Should You Ask God for things?
Hislop: Is not praying to God the same as begging?
Sai: To beg from an equal puts you down and him up. But when you ask God, you rise up to His level. You must ask God. To ask God is perfectly all right. It is not begging.
Hislop: But I had thought that since God knows each problem, that if it was appropriate to remedy the trouble God would do so without being asked.
Sai: Important answer! No. It is your duty to ask God. Words must be said, and the words must correspond to the thought. The thought must be put into a true word. It is true enough that the Divinity knows all. But He requires that the true word be said. The mother may know that to maintain life the child requires food. But milk is given when the child asks for it.
Hislop: It is not clear when one should ask God and when one should not. For example, there is a headache that doctors seem unable to cure. I do not ask Swami to cure the headache; I do not pray for a cure. However, in a letter, Swami wrote, ‘How is your health? Do not worry about that. Your God is always with you, in you, around you.’
Sai: That is right. What Baba said is enough. For you, body identification is weakening. You have a headache today, a stomach pain tomorrow. Let it go. Don’t worry about it. You are not the body. Once Baba has told you not to worry, there is no need to ask Him about it. Don’t identify.
Hislop: Does Swami mean that for those persons still fully identified with the body, a continuous headache might be a proper subject for prayer?
Sai: Yes, but why bother Swami about a mere headache? You may tell others the same.
Hislop: Then, it is really all right to ask God?
Sai: When there is a real need, God should be asked to provide. A child asks parents for peppermint candy, and the parents give it. When older, it asks the parents for property, and receives it. It is by right that the child asks, and it is by right that it receives. A child may ask a stranger for peppermint once or twice and expect to receive it. But even if he asks for it, he may not expect to receive property from a stranger. God is not bothered by a multitude of small requests, and He will certainly give property (things of great value). Therefore, one should always ask God to meet needs. It is the individual’s right to ask. There is no question of begging.
Hislop: Swami said that in praying to God, the petitioner raises himself to the level of God. In order to make such a prayer, in what state or condition should one first put himself?
Sai: It is not necessary to put oneself into any particular state of meditation.
Hislop: Usually, the idea is that one should go to a quiet place and be in a quiet mood when he wishes to pray.
Sai: Whenever and wherever you put yourself in touch with God, that is the state of meditation. You may feel that 1 p.m. in California is not a good time to call Me, for I may be asleep in India and I should not be disturbed. I know you have felt like that once or twice. But I am omnipresent; I have no such limitations. I never sleep. In the middle of the night, I turn off the light and rest in bed because if the light is on, devotees will gather. I have no need of sleep. But you need at least four hours of sleep.
Hislop: If I am walking in the street with people around and my mind is engaged with things I must do, is that a good time for prayer?
Sai: At the beginning, one might need some special set of circumstances for clearing the mind for concentration on God. But after a while, if one finds that God is omnipresent and becomes aware of Him and one’s thoughts are centered on God, then no matter where you are it is the same. Prayers may be addressed to God and the prayer will reach Him.
Hislop: Swami says that God is omnipresent. What meaning does Swami give the word, ‘omnipresent’?
Sai: Omnipresent means everywhere at the same time all the time.
Hislop: If a person does not have any material or worldly needs, then what is the proper subject for prayer?
Sai: Peace of mind. One should pray to God for peace of mind.
Hislop: I am surprised. I thought Swami said that peace of mind has to be secured by oneself working on desires and getting rid of them. And now Swami says we can pray to Him for peace of mind!
Sai: How can you be free of desires? Now, at this moment you are with Swami, and you are free of desires. As soon as your wife has a pain, you have the desire that she will be well, and you pray to Swami to cure her. At any time, a desire may come up and where is your peace of mind? Whereas, if God answers your prayer for peace of mind, He must, by having granted that boon, automatically fulfill your needs and desires. First you want a chain from Baba, next day you want something else, a ring; both are made of gold. Why not ask for the gold and then all the desired objects are from that gold.
Hislop: When Swami says, ‘peace of mind,’ what is the meaning He gives to that phrase?
Sai: There is some small confusion in terms, for there is no mind as such. The mind is a web of desires. Peace of mind is no desires, and in that state there is no mind. Mind is destroyed, so to speak. Peace of mind really means purity, complete purity of consciousness. All spiritual practices are aimed at purification of the heart.
Hislop: Swami, please excuse this question, but it is in everyone’s mind. Will Swami come to America soon?
Sai: Baba will delay until a further base is built in America. However, I can go informally anytime. The devotee need only call Me and I will appear at once. Swami has His work to renew India. This must be finished before He is willing to do the same in a foreign country. People generally go to a foreign country with a desire of some sort. Baba has no desire. Of course, foreign individuals come to Baba.
Source: Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
