Prayer

In the next few days, Mirti found out quite a bit about himself: He was good at wielding weapons but despised it; he loved his horse even though he was having difficulties; he enjoyed religious studies but found meditating at will a bother; the history of the land and analyzing the prophesy..those he found himself neutral to; the library was his favorite room in the entire building and he looked forward to spending his free hour talking to Rosamond in whom he was finding the best of friends.

Mirti awoke to a glorious sun-filled morning and properly grateful too for today was his free day. He dressed with care and proceeded down the hallway to visit Rosamond. Her door was ajar, which moved him to quietly peek in. She knelt near the window, hands clasped gently in prayer. Her lips moved in some ardent entreaty to her God. He was moved in an alien manner to see her thus. Why he knew not but he retreated respectfully.

Disturbed, Mirti walked to the room of Sage Dharma and knocked on the door. “ Come in, my Son” said the latter. Mirti bowed. “What is it that troubles You? Your countenance is that of a man whose entire family has expired on the same day..”  “You see, O Wise One, I walked in on Rosamond praying..” The sage nodded politely and gestured with his hand for Mirti to go on. “I have ne’er prayed. That is, except for in the village school. Our studies together have dealt only a little with the subject of prayer. I fear if I am not committing a great sin by not praying. You see, I have not taken the trouble to learn because of something that occurred in my family. I felt forsaken by all manner of gods. I fear that I have greatly blackened my soul. Have I? Have I merited eternal anger from the gods upon me?  Is it too late?” The sage smiled as if amused.

“Tell me, my Son, what is prayer?”

“ What?” “What is prayer? Define it for me in Your own words.”

“Prayer is a ritual to gain favor from the gods.”  “ I expected something more subtle from You. Define prayer for me. This time in Your own words. “ “I do not know what it is, otherwise, sire.” “Come now..” said the sage not ungently “ You need not fear that I will laugh at You. Think a bit more abstractly. Then say what comes to mind.”  “Prayer is alike to a poetic conversation with the god of Your choosing.” “That is slightly better. I suppose that I will have to accept it, but allow me to comment on what You have just told me.”

“That is what I have come for, sire.”

“You are not the first nor the last to believe that the gods or God has forsaken You. It seems to be a common human weakness…the one God that is of True consequence Loves  All equally, man or woman, sinner or saint..the tribulations that we face are part of the human experience. They are meant to teach, not to punish. If we encounter things that seem to be punishment, they are generally of our own making. Subject to human emotions, desires..we forget to Trust in God. You see, my Son, if You truly examine everything and dissect it to the bare bones, You will find that nothing here matters. That is not to say that it is not important to what Is Now..but in the grand scheme of things..If You surrender Yourself to God, what can bring You joy or dismay? There is nothing then but Him who resides in You and You who reside in Him.

You ask me if You have merited eternal anger? Anger, my Son, is a short-lived fuse and God is not concerned with such things. He will love You no matter how many times You falter, no matter how many times You turn from Him..eventually, He knows that You will get it right. It may take 10 days, 10 years, 10 centuries, or 10 ages of the world but You will one day learn to perfection.

As for prayer..is not every breath that You take a silent testament to His majesty and benevolence? Is not every spark of Love that You feel, mimicry of His for You? Is not every kindness to a fellow creature, kindness to Him from whom it all came? You do not need to pray, Mirti, in order to be a man of God. You could be good because of common sense or principle and lack religion. And still would You come to the same end that the man who is a man of God through religion and devotion does. That being said, prayer is like the tuning of Your soul. Think of Your soul as of an instrument that needs to be retouched and tuned every once in a while so that its music is melodic and not screechy. It is a chance to draw closer to Your Maker on a personal level and to be filled with inspiration to continue on cheerfully in this existence.  I would say that it is a greater sin to pray for the sake of praying than to not pray at all. Prayer should be something that floods from the depths of Your being, that compels You to express it..it ought to come out of the deepest of feelings otherwise it is without point. It is like doing something that Your elders prescribe for fear of punishment rather than because of the sheer joy You find in that engagement. It is not my belief that God wants that. He wants You to come to Him because You want to come. Not because You think that You must or that it is proper or that You will be punished or cursed if You do not.

Therefore, my Son, do not worry if You find Yourself not needing to pray. Lead Your Life in a way that You feel would please God. In such a way that You are aware that You have tried to subdue distractions. That in itself is one of the greatest prayers. Think of Life as one, gigantic prayer, if You find Yourself guilt ridden. But if You would like to pray, then do not feel awkward about it. Speak Your thoughts to the Lord, You need not come up with fancy ritualistic prayers. Have I dispelled Your worry,Mirti?”

“ Yes, O Wise One, and have given me much to ponder. I will leave You now” said he with a bow. The sage smiled and said “Enjoy Your day of rest.” “ Thank You, sire, I wish You likewise” Mirti responded and walked towards the Gardens of Lufituaeb.