Monday, February 25, 2008

Best Posture for Prayer

Three priests were discussing the best posture for prayers. The fist
one said, "I have tried all the postures several times and I think
that the best one is kneeling down. My best prayers come when I am
praying kneeling down." The second one said, "You are right, but all
the yogies and mystics recommend the cross-legged lotus posture
because that is most conducive to a relaxed mental state. The best I
have ever prayed is when I am in lotus posture" The third said,
"Agreed, but you know what, I have found that the weather has an
important role. My best prayers come when its sunny-bright and I am
looking up at the clear blue sky, whatever be the body posture."

An electrician was working close by and listening to the priests. He
came over and said to them, "For all you know fellows, the best prayer
I have ever said was hanging down by one leg from an electric pole in
a thunderstorm. And I bet none of you has ever prayed as good as I did
that day."

The moral of the story is "urgency". A great saint once said that you
will find God when you want Him as much as a drowning man wants air.
Its about how urgently, how desperately you want a response from God.
Correct postures have their place in spiritual discipline but nothing
can take the place of that burning urgency by which an electrician
prays while hanging by one leg from an electric pole in a
thunderstorm. We need to cultivate that intensity of desperation and
urgency in our search for God.

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