Prayer

by GANDHI M. K.

• ISBN13: 9781893163096
• ISBN10: 1893163091
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-01
• Publisher: Berkeley Hills Books

Summary

First published in India in 1977, Prayer is a compilation of Gandhi's letters, articles, recorded conversations, and book excerpts. Divided into sections, the book first explores the meaning of prayer and the merits of prayer versus Buddhist meditation. The second section describes specific methods of spiritual practice, both private and public, and the abuses that compelled Gandhi to forge his own religious path. The third section discusses the power of the mantram, the continual repetition of God's name, which Gandhi regarded as the supreme form of prayer. Prayer concludes with a moving account of Gandhi's assassination in 1948.

The appendixes include a selection of Gandhi's favorite prayers and hymns, translated by Gandhi himself from many religious traditions, east and west.

Table of Contents

Foreword	11	(2)
Arun Gandhi
Introduction	13	(10)
Michael N. Nagler
Part I. Meaning of and Necessity for Prayer
The Core of Life	23	(3)
Prayer is Necessary for All	26	(1)
Man Cannot Live Without Prayer	27	(1)
The Eternal Duel	28	(3)
What is Prayer?	31	(2)
True Prayer	33	(1)
True Worship	33	(1)
The Greatest Binding Force	34	(1)
Prayer is All-Inclusive	35	(1)
A Dialogue With a Buddhist	35	(5)
Why I Lay Stress on Prayer	40	(1)
Personal Testimony of Prayer	41	(3)
Why Pray?	44	(1)
The Object of Prayer	45	(1)
Spontaneous Upwelling of the Heart	46	(1)
A Man of Prayer Knows No Fear	46	(2)
Ramanama: Reciting God's Name	48	(1)
Beauty of Repetition	48	(2)
No Faith in Prayer	50	(7)
Why No Faith in Prayer?	57	(1)
Have Faith	57	(2)
The Healing Balm	59	(1)
God's Word	59	(1)
The Only Help of the Helpless	60	(1)
God's Covenant	61	(1)
Secret of Self-Control	62	(3)
A Call to Repentance	65	(1)
Visitations	65	(3)
Divine Guidance	68	(1)
Visions	69	(1)
Inner Voice	70	(3)
Part II. Forms and Methods of Prayer
Yajna (Sacrifice)	73	(1)
How I Establish Communion With God	74	(1)
The Form of My Prayer	74	(1)
Service is My Prayer	75	(4)
Thy Will Be Done	79	(1)
Resign to His Will	80	(2)
How and To Whom to Pray	82	(2)
Punctuality at Prayers	84	(2)
God's Time Never Stops	86	(1)
Never Miss Prayers	86	(2)
Attendance at Prayers	88	(2)
The Spiritual Value of Silence	90	(2)
Blind Penance	92	(1)
Communion of Silence	93	(2)
Silent Prayers	95	(1)
Silence During Prayers	96	(1)
How I Introduced Congregational Prayer	97	(1)
Congregational Prayer	98	(2)
Cooperative Prayer	100	(1)
My Faith in Public Prayer	101	(1)
Individual Prayer	102	(2)
Concentration During Prayer	104	(1)
Compulsory Prayer	105	(1)
The Malady of Intolerance	106	(1)
A Word to Objectors	107	(1)
Fasting and Prayer	108	(3)
The Truest Prayer	111	(2)
The Inner Meaning of the Fast	113	(1)
Gita, The Mother	114	(1)
The Meditation of Mother Gita	115	(1)
The Use of Images in Prayer	116	(1)
Idol Worship	117	(1)
Idolatry	118	(2)
Worship in Temples	120	(1)
Are Temples Necessary?	121	(4)
Are Places of Worship a Superstition?	125	(2)
Why No Temple in the Ashram?	127	(1)
Nature's Temple of Worship	128	(1)
Tree Worship	129	(1)
Atmosphere for Prayers	130	(1)
The Place of Prayer in Ashram Life	131	(9)
The Ashram Prayer	140	(4)
About Prayer at the Ashram	144	(2)
Time Taken Up By Prayer	146	(1)
From Manibehn's Notes	146	(5)
Part III. Ramanama: The Repetition of God's Name
How to Recite Ramanama	151	(1)
A Good Seed Sown	152	(1)
Who is Rama?	153	(2)
Power of Ramanama	155	(2)
A Well-Tried Formula	157	(1)
Ridiculing Ramanama	158	(1)
Ramanama Must Not Cease	158	(1)
Ramanama and National Service	159	(1)
Ramanama and Nature Cure	160	(5)
The Sovereign Remedy	165	(1)
Misuse of Ramanama	166	(1)
Part IV. Last Breath
God the Only Protector	167	(2)
``Rama! Rama!''	169	(17)
Appendices
Appendix A. Selected Ashram Prayers	173	(7)
Appendix B. Favorite Hymns	180	(6)
Sources	186