Helplessness

 

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Helplessness

The feeling of helplessness is good because prayer arises out of this helplessness. And that helplessness helps one to drop one’s ego. When we feel we can do something in every situation then the ego never drops. It is only when we face such drastic situations where we feel totally helpless, completely impotent; we would like to do something, but we cannot do anything…it is simply impossible to do anything.

Just see the helplessness of man…..neither birth nor death are in our hands. Once we realise this, prayer arises. Prayer is a cry, a deep cry which comes from the depths of our helplessness. And prayer makes one religious, makes one come closer to oneself.

But man has created a façade of power. We try in many ways – our doctors, our medicine, our this and that, this is nothing but a power trip. It gives one the feeling that everything is in control – and nothing is in control. It is just a mask. It is not that only we feel helpless, in many instances the doctor too feels helpless but cannot show us his helplessness.

Science has created a pretension, and it has helped the human ego so that man feels less helpless; prayer by and by has disappeared. It is not necessary that one needs to know ‘how to pray.’ Helplessness – just feel the helplessness, then something will start rising within – bow down to earth or look up into the sky. Some words will start forming and the words when formed surprise us – because they are coming from the core of our being. It is at this time that we become like a small helpless child – and the plea coming from our helplessness becomes a genuine prayer. The helpless child calls for its mother or father, similarly we too call Paramatma for help.

Don’t be worried, as imagination takes over and we start visualizing various scenarios. Imagination is a faculty, and it is more potent than reason. Imagination is as real as anything else. It is more real than reason because it is more primal. Reason is just the latest arrival; it is just a child. Imagination is ancient – we share imagination with animals, with trees, with rocks. We don’t share reason with anybody, it is local – human.

Imagination is a pictorial depiction of one’s feelings, it is not verbal. It is as real, more real in fact, than the verbal mind – because it is more deep-rooted in our being than the verbal mind. The verbal mind is just a superficial layer.

With this imagination, portray a powerful prayer which comes from the depths of one’s heart, that is when we realise that the power of prayer which lies at the core of our being is the ultimate call which comes from complete, unconditional surrender.