WITHDRAWAL OF THE MIND THROUGH PRAYER

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

84. WITHDRAWAL OF THE MIND THROUGH PRAYER
That the mind is not inclined to go towards God, for it is ever drawn out and made to move
towards objects—things, names and forms, experiences, contacts, sensations, persons,
encounters—is a well known fact. That is the svabhava, the inherent nature, of the mind principle,
the mind stuff.
It is precisely because of this reason—that the mind is inclined to objectivity, to externality
towards this world outside us, to always think in terms of passing, perishable petty objects—that
our ancients said that you must keep on trying to change the nature of the mind, withdraw it, take it
away, turn it away from its wanton movement towards appearances, and propel it towards the
Divine.
The very necessity of this exercise is due to this inherent nature of the mind to move towards
externals. Unless and until we engage in an exercise to counter it, to gradually educate it and wean it
away from its svabhava, it is not going to change its inherent nature on any account. This is clear.
If we have never been told that this is part of self-culture—part of the art and science of
managing ourselves, part and parcel of the training which each individual human being must
undertake and undergo in order to thus equip oneself with a mind that has been trained, disciplined,
chastened, controlled and given a certain direction—how can we expect peace? Until and unless we
have been told and we have engaged in this exercise, how can we expect happiness? How can we
expect concentration, a calm mind, a serene interior when that which has to be done has not been
done?
We all want peace, happiness, light, wisdom, illumination, liberation, serenity, calmness,
but we do not consciously undertake the necessary skillful abhyasa, the discipline that is necessary.
Just as the body is a force manifest in the form of hands, feet, limbs, joints, muscles, which unless
they are exercised in a desirable way will not be under our control, so too the mind is a force, it is a
power that requires to be disciplined.
In a general way, a blanket term for this discipline, for this exercise, is yoga. That is to be
known as yoga which brings to an end the human being’s mental association with pain, with all that
is a source of sorrow. To bring to an end—a dissociation with, a cessation of—all that is a cause of
human misery, is yoga.
It is to this end that our ancients have told us that if you want to stop this tendency, this
inherent nature of the mind to associate itself, by habit, with all that signifies sorrow and grief, the
one and only way is to start connecting and associating it with all that stands for joy, bliss and
felicity. Those who have gone before us, who have experienced this bliss principle, reiterated that
the only way to go beyond sorrow is to associate ourselves with this bliss principle.
For thousands of years our forefathers have been telling us that the only method of
removing darkness is to bring in light. Even so, the only way to bring an end to the inherent nature of
the mind to associate itself with the prolific sources of sorrow is to change its natural tendencies and
initiate its association with that which is all joy, all bliss.

This is called yoga. This is called spiritual practice. This is called the training of the mind,
the disciplining of the mind. This is the only way. By itself the mind will not change its tendency.
We have to initiate it; we have to establish it. And, Lord Krishna admits that it is only possible
gradually. It cannot be done abruptly.
And, one of the ways of connecting ourselves with all that is joyful, all that is blissful, is
prayer. Among many other ways—which includes japa, remembrance, meditation, thinking, atma
chintana, bhagavat chintana—prayer constitutes an effective way of linking ourselves with the
Divine through mind and heart. Prayer does not bring to bear logic or reason. It is trying to move
towards God through the feelings of your innermost vital being and through the force of mind, of
thought.
What is the inner anatomy of the power of prayer? Simply, that it is a contact with the
Supreme, which is the essence of this process of gradually training the mind to transform itself, to
change its nature. Prayer, in essence, is a process of contacting Divinity and remaining in contact
with Divinity. It is this fact that explains the power of prayer, the efficacy of prayer. It constitutes
this contact with Divinity which is the one way of ending our constant contact with that which
represents grief.
St. Francis of Assisi, in one of his many prayers, taught his brother monks that the one thing
we should ask of the Lord is that He may grant us the favour of keeping us always in remembrance
of Him, that He might grant us the mercy that we never forget Him and turn towards anything else
even for a split second.
The illumined guru of Sivaji, Samartha Ramdas, taught him to pray thus: “Sada sarvada
yoga tuja gadhava. Tuja karani deha maja padava. Upeksho nako sunvanta ananta. Raghunayaka
mangane hechi atha. O Lord, grant that I may at all times, always be in a state of oneness, of yoga,
with You. May all the activities of my life—mental, verbal, physical—be processes of totally
wearing myself out for You until the very end. O Lord, Thou art the storehouse of all grace, all
mercy, all goodness, all kindness, all compassion. Do not be indifferent to this plea of mine. Lord of
my heart, Lord of my life, this is the one and only thing I ask of You.”
Therefore, ask one thing of God: “O Lord, grant that I may never forget to be fully aware
that I live, move and have my being in You. Bless me that I may always be aware and awake to this
truth, to this central fact of my life. May I be fully attentive to and totally focussed on this truth. May
every breath that I breathe be in the light of this truth. For You only I exist, for You only I shall live,
for You only I shall act, for You only I shall offer my entire life and its activities.” May we thus,
through the prayer of our heart and mind, be in continuous contact with God, in continuous yoga!