- Prayer in Hinduism
Prayer or worship is considered to be an integral part of the Hindu way of living. The chanting of "
mantras " is the most popular form of worship in Hinduism.Yoga andmeditation are also considered as a form of devotional service towards the Lord.The
Veda s are a collection ofliturgy (mantra s,hymn s)The Hindu devotional
Bhakti movement s emphasizes repetitive prayer. Stemming from the universal Soul or "Brahman ", prayer is focused on the personal forms of God, suchShiva ,Vishnu , orVishnu 'savatars ,Rama andKrishna .Before the process of ritual, before the invoking of different deities for the fulfillment of various needs, came the human aspiration to the highest truth, the foundational
monism of Hinduism, pertaining ultimately to the oneBrahman . Brahman, which summarily can be called the unknowable, true, infinite and blissful Divine Ground, is the source and being of all existence from which the cosmos springs. This is the essence of the Vedic system. The following prayer was part and parcel of all the Vedic ceremonies and continues to be invoked even today in Hindu temples all over India and other countries around the world, and exemplifies this essence:Mantras
Mantras popular in contemporary Hinduism:
Lead me from ignorance to truth
*main|Asato ma sad gamaya
असतो मा सद्गमयतमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमयमृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमयॐ शांति शांति शांति Which transliterates to:
Asato Ma Sat GamayaTamaso Ma Jyotir GamayaMrityor Ma Amritam GamayaOm Shanti Shanti Shanti. translation:
Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,Lead Us From Darkness To Light,Lead Us From Death To Immortality, Aum (the universal sound of God)Let There Be Peace Peace Peace.-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.Gayatri Mantra
The "Gayatri" mantra is Hinduism's most representative prayer. Hindus recite it on a daily basis, not only contemplating its straightforward meaning, but also dwelling on and imbibing its sound, regarded to be pregnant with spiritual meaning. For this reason nearly all Hindu prayers and mantras are sung. The Gayatri was first recorded in the Rig Veda (iii, 62, 10) which was written in
Sanskrit about 2500 to 3500 years ago, and by some reports, the mantra may have been chanted for many generations before that. Having prayed for enlightenment and peace through unity with God, the transcendental and final goal of the Hindu religion, the Vedas proceed to lavish all sorts of encomia and praise of Brahman's many aspects, typified by forms of God that stem from one source.Aum
Hindus believe that "
Aum " is the enigmatic, universal, divine sound. It is said to represent everything from the three (and ultimate fourth transcending) states of consciousness to the Trinity of Hinduism. It is analogous to the concept of the "word of God," but seems to transcend it by maintaining that everything emanates from "Aum", exists in "Aum", and ends in "Aum". It is known as the pranava or rootmantra of Hinduism. Included in all prayers, from the Vedas and onwards, regardless of the nature of the prayer, it is the ultimate self-contained prayer for the Hindu mind. Many sages of the Hindu tradition claimed (and still do) that if nothing else, the love of God could pray through that one sound alone. The Upanishads define it in depth, and one such definition is as follows. The Vedas also state that monosyllable "Aum" was the first sound ever produced in the Universe after Creation.Bhakti Yoga
Described in the "
Bhagavad Gita " "Bhakti Yoga" is the path of love and devotion. On "Bhakti Yoga":".... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... of those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter." (B.G., Chapter 12, Verses 6-8).
It is essentially the process of enlightenment found through worship of God, in whatever form one envisions. Prayer is achieved through
puja (worship) done either at the family shrine or a local temple. We can see from Krishna's injunction that prayer is fundamental to Hinduism, that to dwell constantly on God is key to enlightenment. Prayer repetition (through mantras) using "maalaas" (Hindu prayer beads) are a strong part of Hinduism.The devotionalist
Bhakti movement originates inSouth India in the Early Middle Ages, and by the Late Middle Ages spread throughout the subcontinent, giving rise toSant Mat andGaudiya Vaishnavism . Stemming from the highest Creator God called Brahman, prayer is focused on His many manifestations, including primarilyShiva andVishnu . Some other extremely popular deities areKrishna andRama (in Vaishna devotionalism seen as incarnations of Vishnu), MaKali (Mother Kali, the feminine deity, or Mother Goddess, aka Durga, Parvati, Shakti, etc.) andGanesha (the famous elephant-headed God of wisdom). It is epitomised by the devotion of the monkey GodHanuman for his Lord Rama. Another major form of prayer for Hindus involves a heavy focus on meditation, through Hinduyoga that stills the mind in order to focus on God.ee also
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Puja
*Bhajan
*Yajna
*Yoga External links
* [http://www.omkarananda-ashram.org/Publications/how_to_pray.htm How to Pray] by
Swami Omkarananda
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