The Correct Way to Pray

One devotee would come for Darshan regularly whenever Swami visited Brindavan. In due course of time, he purchased a few acres of land at the outskirts of the Bangalore city.  He wanted to develop a farmhouse on the property.  Everything he needed for the purpose was there, except water.

He came to Swami and prayed to the Lord to bless that a bore well he was planning to have dug in his new property should proceed smoothly. Swami patted his back and said, “Manchidi (good), my blessings are there…”

The devotee was very excited. He began to have the bore well dug. The digging went and on and on. But to the utter surprise and dismay of the devotee, they didn’t hit the water even after having dug more than one thousand feet! The devotee was very surprised, because Swami had blessed him… and yet there was no water! In his consternation and dilemma, he had the digging stopped.

The devotee rushed to Brindavan and at the first opportunity brought the matter to Swami’s notice. 

“Swami, even after having dug for more than a thousand feet, there is no sign of water… in spite of the divine blessing …”  

Swami said to the devotee, _“What did you ask me? You said that you were planning to have a bore well dug in your new property and that the digging should go well. Therefore, I blessed the digging to go well… and did it not go well till more than a thousand feet?”

The devotee then pleaded that Swami should bless the bore well with water too. *Immediately, Swami pointed out, “You did not ask Me for water! You just prayed that the digging should go well!!”* 

The devotee rectified his prayer and prayed to Swami to bless the land with water. The most compassionate Lord responded, “Dig another twenty feet.” 

It was then that Swami clarified to the students, “You should know how to pray. You should pray correctly…" 

Swami continued. “If you want to succeed in life, you must pray for the Ultimate.  If I bless you to clear the IAS exam, all your other preceding exams, such as X, XII, degree would automatically be taken care because without passing the preceding exams, you cannot pass the IAS exam. So, therefore, when you pray, pray for the Highest so that everything else is automatically taken care of.”  

Thus, on that day Swami taught us how to pray. The  most compassionate Lord does even that -  He Himself helps us clear His qualifying exam needed for the bestowal of His Grace and boons and then grants us that!

(From the Diary of an alumnus)