167 - Prayer 6

Late one evening a poor farmer on his way back from the market found himself without his prayer book. The wheel of his cart had come off right in the middle of the woods and it distressed him that this day should pass without his having said his prayers.

So this is the prayer he made, "I have done something very foolish, Lord. I came away from home this morning without my prayer book and my memory is such that I cannot recite a single prayer without it. So this is what I am going to do. i shall recite the alphabet five times very slowly and you, to whom all prayers are known, can put the letters together to form the prayers I can't remember."

And the Lord said to his angels, "Of all the prayers I have heard today, this one was undoubtedly the best because it came from a heart that was simple and sincere. "


source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

166 - Prayer - 5

A cobbler came to a Rabbi and said, "Tell me what to do about my morning prayer. My customers are poor men who have only one pair of shoes. I pick up their shoes late in the evening and work on them most of the night. At dawn there is still work to be done if the men are to have their shoes ready before they go to work. Now my question is, what should I do about my morning prayer?"

"What have you been doing till now?" the Rabbi asked.

"Sometimes I rush through the prayer quickly and get back to my work, but then I feel bad about it. At other times I let the hour of prayer go by. Then too I feel a sense of loss and every now and then, as I raise my hammer from the shoes, I can almost hear my heart sigh, what an unlucky man I am, that I am not able to make my morning prayer."

Said the Rabbi, "If I were God I would value that sigh more than the prayer."

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

165 - Prayer for contentment

Once Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with the tapasya of a devotee and said, "I shall grant you three requests."

The elated devotee did not hesitate, "Here is my first request," he said, "I want my wife to die so I can marry a better woman." His wish was immediately granted.

But when his friends and relatives gathered for the funeral and began to recall the virtues of his wife, the devotee saw that he had been hasty. So he asked the Lord to bring her back to life.

That left him with just one petition. He was determined not to make a mistake this time, for there would be no chance to change it.He consulted widely. Some advised him to ask for immortality.

But what good was immortality, said others, if he did not have good health? And health, if he had no money? And money if he had no friends?

Years passed and he had still not made his choice - life or health or wealth or power or love. Finally, he said to the Lord, "Tell me what to ask for?"

The Lord laughed when he saw the man's predicament, and said, "Ask to be content no matter what you get."

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

087 - Prayer - 4

Grandmother:  "Do you say your prayers every night?"
Grandson: "Oh, yes"

"And every morning?"
"No. I'm not scared in the daytime."





source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

078 - Prayer - 3

The Moghul Emperor Akbar was one day out hunting in the forest. When it was time for evening prayers he dismounted, spread his mat on the earth and knelt to pray in the manner of devout Muslims everywhere.

Now it was precisely at this time that a peasant woman, perturbed by the disappearance of her husband who had left home that morning and hadn't returned, went rushing by, anxiously searching for her husband. In her preoccupation she did not notice the kneeling figure of Emperor and tripped over him, then got up and without a word of apology rushed further into the forest.

Akbar was annoyed at this interruption but, being a good Muslim, he observed the rule of speaking to no one during the namaaz.

Now just about the time that his prayer was over the woman returned, joyful in the company of her husband whom she had found. She was surprised and frightened to see the Emperor and his entourage there. Akbar gave vent to his anger against her and shouted, "Explain your disrespectful behaviour or you will be punished."

The woman suddenly turned fearless, looked into the Emperor's eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I was so absorbed in the thought of my husband that I did not even see you here, not even when, as you say, I stumbled over you. Now while you were at namaaz, you were absorbed in One who is infinitely more precious than my husband. And how is it you noticed me?"

The Emperor was shamed into silence and later confided to his friends that a peasant woman, who was neither a scholar nor a Mullah, had taught him the meaning of prayer.

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

071 - Prayer - 2

The Rule in a monastery was not, "Do not speak," but, "Do not speak unless you can improve on the silence."







source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

007 - Prayer - 1

They had made it their custom to invite their pious aunt to go with them on their picnic each year. This year they forgot.
When the invitation did come at the last minute, she said, "It is too late now. I have already prayed for rain."

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html