The most common method of prayer is to fold one’s hands and close one’s eyes. Universally, this is accepted as an act of prayer. But is it all-inclusive of what prayer is about? There are numerous ways people pray and it is interesting to understand why people pray the way they do.
We understand that people go to a Power we call God to solve their problems or to grant them a wish. Not only are there various reasons why people pray and numerous Gods to whom prayers are offered, the methods of prayer too are complicated and exhaustive. One wonders whether it is necessary to have such complex prayers to reach out to the Divine.
Prayers are a creation of religion. By himself, man can’t do more than fold his hands and talk to God. That is the simplest way to communicate. But religions have complicated the very essence of prayer. To start, there are so many religions and each religion advocates that we must go to its respective institution to pray. Today, the world has got innumerable temples, churches, mosques, monasteries, and the like where people go to pray. These religious institutions constitute different methods of prayer. For instance, in Hindu temples, people can go and perform hundreds of poojas. There are poojas to overcome problems, for a birth ceremony and for a death ceremony. People perform poojas or pray for every imaginable reason. A special pooja is performed on New Year’s Day and complex poojas are performed for each of the Hindu festivals. There are dozens of such festivals and so a Hindu can be kept busy performing prayers all through his life, although most of the time, he doesn’t understand anything about the prayers he performs. Hindus recite the names of their Gods a hundred times, break coconuts, offer water and milk to their deities during abhishek, sing bhajans or spiritual hymns and most likely, end the ritual with the aarti. There are many different types of poojas which include the Navagrah pooja which is a Vedic pooja for the nine planets and all Nakshatras or constellations. If a planet is not well placed in one’s astronomical birth chart, its Shanti pooja removes or reduces the negative effects and gives better results. While entering a new house, Navagrahahanti and Vastushanti Homam is performed to remove Vastu dosha or malign influences that might be present in the house. There are poojas for health-related needs like Rudrabhishekam, Mritunjaya Homam, and also poojas related to birth, death, and marriage ceremonies. People even go to the temples to do a pooja for a new car they just purchased.
Christians have their own way to pray. Normally, they go to a church on Sunday and make group prayers along with their congregation. Some of the noteworthy prayers amongst Christians are Adoration – praising God for his greatness and accepting complete dependence on him. There is another method of prayer called Confession which means owning up to sin and asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Many other Christians worship God purely for thanksgiving, for His blessings. Some pray in petition asking and seeking something from God, be it healing from a disease or simple courage and faith to face a challenge or even wisdom to make the right choices in life. Some Christians say a prayer of intercession in which they ask God to help others who are in need, be it the sick, the poor or those who are suffering. Christians also meditate and contemplate the higher spiritual love of God. They use different methods to pray. While some just recite a prayer, others use a rosary to meditate. Often, Christians light candles so that the Holy Spirit can supposedly enter their heart. Since there are many denominations in Christianity, the list of how Christians pray is endless. While most of them believe Sunday to be the day of God, there are some like the Seventh Day Adventists who believe that day to be Saturday.
The followers of Islam believe that their prayers are directly addressed to God. They pray in complete submission to Allah, although there are Muslim priests known as Imam who lead the prayers in congregation. Some sections of Muslims refer to this prayer as Salat which is performed 5 times each day. The first prayer is before dawn or sunrise. The second prayer is at mid-day. The third prayer is later in the afternoon, the fourth, just after sunset and the fifth between sunset and midnight. While Muslims prefer to pray in the mosque, they can pray anywhere, but they believe it is good to pray with others in a congregation. Before they pray, they have a ritual of cleansing, without which they do not pray. Even their prayers have specific movements which ultimately lead them to get down on their knees and touch their head to the ground in complete subjugation to the Almighty.
The Muslims have many festivals during which they devoutly pray. The most popular amongst them is Ramadan, also known as Ramzan. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast for the entire month. Each day of fasting makes them constantly remember God and pray. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God and during it, Muslims express their gratitude to Allah. They pray to seek forgiveness for their past sins, develop self- control and restraint, and help the needy.
What are the practices followed by the Jews when it comes to Prayer? They are expected to pray 3 times a day, referring to the Jewish prayer book – Siddur. Prayers are for thanksgiving, for praising their Lord, and for seeking help. The Jews are guided by the Jewish priests known as Rabbis and believe that God will respond to their prayer. They recite their prayers aloud in a synagogue along with a group as per their prayer book. In some Jewish communities, ecstatic clapping, dancing, and swaying can be part of the prayer service. Men traditionally wear a prayer shawl while women keep their heads covered as they pray silently in the presence of men.
