIM in whichever way we are comfortable with. This conversation can be anytime in the day, anywhere (at work, at home etc.) and in any form (language etc.). What is most important is your sincere intent and one-pointed devotional thoughts for HIM.


Om Namah Shivay

[Ram11]

Namaste Sri Learner,

In the Puranas, we have many ways to approach God and all are equally valid.I thought about posting in detail but I found this,so I'll post the links
where you have the detailed explanation(Vaishnava perspective).

sravanam kirtanam vishnoh smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam

"Devotional service consists of
(1) hearing about the Lord,
(2) chanting His glories,
(3) remembering Him,
(4) serving and meditating upon His lotus feet,
(5) worshiping Him,
(6) praying to Him,
(7) thinking oneself His eternal servant,
(8) becoming His friend, and
(9) surrendering everything to Him."

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...9135948AAWSJWp

Original Source: http://vedabase.net/sb/7/5/23/en

P.S:God is always available to talk and He is there to solve your problems,provide you solace and bless you.He is the one who is beyond language barriers.Sri Tulsi Das composed Hanuman Chalisa in Braj Bhasa.Sri Nayanmars and Sri Alwars composed hymns in Tamil.Sri Purandara Dasa in Kannada.Sri Tygaraja and Sri Annamacharya in Telugu.
I hope you understand that Sanskrit based style is preferred but not compulsory.As Sri Krishna said ,

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

TRANSLATION

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.

Elaborate rituals are suggested for those having the capacity and time to perform them.If you are interested pm me details(the deity you would like to worship etc.)I'll mail you English Puja manuals that are available online.

[brahma jijnasa]

Namaste

Is God available for me to simply talk to? May I simply address the Gods and ask for guidance, express gratitude, and talk to them?
Or would it be dishonorable to address Divinity in such a way? Must I perform the elaborate pooja rituals that I am fairly uncertain how to properly perform, and speak in Sanskrit?

I am very interested in slowly beginning to practice Hinduism, but I must admit that I am more comfortable, for now at least, praying to the Divine the way I am used to- simply addressing, conversing, and seeking solace, in English- my native language..

I saw some typical answers to your question that were offered by some members in this thread. Some members have said that we can talk to Lord or even make a conversation with Him. It almost sounds like to say that we can chat with the Lord.
Here I have to disagree with that. I have to disagree with that because nowhere in the scriptures we see no hint that reads something like this: "just talk to God" or "Chat with Him about anything that's on your mind".
What we see is actually something else. In fact I've already answered this question, see here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...243#post107243

You can turn to God by finding some verses in the Puranas and recite them in His glory in Sanskrit or your own language, ie English. I gave you one such example, it is a prayer offered by Lord Shiva to The Supreme Lord (see link above). So you can read this prayer aloud in English while thinking that you are addressing this prayer to the Lord. You can even do so to find a picture of the Lord (can be in the book), put that picture in front of you and utter a prayer (read it from the book). You can even do so with folded palms (it's a gesture of offering respect to the deity).
Another example is the prayer offered by Arjuna to Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad gita, verses 11.14 and forward (http://vedabase.net/bg/11/en) :

"Then, bewildered and astonished, his hair standing on end, Arjuna bowed his head to offer obeisances and with folded hands began to pray to the Supreme Lord."
... ...

Also you can pronounce the holy names of God whether in the form of mantras or independently. Recently I spoke about that here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...096#post115096

Reciting the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu is also a good prayer. It is called Vishnu sahasra nama, it is located in the Mahabharata and in some Puranas.
Japa is also an example of a good prayer.

You know, if you want to chat with God that you will be able to do only if you're in a very intimate relationship with Him or if you were with Him as Arjuna was, and Krishna talked with Arjuna what we read now as Bhagavad gita, or if you were a gopi (in this case you could even dance with the Lord ), or if you were Lord's parents Vasudeva and Devaki, etc.

