June 25, 2023
The mind is impotent, irrelevant. It is only when this truth is realized that life becomes meaningful, otherwise there is no meaning in life. This is one error we commit. Another error is when we make ritual an end in itself. Chanting, ritual and all this is marvelous, but when we keep on doing them meaninglessly and senselessly, they are useless and a waste of time, effort and life. We think that this puja I am conducting itself is going to save us. It will not save you. Nothing will save you.
We should pray to God for only one factor in our lives and that is the enigmatic and almost impossible problem we are faced with: "What is this 'mineness' and how do I deal with it?" Something tells me it is not true, and yet life tells me it is very true. From moment to moment my life and peace of mind are destroyed by this. Other things are rational: I don't have to pray to God to give me my daily bread, it is there in the kitchen. I can go and eat it. I don't want to pray to God for wealth, that's easy. The only thing that is difficult (if not impossible) for us, because we are bound hand and foot to reason, logic and thought, is how to deal with the mind which defies reason. I can easily solve the problems of my son, my wife, but even if I have solved all that I am still caught up in this one insurmountable obstacle, 'I am this body', or 'This body is mine'.
So then we sincerely pray - to God or to illusion itself, maya "I cannot understand this, please save me". "Save me" in that context only means see if there is some way of destroying this mineness. Almost all other prayers are unnecessary, irrelevant and don't make sense. It is when something within you sees this, that you really and truly realize that God is omniscient. It is then that you can also from the very bottom of your heart say with Jesus Christ, "Not my will, but Thy will be done."
If you meet God as your Lord, give Him “power of attorney’—“Thy will be done”
From Insights and Inspirations (Venkatesa Daily Readings Vol 2)