Mystic Mantra: Cleanse the heart & mind - Enter a prayerful space

Osho devised a number of meditation techniques — both active and passive — keeping the modern man in mind. But what fascinated me most is a unique type of meditation called prayer meditation. To me, these two words — prayer and meditation — sound contradictory. As most of us know, our prayers that we did in the past, taught by our elders, were addressed to some God-figure. We were made to imagine or visualise this figure and chant some sweet words and bow down to it. This figure could be of Ram, Krishna, Buddha, Shiva, Ganesh, Hanuman, or one of the many Goddesses — Kali, Durga, Saraswati and others. We have been conditioned to sing prayers to such God-figures at home or at the temples dedicated to them.

It is an interesting fact that we often pray when we want something from our Gods and Goddesses. We may be in some kind of need, and we ask for God’s help in the form of a prayer. Then we wait for this prayer to be heard. Sometimes it gets heard and we assume that God has done something for us. Such prayers are not really pure prayers that make us feel really divine.

In my experience, when our mind is not imagining anything — it is free from the past and the future and we are empty — the prayer may happen out of sheer joy. It may not be verbal even, it may not be addressed to any God of our choice — and still we may be in a prayerful space. The cool breeze caressing us, the starry night stirring our heart, the gentle sunrise, the vast ocean, the bird on its wings singing its song in the open sky, the snow-clad mountains — any such thing could trigger a space of prayerfulness in our heart and we may find ourselves bowing down to existence itself.

Osho suggests that we go through a deep cleansing of our mind and heart. A natural prayer becomes a possibility in that purity of space. It is best done at night in a darkened room, going to sleep immediately afterward or it can be done in the morning, but it must be followed by 15 minutes of rest, otherwise, you would feel as if you are drunk, in a stupor. This merging with energy is prayer. It changes you and when you change the whole of existence changes.

First stage: Raise both your hands towards the sky, palms uppermost, head up, just feeling existence flowing in you. As the energy flows down your arms, you will feel a gentle tremor — be like a leaf in the breeze, trembling. Allow it and let it happen. Then let your whole body vibrate with energy and just let whatever happens, happen.

Second stage: After two or three minutes, or whenever you feel completely filled, lean down to the earth and kiss it. You simply become a vehicle to allow the divine energy to unite with that of the earth.

It is best to do it at least seven times or more and settle into a prayerful space.