16 Unspoken

Planned selection of prayers and my own "Harmony" prayer - unspoken at Hussain Day, Bangalore

Surah Al Hamd, the first surah of the holy Quran
In The Name Of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds
The Beneficent, the Merciful
Master of the Day of Judgment
Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help
Keep us on the right path
The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors

And now, a small prayer by Swami Sivananda Saraswathi
O Adorable Lord of Mercy and Love!
Salutations and prostrations unto Thee.
Thou art Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient.
Thou art Existence-Consciousness-Bliss - Absolute.
Thou art the Indweller of all beings.

Grant us an understanding heart,
Equal vision, balanced mind,
Faith, devotion and wisdom.
Grant us inner spiritual strength
To resist temptations and to control the mind.
Free us from egoism, lust, greed, hatred, anger and jealousy.
Fill our hearts with divine virtues.

Some quotes on religion:
- Spirituality is the master key of the Indian mind. It is this dominant inclination of India which gives character to all the expressions of her culture. In fact, they have grown out of her inborn spiritual tendency of which her religion is a natural out flowering. The Indian mind has always realized that the Supreme is the Infinite and perceived that to the soul in Nature the Infinite must always present itself in an infinite variety of aspects.
- Religion, in its purity, is not so much a pursuit as a temper; or rather it is a temper, leading to the pursuit of all that is high and holy. Its foundation is faith; its action, works; its temper, holiness; its aim, obedience to God in improvement of self, and benevolence to men.
- The true office of religion is to bring out the whole nature of man in harmonious activity
- Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, And the world will be as one.
- I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion.
- A religiously developed person makes a practice of referring everything to God, of permeating and saturating every finite relation with the thought of God, and thereby consecrating and ennobling it.

Harmony, improvement of self and benevolence to men!

And now a small prayer.
Dear God, give man the fortitude to listen to the words of peace and love in his heart and not be swayed by the evil forces that abound in the world around him and incite him to commit acts against the very principles that his religion and beliefs are founded upon.
Grant him the understanding that each man is free to choose his religion, that none is superior to the other, that each man understands the will of God according to his own nature and the truth of his being.
If he must talk of his religion, let it be with an openness to understand his brother's religion as well, for as Lord Krishna says - All paths lead to me.
Let us hold hands and stand against the spread of ignorance and conflict. Let us embrace one another and truly accept each other's faults and limitations as our Lord accepts us.

A minutes silence for contemplation and thoughts for world peace.

And for those who wish to read, some notions on embracing humanity.