Praying with Confidence, Compassion, and Love

This Sunday talk was presented at Ananda Palo Alto.

The key in prayer is to realize that the power to pray correctly comes from God’s power. Begin with confidence that God does love us and wants to help us.

A more subtle thought is that God is the one who is praying. He exists everywhere and is the doer of everything. We are one with Him and yet there is a separateness. So pray as if you are demanding from one who is your own. Prayer can be answered if you pray with conviction, power, and love.

Sometimes we go through tests. Things cannot always be smooth. It helps us get strong. Right doors open, right opportunities come. Faith is needed, constantly repeating and feeling that, "I want only You, weak and riddled with faults as I may be."

Another discussion is a major test that Ananda endured for 12 years. Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) sued Ananda because SRF leadership felt that Ananda could not spread the teachings of the Master, because only they controlled them.

The answer to them was, "What right does anyone have over his teachings? The master controls the truth and, as his disciples of the same truth, we have no choice but to serve in our own way."

First, SRF sued over the copyright of the name. They claimed a monopoly over an expression which has long been around. It was found that a term like "Self-realization" cannot be copyrighted.

We had to stand up for ourselves. We offered numerous compromises for different terms, such as “God-realization.” But they looked for ways to suppress Ananda and destroy it. This was not a dharmic thing. Swami Kriyananda tried and tried again to talk to them, to be heard. We don’t have anything against them. But if they are determined to stop us, we have to stop them. Swamiji has to serve his Guru. That’s what he lived for.

So the fight is over now after 12 years. A new age, the Dwapara Yuga, is coming which is a change in human consciousness. One shining individual gives out more light than all who live selfishly. This is a world of drama. We are just playing our part.

A new era is descending, the power of God bringing the teaching into the world. His will is not always your will, though we have to work hard at wanting His will to be done.

As far as the case with SRF, Ananda has won every decision so far. We have to battle for what we believe in. Arjuna was sent in to fight for this reason - not to battle to hurt others but to defend what is right. Now Ananda can channel its energy into building itself.

Make your prayer practical. God is. It takes a lot of practicality to make this world. Bliss guides us.

This is a 2000 year old battle. Jesus' teachings have been crucified everyday. That is the battle we are fighting. A rigid church which wants things to be done as they command - institutionalism versus Self-realization. We're not against the institution itself.

Swamiji pleaded with SRF monks that this bitterness needs to end before he left this plane or it will multiply, which needn’t happen, because we are both children of the same Guru.

So even if Ananda wins the case in total, remember to be compassionate and take it within as God’s doing. And remember this: when you pray, do so with love.