Dear Je
I am a Christian. Whenever I talk about my meditation practices, I am told by my near and dear ones that meditation is against Christianity and prayer is the only thing to be done by a Christian. I would like to know your thoughts.
Sam
Dear Sam,
There are two kinds of approaches to spirituality. One is through prayer and the other is through meditation or yoga.
Those who pray and those who meditate generally dismiss each other’s way.
Those who pray present worldly requests to God, which creates a deep attachment to the material world and amplifies worldly desires. As desires increase, our satisfaction decreases. We keep asking for more and feel disappointed when we don’t receive it. Therefore, according to those who meditate, praying and asking God for things is a significant mistake.
Those who meditate forget God. They focus on themselves and become self-centered, which leads to pride. Therefore, it is considered a sin. This is the perspective of those who pray.
My view is that both are somewhat right and both are somewhat wrong. I believe that for those leading a worldly life, both meditation and prayer can coexist.
Those who only pray may become immersed in the material world and face disappointments. Often, they keep pleading with God, never feeling satisfied with what they receive. If they were to meditate as well, they might be able to introspect, directly confront their excessive desires and fears, and evaluate them. This could provide them a sense of detachment and help them attain mental balance.
Those who only meditate might end up becoming practitioners of various meditation techniques without deeper spiritual awareness. At some point, they may start treating practices like yoga as mere physical exercises. They might forget that we are tiny specks in this vast universe and fail to realize that our lives are connected to the grand event called the universe. Praying to God or nature could provide them with a sense of humility.
Only those who practice meditation travel on the path of wisdom towards liberation. They are the ones who renounce worldly life and keep moving forward. They are of a different kind.
Jeyamohan
