Thought 132: Prayer is an excellent method of relieving stress

All religions recognize that prayer is an excellent form of worship. All of us pray at some time or the other; you very rarely find a human beng who does not pray at some time or the other. Even atheists pray when placed in highly traumatic circumstances – such as advanced stages of cancer; they try to make their peace with their maker when they realize that they are about to depart on their final journey.

Prayer is an excellent method of relieving stress. It relieves anxiety and tension, by unburdening the mind and establishing direct emotional communion with the God. Every prayer emanates from the heart – it is an outpouring of the heart. The hearts of devotees cry out in prayer – especially in highly stressful circumstances, like Gajendra or Draupadi. Because the prayer is a spontaneous outpouring of the heart, it has no standard format. The prayer is only as efficacious as your sincerety, faith in god and devotion.

A prayer is a private conversation between you and your creator. A prayer is a recognition of your helplessness in this world of mortals – and also a recognition that there are higher powers ruling over the destinies of mortals. Unless you believe in God, you do not pray; prayer presupposes some amount of faith in God. While praying, you become sincere and humble - which is your immediate reward.

In prayer, you plug into your God and seek relief; you supplicate yourself to God. You petition the God for granting you some thing which you desire immediately. A soul under torment, longing for His help, conceives Him capable of granting this prayer. You have faith that He will provide the relief - from whatever is troubling you. You can, of course, ask for calmness, peace and tranquility, although, people normally do not seek these things from God. Your faith makes you believe that your prayer will be granted - and this belief itself is therapeutic. Prayer purifies your mind; it has a cleansing effect - which is very supportive, when you are under tension.

The next thought is about “Transcendental Meditation”