When I am praying from the deepest part of my being, I feel as though my heart and God’s ear become one. I feel a soothing calmness that extends to my entire being.

New York, United States

I am so grateful to Gurumayi for teaching me early on in my sadhana about the power of prayer and how to pray.

When I was recently in Gurudev Siddha Peeth, I made it an early morning ritual to bring a prayer stick to the morning svadhyaya and after this practice, to sit quietly and allow a prayer to arise. I then wrote it on the prayer stick and offered it to the sacred fire.

Two prayers that arose a number of times were for the Siddha Yoga Vision Statement to be fulfilled, and for world leaders to experience their heart energy, to experience compassion so that they make their decisions from this place.

Now that I am back in my home city, I have found that following my daily practice of “booking darshan” has led to a powerful experience of prayer. It’s a feeling of a gentle and loving energy flowing out from my heart for the well-being of all beings and our beautiful Earth.

Canterbury, Australia

The power of prayer plays a very significant role in my life. Every morning after waking up, I pray to Gurumayi with gratitude for granting me peaceful sleep. I pray that her grace may guide me throughout the day to do all my duties and responsibilities not as work but as guruseva.

Mantra repetition is a very powerful tool that also helps me to pray to Gurumayi. The mantra helps me to be alert at all levels—mental, physical, and psychological—to what I should be doing and what I should not be doing. Whenever I am in a “Catch-22” situation or other dilemma, prayer to Gurumayi comes to my rescue, bringing me guidance and help. For me, Gurumayi is always in my heart, so praying to her is easy.

As the day ends, it’s time to thank Gurumayi for listening to my prayers and guiding me to do good deeds. Closing my eyes, I repeat the mantra and drift into the inner world.

That’s how prayers have been helping me in my sadhana, and my professional and personal life.

Lucknow, India

Prayer is what allows me to connect with my purpose, with my reason for being here, and with the highest vibration available in this world to move through it. Prayer is my gift from Gurumayi, my way of giving thanks, my way of loving God back.

New York, United States

I feel that the things I ask for from the heart—not from the mind or the ego—come to pass. Sometimes I’ll say a vague or very general prayer, and I feel I should reflect in my heart on what I truly want and formulate a more specific prayer. At other times, the “perfect” prayer appears in my mind.

When I’m connected to my heart, I feel that the shakti guides me in my prayers.

Barcelona, Spain

When I got to the paragraph that began talking about the power of prayer, I thought, “Yes!”—because prayer and its place in my sadhana have been front and center in my mind this whole year.

Very recently, I also had the experience of a prayer coming out in a way I hadn’t planned, just as Eesha described. I was in the Temple in Shree Muktananda Ashram standing before Bade Baba. When I got to the end of my prayer, the next thing I asked Bade Baba was “Please let me surrender.” It wasn’t anything close to what I thought I’d wanted—but it was exactly what I needed, and now I keep coming back to those words.

Wisconsin, United States

What a beautiful reminder: “Ask, and you shall receive.” This has been something I have experienced my whole life; especially when I am feeling longing for the Guru, I receive exactly what I need.

This is also something I’ve understood over the years: what we ask for may not be exactly what we get, but the Guru does answer all my prayers and I have always received exactly what I need (whether or not I know what that is at the time). This installment is also a beautiful reminder that Gurumayi is always with us, and ties in so beautifully with the story in “Booking Darshan.” The gentle reminder that Gurumayi hears the prayers of our hearts is such a wonderful way to renew the practice of daily prayer.

Michigan, United States

I remember hearing Gurumayi speak about the value of intention and, specifically, of offering the blessings of our practices before we engage in them, and also about how we naturally become a recipient of grace when we do so. I feel that bringing this intentionality to offering blessings fuels my efforts with greater vigor, clarity, and light.

When coming before the Guru or Bade Baba’s murti for darshan, I always have so many things I feel I wish to ask for. Yet inevitably, each time I come before the Guru, my eyes well up with tears, and all I can say is “Thank you for the priceless grace of being on this path.”

New Jersey, United States