Book Title: Harmony of All Religions
Author(s): Parmahans Maharaj, Veena Rani Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

Previous | Next

Page 344
________________ The Yajur Veda (chapter 20) presents an example of such a prayer: Oh God, even as we unknowingly commit various sins, day and night, please forgive these offenses and ill desires. You are omnipresent, like the pervasive wind. We have previously spoken about these practices of praising God and prayer in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christians refer to this practice as prayer, and Muslims call it ibadat. We see that in all theistic religions there is this great emphasis on prayer. Communion or Meditation Practice In the Santmat tradition, the practices of invocation and prayerglorification and supplication—are followed by communion through the practices of upasana, contemplation and meditation. The Sanskrit word upasana literally means “sitting near God.' The saints present upasana in four sub-categories. The four basic practices are Mānas japa, Mānas dhyāna, Dristi sadhana and Nadanusandhana. Mānas Japa The first of these practices Mānas japa, is the repetition of a Divine name, preferably the mantra given to the aspirant by the 335

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372