Importance of prayer

Intellectual understanding gleaned from scriptural study or expositions will not lead to Self-realisation leading to liberation. A spiritual seeker who is determined to realise the goal of liberation in this birth itself must make use of the guidance given by saints because they speak from experience. Once when Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was conversing with a devotee he emphasised the importance of regular spiritual exercises (Sadhana) like prayer, and cautioned that it is not possible to realise God by only scriptural study.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said one could realise God only by doing regular Sadhana. To illustrate the importance of daily prayer, the saint gave the example of obtaining butter from milk. Knowledge that milk contains butter is easy to acquire but the process of obtaining it involves boiling the milk first and then seeding it with curd after cooling it, and then churning the curd after it has set to separate the butter. Sadhana is akin to obtaining butter from milk. Just as curd will set properly only when it is left undisturbed for the required number of hours, so also, can Sadhana be effective only when it is done in solitude to avoid worldly influences that will distract the mind.

Solitude is essential for the mind to become introverted. He compared worldly life to water and the mind to milk. Milk mixes with water easily after which it is very difficult to separate them. In the process the milk gets only diluted. Once the mind engages in the world it is very difficult to restrain it and turn it to spiritual practice. If the milk is heated and made into curd, and butter separated from it, then the butter will only float on water and never mix with it. Similarly, a mind that has been trained by regular Sadhana will develop steadfast devotion to God after which it will not be swayed by desires.

The fruit of Sadhana is devotion and till devotion becomes strong the seeker must be wary of worldly pulls and insulate the mind from sensory attractions by prayer. Constant vigilance is very essential as it is very easy to get distracted. One must also remind oneself that the spiritual goal is of primary importance in life.