Sincerity In Prayers

-Farnaz reads the following quote: “We can’t say God is Omnipresent and then separate ourselves from it. prayers are very beautiful, as long as there is no separation, it is very, very effective because there is no distance. And who is praying? The one that has not completely realized oneself. But it has realized the nearness and the dearness to that Source. In that stage, it is beautiful and very effective but to throw a prayer out without knowing who I am and who God is, where does it go? And if it gets any type of movement, it’s not from anything but your own sincerity when you announce your prayer.” (Sai Center 1.24.21)
Question: What is the meaning of sincerity of prayers here? We are at a point where we don’t even know what we would be praying for because of Your teachings.
Sat: Sincerity in prayers- in My point of view is that the heart has to have love for the Source it is praying to, not fear. That [is] the Source you are praying to, that you trust, it is not something out of reach, not something that you believed because your parents did. [It is] that you have a certain connection with, whether it is mental, physical or spiritual- it doesn’t matter. It has to have some sort of closeness. The prayer that comes from the depth of the heart, with this closeness and love of the Source that they are praying to, is effective, because after all, the prayer does not need to travel when it is sincere. The receiver is the divinity within our own self, it is not like you are sending it out to something, for some reason.
So, that is the nearness and the dearness that a sincere aspirant will feel. It is confiding, it is communion, it is a two-way rapport, it’s not one way of lip service or out of fear and out of desperation. And the prayer can be constant, every time you go to silence you have the deepest experience of a prayer because the source that you pray to, you are actually sitting in it at that time. So it is effective when there is no separation and also more effective than not, in the case of lip service when you actually feel that love and trust in your heart. That is sincerity!
Farnaz: When we realize that we not only don’t know anything or understand much, but we still have a desire to change the pictures that are painful on many levels, does this sincerity help with changing the picture? Or we shouldn’t even ask for having the picture changed while we don’t know the whole picture?
Sat: Well to realize that we don’t know anything is a blessing but the part of humanness, the self that identifies only with the mind and the body, can still pray for the change of the picture at times. But the more understanding you have of your self, the self you feel like you need to pray [to], the Trust will do it; the letting go in that Promise and not taking thought will do it. But if you are not able to do that, the sincere prayer to something that you feel close, near and dear [to] is effective too to release that tension of the mind and the body.
Farnaz: You have said “the only place that goes beyond the shadow and the light is the kingdom of God within you. And at the same time, we must realize that the Kingdom of God within is also without, and have an acceptance that the outward expression is this way.” (4.12.16-class)
Question: What is meant by realizing that the Kingdom of God is also without and have acceptance that outward expression is this way?
Sat: If we can leave that aside for a little bit, to find the Kingdom, or the silence or God, you have to look within to realize that there is no in and out. It just is as the Totality! As that Totality, it can express itself any way it wants to or not! So, there is no question of why this is like this … why is that like that … at that point. But from the standpoint of personality and humanity it would be hard to understand. As a human we have to find it within our own self and then we realize that there is no in and out and whatever is happening is just [a] happening that takes place.
Farnaz: So is that giving understanding to maya and creation as it is?
Sat: You will never understand maya, but to be ok is the key! Because to different degrees you have risen above it. To different degrees you see that you are not your own dream; it is just a reflection that is happening. So, from the standpoint of being the body, the understanding is different than in the standpoint of not having that identification strongly.

USA Chat
May 5, 2022