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Prayer (Sanskrit:प्रार्थना,romanized: prārthanā) is considered to be an integral part of theHindu religion; it is practiced during Hindu worship (puja) and is an expression of devotion (Bhakti). The chanting ofmantras is the most popular form of worship in Hinduism. TheVedas are liturgical texts (mantras and hymns). Stuti is an umbrella term for religious literary creations, but it literally means "praise."
The Hindu devotional Bhakti traditions place a focus on repetitive prayer, known as japa. Prayer is centred on the personal forms of gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu's avatars, most notablyRama andKrishna,Shiva, or Shiva's sons such asKartikeya andGanesha, as well asMahadevi, the supreme goddess, and her forms, such asLakshmi orKali.
The human aspire to the highest truth, the underlying monism ofHinduism, pertaining ultimately to the oneBrahman, began before the ritual process, before the invocation of diverse deities for the fulfilment of varied needs. TheGayatri Mantra was part of all Vedic ceremonies and is still invoked in Hindu temples all over India and other countries around the world today, exemplifying its essence.
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Described in theBhagavad Gita,bhakti yoga is the path of love and devotion. Onbhakti yoga:
".... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... of those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter."
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12, Verses 6-8
It is essentially the process of enlightenment found through worship of the Devas (or Devi, the feminine form of Deva), in whatever form one envisions. Prayer is achieved throughpuja (worship) done either at the family shrine or a local temple. We can see from Krishna's injunction that prayer is fundamental to Hinduism, that to dwell constantly on the Divine is key to enlightenment. Prayer repetition (through mantras) usingmalas (Hindu prayer beads) are a strong part of Hinduism.
The devotionalistBhakti movement originates inSouth India in the Early Middle Ages, and by the Late Middle Ages spread throughout the subcontinent, giving rise toSant Mat andGaudiya Vaishnavism.[citation needed]
The Gayatri mantra is Hinduism's most representative prayer. ManyHindus recite it on a daily basis, not only contemplating its straightforward meaning, but also dwelling on and imbibing its sound, regarded to be pregnant with spiritual meaning. For this reason nearly all Hindu prayers and mantras are sung. The Gayatri mantra was first recorded in theRigveda[a] which was composed inSanskrit about 2500 to 3500 years ago, and by some reports, the mantra may have been chanted for many generations before that.[1]
— Rigveda 3.62.10[2] |
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Mahatma Gandhi stated that:
"Prayer is the very soul and essence of religion, and therefore prayer must be the very core of the life of man."[3]