What about the Buddhists? How do they pray? Today there are many divisions and subdivisions in Buddhism and all their prayers may not be the same. However, the Buddhists do not recognize a God that grants wishes. Buddhism strongly advocates that what we experience in life is a result of our own actions. Therefore, they pray to develop virtue and to create one’s own happiness. Prayer leads one to nirvana or enlightenment and focuses more on meditation and silence. Many Buddhists these days, use chanting as a popular method of prayer. Some Buddhists pray to become Bodhisattvas, those who attain knowledge but don’t attain the state of nirvana so they can help others spiritually evolve. They light incense sticks, pray to several statues of the Buddha or other Buddhist saints, prostrating or bowing with humility and reverence. Sometimes, they use prayer beads to repeat a mantra or spiritual chant. When one visits a Buddhist monastery, one may see people spinning a prayer wheel while performing prayers. However, since Buddhism has spread all over the world, the way they pray vastly differs from one sect to another.
Apart from Hinduism and Buddhism, another ancient religion of India is Jainism. The Jains worship the images of Tirthankaras – people who have achieved perfection in their ideals. Through prayer, they aspire for detachment and to develop virtue. Jain prayers are to break the barriers of worldly desire and to achieve liberation of the Soul. Jains believe that prayers will fail if they are greedy and selfish and if their prayers seek material benefits. The Jains pray that their actions are devout and spiritual due to their strong belief in the concept of Karma.
In India, a popular religious community is the Sikhs. Sikhism advocates one God in an abstract form to whom they pray by repeating the name, ‘Wahe Guru.’ The Sikh prayers make them aspire to be conscious of God every moment. The entire religion is based on the concept of the importance of Gurmat – the Guru’s word. Through their prayers, they aspire for self-realization. They believe God resides everywhere in His creation. The place of worship for the Sikhs is Gurdwara and the Guru’s teachings are in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh theology encourages praying in Sadh Sangat, the company of a holy congregation. Their prayers are a combination of singing, recitation from the scriptures, meditation, and service. In many Eastern cultures, men and women sit separately when they pray. Prayers end with Ardaas – an invocation to God that seeks universal blessings for mankind. One unique feature in Sikh prayer is that they cook and serve food for one and all present in the Gurdwara in a ritual known as Langar.
The Zoroastrians, belonging to one of the world’s oldest religions, pray several times in a day often wearing a Kusti to remind them of their core belief – good words, good thoughts, good deeds. Through their prayers that are offered facing the sun, fire or source of light to their supreme God, Ahura Mazda, they invoke His blessings. The prayers are focused to defeat the evil – the Angra Mainyu. The prayers make fire as the supreme symbol of purity, which is seen in their temples and is never extinguished. Many of them follow the ritual of praying in the 5 divisions of the day with special recitals for each prayer.
Shinto worship in Japan is highly ritualistic and follows strict protocols, be it at home or in the shrines. At home, they have a special place, Kami Dana, where they make offerings of flowers or food as they pray with amulets, which they believe will bring good luck. They visit shrines on festivals and different shrines have different deities or Kami. The Shinto’s pray to Ebisu, the God of commerce for success and Tenjin, for passing examinations. All Shinto ceremonies have strong aesthetic elements with props, sounds, and dresses of the priest that intend to please their Kami. They are very particular in following a specific pattern in a sequence, like ringing the bell, bowing twice before clapping their hands twice, and then after a moment of silence, bowing again. They even write prayers for their God on wooden plaques or buy Omkuji at their Shinto Shrines which has their fortune written on it. Such is the way they pray.
In and around China where Taoism was followed over 2,500 years ago, people’s prayers are often to do with meditation. It is all about being in sync with the Tao, praying inward for peace. The Taoist try to accept and master circumstances through prayer, rather than fighting them, making their prayer a prayer for harmony quite different from others. Some pray making both hands balled into fists in the Ying Yang symbol. Others use incense sticks that are offered at the altar, symbolizing a sacrifice to their ancestors and Gods.
Paganism was originally a derogatory term for polytheism, broadly meaning the ‘religion of the peasantry’. During and after the Middle Ages, the term paganism was applied to any unfamiliar religion, and the term presumed a belief in false deities. The recognition of the Divine in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. Pagans are deeply aware of the natural world and see the power of the Divine in the ongoing cycle of life and death. Pagans worship the Divine in many different forms, through feminine as well as masculine imagery and also as without gender. Paganism is not based on any doctrine. Pagan rituals aim at making contact with