Yes you can ask for guidance, seek a refuge and protection in the Lord, offer obeisances to Him, etc.
You know Hindu Dharma is more like meditation, recitation of the holy names and offering a prayer, performing rituals and service (more on this see in the Bhagavad gita and Puranas such as Bhagavatam), rather than chat with God.

regards

[ConfusedLearner]

Namaste


I saw some typical answers to your question that were offered by some members in this thread. Some members have said that we can talk to Lord or even make a conversation with Him. It almost sounds like to say that we can chat with the Lord.
Here I have to disagree with that. I have to disagree with that because nowhere in the scriptures we see no hint that reads something like this: "just talk to God" or "Chat with Him about anything that's on your mind".
What we see is actually something else. In fact I've already answered this question, see here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...243#post107243

You can turn to God by finding some verses in the Puranas and recite them in His glory in Sanskrit or your own language, ie English. I gave you one such example, it is a prayer offered by Lord Shiva to The Supreme Lord (see link above). So you can read this prayer aloud in English while thinking that you are addressing this prayer to the Lord. You can even do so to find a picture of the Lord (can be in the book), put that picture in front of you and utter a prayer (read it from the book). You can even do so with folded palms (it's a gesture of offering respect to the deity).
Another example is the prayer offered by Arjuna to Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad gita, verses 11.14 and forward (http://vedabase.net/bg/11/en) :

"Then, bewildered and astonished, his hair standing on end, Arjuna bowed his head to offer obeisances and with folded hands began to pray to the Supreme Lord."
... ...

Also you can pronounce the holy names of God whether in the form of mantras or independently. Recently I spoke about that here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...096#post115096

Reciting the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu is also a good prayer. It is called Vishnu sahasra nama, it is located in the Mahabharata and in some Puranas.
Japa is also an example of a good prayer.

You know, if you want to chat with God that you will be able to do only if you're in a very intimate relationship with Him or if you were with Him as Arjuna was, and Krishna talked with Arjuna what we read now as Bhagavad gita, or if you were a gopi (in this case you could even dance with the Lord ), or if you were Lord's parents Vasudeva and Devaki, etc.

Yes you can ask for guidance, seek a refuge and protection in the Lord, offer obeisances to Him, etc.
You know Hindu Dharma is more like meditation, recitation of the holy names and offering a prayer, performing rituals and service (more on this see in the Bhagavad gita and Puranas such as Bhagavatam), rather than chat with God.

regards

Thank you for this response. Although I must say, reading this pushes me away from Hinduism slightly. I do enjoy reading and reciting scriptures and mantras and engaging in deep meditation; but I cannot lie, I sometimes find it too prescriptive for my liking.

Sometimes I just want to bow my head and say "Thank you God for this day. Help me to think kind thoughts, speak kind words, and act in kind ways. Please guide me to see you in everyone and everything... etc."

And don't we all have a very intimate relationship with God? Whether we are novices or priests, for some reason I can't imagine God being offended by someone trying to pray to him in a spoken word "Hey God, thank you, I love you" type of way.

Just my thoughts. I'm interested to hear more and continue learning.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam CL:

It's always wise to remember that in Hinduism there are many schools of thought. When you ask questions, often you'll get several responses, and they may well be contradictory. So what to do?

Obviously you can't agree to all of them when they're contradictory. If you get lost in the new city and ask 3 people for directions to your destination, and get three versions, what to do?

You have to consider the sources, and whether or not it agrees with your preexisting notions. Same thing for 'choosing' a sect or sampradaya.

Best wishes in getting advice that agrees with you.

Aum Namasivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Thank you for this response. Although I must say, reading this pushes me away from Hinduism slightly. I do enjoy reading and reciting scriptures and mantras and engaging in deep meditation; but I cannot lie, I sometimes find it too prescriptive for my liking.

Sometimes you will receive 10 pounds of recommendations, but only have a 1 pound container to store it in. It then flows over. From my point of view it is best to just keep it simple. As you grow over time so will your container. Then you can add/subtract as you see fit.

And don't we all have a very intimate relationship with God?

How more intimate can it be when the Supreme is one's own SELF. Who says this ? Kṛṣṇa-jī in the bhāgavad gītā, chapter 6, 31st verse.

iti śivaṁ