QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

 QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2022

Q: How many times should we pray in a day? And how should it be done?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Whenever you wake up from sleep, at that time remember God. And before sleeping as well. Some people say to remember God 24 hours. Now this is not possible. When can you pray? When you are awake. You cannot pray while you are sleeping.

So, when should pray? Anytime from the time you wake up, to the time you go to sleep.
Now, how many times should one pray? In Vedic scriptures, it is said to pray 3 times; at sunrise, at noon, and at sunset. These three times you should pray, meditate or chant the Gayatri Mantra. This has been said. Still, I would say, whenever you can, remember God. Remember God when you look at flowers, when look at trees, or the river; wherever you look, remember God.

Whenever happiness fills up within you, when you feel grateful, on all these occasions, remember god. Prayer and remembrance are not time bound. As many times as you like you can remember God.

If you love someone, can you say that you will only remember them five times a day? Whoever you love, they can come to your mind at anytime! Many times, loves don't even take a break, they think of their lover all the time; while walking, eating, working; all the time their lover is on their mind.

See, prayer happens on two occasions. One is, when you feel so grateful then prayer happens. Or, when you feel utterly helpless, then also prayer happens.

In these two occasions, prayer automatically happens. But if you consciously want to make prayer a part of your routine, I would say, pray as soon as you wake up. Sit and meditate. Before and after meditation you can do a couple minutes of some chanting. Then, before having food for a couple of minutes. Before going to bed, for a couple of minutes. Like this, make your whole life prayerful.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar