The Hindu : Efficacy of prayer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Efficacy of prayer

CHENNAI, FEB. 19 . On occasions some people wonder aloud at various deities as mentioned in scriptures. Who is the greater one among them is a question, which is then raised. Seasoned devotees are rarely given over to such doubts and confusions. Though the Cauvery, or the Tamiraparani or the Ganges is held to be the most sanctified by a person, water in all rivers is the same. Similarly the philosophy of God realisation is at the root of the pantheon of deities mentioned in scriptures. The Supreme Being may be worshipped by any other name — particularisation is done with the aim of helping a person focus his faculties on the image he chooses to worship.

In his discourse, Sri B. Damodara Dikshithar said that prayer is an irrefutable part of one's life. As per the Vedas, prayers are a source of intrinsic satisfaction to human beings. The sanctified verses contain three-fold benefit — they pay tributes to the deities for their attributes, they encapsulate the divine sports of the Lord while the addendum "Namaha" offers immeasurable gains to a devotee. Upanishads state that when a devotee chants the last with fervour, he attains that which he aspires for. Rudra Nayanar, one of the 63 Saivite saints, chanted the Sri Rudram from the day of his initiation and attained salvation purely on that score. Puranic lore states that when Sri Krishna, as a much-married man found Himself issueless, He and Sathyabhama observed the austerities which included fasting and offering prayers. Soon one of His wives, Jambavati bore Him a son, Samba Parameswara.

How does one know that prayers are pleasing to God? The answer is to be found in the Periya Puranam. Sundaramurthi Nayanar was preparing to be joined in holy matrimony when he was accosted by an old man who claimed the groom and his progeny as his slave. An incensed Nayanar demanded proof and the issue was settled by the panchayat. However there was many a doubter that day among the denizens and when the old man was asked to show his residence he disappeared after entering the temple at Thiruvennainallur and appeared with His Consort. The chastened devotee realised that God has intervened in order to free him from worldly attachments. When he sought the Lord's guidance to offer prayer, He asked him to address Him as "Madman" as he did at the beginning of their encounter. "Madman, He who is wearing the crescent, Lord of everything, ... . I am Yours", sang the saint, a prayer that is dear to His devotees.

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