Because i believe...

Yesterday i spoke to one of my friends who has tied the knot, just a couple of months ago. She shifted to Canada with her husband right after marriage. Whilst talking about the approaching festival of Diwali, i asked her how she and her husband are planning to celebrate it. As she replied that probably there will not be much of a celebration this year owing to their being in a foreign country, i detected a hint of sadness in her voice.

"But it’s Diwali! You can always carry out the religious pooja and prayer in your own home and celebrate with your husband" i said to her. "My husband is an atheist" she admitted finally after a few moments of hesitation. "Although he does not have a problem with my being religious, he himself does not believe or participate in 'pooja’s or prayers if he can avoid it".

This got me wondering. There are such people in this world. Atheists as they are called, who do not believe in the existence of God. Who refuse to believe in something that they haven’t seen, who do not pray.

For a person like me, who is used to having almost a daily tête-à-tête with God in some form or the other this is a very strange thing to understand.

I call it tête-à-tête because, sometimes i find myself mentally, quietly and even unconsciously remembering or talking to God, like a private chat of my own. 

I guess in today’s hi tech terms, having this own dedicated uninterrupted network connection with God where one can chat, ask , complain, thank without worrying about being disconnected is what one might call as a prayer. 

And why do I Pray? I pray because I believe. I believe that there is someone who is up there listening to me and who’s always there for me, no matter what. The following words come to my mind.

When i open my eyes,

To the sun shining bright,

With new dreams opening a new way,

Thankful that i am alive today,

I pray

When I feel unsure,

When no one is near

When i need someone to lend an ear

I Pray.

When i am scared,

When I try, what once I never dared

When I feel the worlds out to get me

When the hope of light I can’t see,

I pray

I suggested to my friend that she should carry out the Lakshmi pooja/religious rituals on her own. Afer all she was religious and it clearly meant a lot to her. That’s when she pointed out that her knowledge about the rituals, the shloks’s and the steps to perform the Lakshmi Pooja is very limited and normally in India there used to be a Pundit to guide them with it. I suggested that she get a Sampoorna Lakshmi Pooja Pack containing everything she would need to perform the pooja by herself.

I explained that it comes with a booklet and an audio CD providing the step-by-step procedure, recitation of shloka’s and everything that would help her do the Pooja herself correctly even far away from her Indian motherland.

After all Diwali is a festival of lights , and what better gift to give to yourself and others than a reason to keep smiling. Hope this festival brings lots of happiness and light in everyone’s lives and gives them even more reason to believe in God and his goodness. A Happy & Prosperous Diwali to everyone!

This post is a part of www.pureprayer.com contest, ‘Everyone has a reason to pray…!’

Organised by Cycle Pure Agarbathies.