PRAYER VERSUS SELF BELIEF

Are you ready for the debate? Okay, let me start with a basic and very familiar sight as an example. Imagine a young girl (no offence towards the gender) aged around 20 years offering prayers to God before taking her meal to thank HIM for giving her a meal for the day which many couldn’t even think of.

But have you ever thought what the real thing that she does is? Here is what I have analysed the real mindset behind her prayer - she Thank God for giving her a meal which in the first place is an act of selfishness. Point no.2 is that she forgets the people around her in the world who couldn’t afford even a half of what she has got. So at this juncture instead of praying for asking for one meal a day for the deserving she is contended with what she has got and prays for what she has already got. But the person who believes in self-belief will not waste his time praying rather he would think about his next step. You can ask me how? Let me explain, a person who proclaims self belief will always thinks positively as against the person who believes in prayer who thinks about the negative aspect and resorting to prayer to wish for a positive outcome and thereby losing one’s self confidence. You might ask me on what grounds that person having self-confidence will always think positive.

There is no such evidence with which I’m telling this but there is a small analysis which one needs to do, to accept what I have told earlier. What is that analysis? Here comes the analysis, a person who is having self-belief and doesn’t believe in prayer naturally doesn’t have an option to think nothing but the positive outcome. To be much simpler, such a person cannot afford to think negative because he couldn’t even pray to wish for a positive outcome as he doesn’t believe in prayer itself. So this leaves him with no choice but to think positive which results in a self confidence that leaves him with no fear.

This creeps up another question that how can I say a person with self-belief doesn’t have fear? He has no fear because when the outcome what he expects turns out to be negative he has no one to blame except himself. So he doesn’t have the luxury of blaming others and it’s very difficult to blame one’s own self. This makes him start thinking what made his efforts go in vain. He will come out with a better and stronger effort the next time and he will strive hard until he tastes the success and he will feel ownership for the success because it was all his effort which has got him the success.

But when it comes to a person who prays faces the heat on the first attempt, he will easily gets dejected and puts the blame on someone else. It might even be the same HIM to whom they prayed for their success.  So they keep wasting their time in blaming and criticizing their fate instead of thinking how to achieve their goal until they realize they have wasted so much of time by then it would be too late.

Okay I can sense the discontent on whatever I have given above as all these are my personal ideas. But I have attempted to make you understand what I’m up to with a few live but simple happenings around the world and most importantly around and within us.  To make my examples more categorical and simpler, I have bi-furcated the ideas into three parts: Silly example, Political and Life oriented.


SILLY EXAMPLE:

As a student everyone wanted (pray) to secure a first rank (assuming at least one-third of that lot put in the same effort to secure the first rank), but in reality the first rank is secured by only one and he climbs to the top of the ladder. What do you think the reason behind it? When you say everything is possible with the help of prayer why can’t that first rank holder be 'You" when you have put the same effort? So it all boils down to the effort which one puts. And interestingly that first rank holder might be a person who never prays at all!!!! So can I say it’s all because of efforts and not because of prayers? Think again Humans!!!

POLITICAL EXAMPLE:

Everyone around the world knows that the muslims are the most vigorous people who prays regularly. At the same time most of us know the situation that exists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  There was a bomb blast inside a mosque, the people killed were not the evils but the people who prayed and who were praying. Do you think those people who lost their lives were praying for their life to be ended – NEVER.

The politicians in the world are known for their corruptions and they are the people responsible for war, prise rise, farmer suicides, food crisis, homeless people and the list goes on. In spite of all these, the politicians still continue to lead a successful life. These politicians are successful even after people’s continuous prayers against them. The so called richest God in India is in a place called Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh. But the place is well known for lots and lots of farmer suicides as they were denied a single piece of bread a day. If a prayer can do miracles why this happens very close to one of the richest Gods in the world? Why surveillance cameras, reserve polices and securities with weapons guarding the temples and jewels? Can’t the savior of all save himself? Think again mates!!!!

LIFE ORIENTED EXAMPLE:

Everyone knows that person born on earth is supposed to die one day. Then why people go for continuous prayers to save the life of their dear ones? When such prayer is not fruitful why they don’t think about the reason behind their prayers yielding no result? So, when making you live or leaving you to die are not connected with prayers what is the use of praying? What is the use of looking for a doctor? It’s the effort of the doctor which saves the life of a person and not the prayer. This can be proved by saying without praying for a person if a person is treated by a doctor, the life of that person might be saved. But do you think the other way around is possible? Doesn’t it ring a bell inside your head?

I end my first ever blog and ideology with a famous dialogue from a famous regional movie – 'I never said God doesn’t exist, all I said was if HE exists it would have been nice.' ('Kadaval illai nu yaar sonnathu, irundha nalla irukkum.')


By Prabhu Govindarajan