Editorial
Prayer
All of Sri Ramakrishna’s life was spent in intense prayer. He taught the world how to pray intensely. He not only prayed but also became prayer.
Whatever Sri Ramakrishna did, he did that with absolute intensity. How intense? When we are sleepy, we just jump on the bed. We leave our entire personality to the bed without worry. We never even for a moment think what will happen to us, whether the bed will break, whether we shall fall down. We completely give ourselves to the bed and sleep. We don’t do the same when it comes to doing something. Suppose someone asks us to take to the spiritual path, or to achieving something. We think of our bank balance, our own safety, our family members, our future and so on. When we give ourselves to something, we do that with great hesitation. But Sri Ramakrishna was different.
When someone would suggest some path of spirituality, Sri Ramakrishna would go into that path without worry about future, or of what would happen to him, what would be the results, etc. This complete, total dedication and complete giving to something is becoming the path. The difference the worshiper, the path, and the Worshiped fades away and the three become one. In Sri Ramakrishna’s language, Bhagavata, Bhakta and Bhagavan [the scripture, the devotee and the Divine] all become one.
When such million percent dedication is seen, the inevitable next step is the fruit. Sri Ramakrishna himself said many times that intense aspiration is like the rosy dawn and the sun follows. This form of becoming prayer, becoming meditation, becoming the seeking, is important in every field. Half-hearted struggle will not do.
According to our elders and spiritual masters, we fail because of our half-hearted efforts. When we complain that we failed, or that we could not succeed, the reason could be that we were not sincere in our efforts.
So with prayer. Intense prayer, becoming prayer, the whole personality transforming itself into prayer is the way. The more we can become this, the quicker the result. This is what Sri Ramakrishna teaches us.
May Sri Ramakrishna’s grace be on all of us.
Swami Sunirmalananda