What's in a prayer

What you call a prayer is but begging. 'Don't pester the universe with your begging. Be thankful for all that has been bestowed upon you. Just ask for more opportunities to be grateful to the universe.' Persian mystic Hakim Sanai's invaluable advice should be followed by all. When you don't ask for anything, you're sure to get something. A prayer is not an entreaty. Nor is it an imploration. A prayer is a wordless communication with the cosmos. It's a silent commune with your own self. Life itself is a prayer if you think that it's a contemplative journey.

A true prayer connects you with your inner Self. It's a meditative process, not a ritualistic time-bound action to please someone. This very thought that a prayer is to placate a draconian 'Supreme Being' far away in the firmament is primitive. A seeker prays not to please anyone or to get something in return. He prays to acknowledge his own presence and existence in the vastness of universe. The famous dictum of Rene Descartes, Cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore, I'm, is actually a gesture of gratitude towards the universe for all existence - individual, collective and all- encompassing.

Be thankful for the very existence that you've got because your existence is the essence of a prayer. Let your whole existence become a prayer. Remember, a prayer is not the relegation of self or abnegation of ego. Both are symbols of existence. So, there's no need trying to get rid of the self and ego. Sublimate them to that level: Khuda khud tujh se poochhe bata teri raza kya hai - God himself should ask, what's your wish, according to Allama Iqbal.