From IIM Ahmedabad To Happiness

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp Printers

Page 95

THE LOGIC OF PRAYER
Calcutta in 1899, it was Sister Nivedita and her team, among few other social workers, who impressed upon the Bengali youth that the first lesson in fighting the disease was not superstition and helplessness but proper sanitation.
World over, an estimated 300 million people died from smallpox in the 20th century alone. Most people in India believed that smallpox was the result of the wrath of a Mātā or Devi (Goddess), and the only way to get cured was her worship coupled with all sorts of superstitious rituals to be performed by shamans - ojhās and tantriks - purported to possess powers to drive away evil spirits. The cause of this virulent disease, however, was a virus, called 'speckled monster' by Edward Jenner, the scientist who invented (1796) the method for vaccination against it. Global eradication of smallpox was achieved much later, in the 1970s, through mass vaccination drives.
The truth of the matter is that the most essential part of devotion to God is the 'doing' or 'keeping' of His teachings, to follow His footsteps.
"Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say."
- Luke, vi. 46
"Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
- Matthew, vii. 21
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The reason of His worship, therefore, is that He is our true guide and His word is the final authority in case of doubt and dispute. He is the living example to guide us in the right way to cross the 'thorny path'; it is almost impossible to tread the path without His practical instructions and guidance.
We keep the images of our Gods in our hearts and temples to