True knowledge of self and the supreme gives one a immense amount of strength

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is a daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart…, Mahatma Gandhi. Prayer is something that we all do, irrespective of who we are or where we are. However, most of us pray only while we are in sorrow and that is why there is a saying in Hindi “Dukh mein sumiran sab kare, Sukh mein kare na koi'' meaning that nobody prays when they are happy. This is mainly because when one is full from the inside, one doesn't really need any help from anyone. It is only when our stocks are emptied, like a helpless child we spread our hands in prayer for his grace. There is a strong trust in prayer that makes us feel that yes, HE is there above for us and HE will salvage us from all the sorrows & miseries of life. That is why it is said that prayer is a step of courage that will get us multimillion-fold help from the Almighty.

Most of our sorrows are a result of body consciousness that can be seen in various forms of vices like greed, anger, ego, lust and fear. If we get rid of this sickness, we will come to realize our true identity which is that of a peaceful being of light, who literally wants to experience life free from the bondage of the above-mentioned vices. Due to various external influences and negative habits formed over so many years and performing actions based on that, we have forgotten who we really are.

Therefore, to return to the original self, one must go back to the original qualities of the self and start performing actions based on that original consciousness known as soul consciousness which is not possible without understanding spirituality deeply.

To start with we need to know

“Who am I” & ‘Who is Almighty?’. Once we get to know that we are Soul & HE is Supreme Soul, having a heart-to-heart conversation with HIM in the form of any relationship will not only let go of all our worries, but it will also make us light to enjoy a life where we are able to trust ourself, others and Almighty. But, before getting onto this sojourn, we should remember that a clear connection with HIM would require one to renounce all negative habits & traits.

When we experience the true love and understanding of achieving such a goal of renouncing the negativity from within, it becomes very easy and we start to experience a carefree life filled with challenges that we know will bring guaranteed victory in the company of our eternal friend, guide and liberator on whom we can surely lean upon. Understanding and accepting the true knowledge of who I am, who is the Supreme, and of different types of actions, gives one tremendous amount of strength for transforming the undesired personality to the desired one.

This creates faith, hope and courage to accept the things over which there is no control and to change the ones that can be changed. So, let us start this magical process of transforming the self from old to new to establish a pure and happy world to live in.

(Writer is a spiritual educator & popular columnist; views are personal)