View source for Prayer is needed because we are in danger. And actually we pray when we are in great danger. Suppose if immediately there is some earthquake or there is some danger, naturally, spontaneously, we pray. We pray. But we forget

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{{terms|"prayer is needed because we are in danger. And actually we pray when we are in great danger. Suppose if immediately there is some earthquake or there is some danger, naturally, spontaneously, we pray. We pray. But we forget"}}
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{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
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[[Category:Prayer]]
[[Category:Need]]
[[Category:Because]]
[[Category:We Are]]
[[Category:Danger]]
[[Category:Actually]]
[[Category:Greatest Danger]]
[[Category:Suppose]]
[[Category:Immediately]]
[[Category:There Is Some]]
[[Category:Earthquakes]]
[[Category:Naturally]]
[[Category:Spontaneous]]
[[Category:Forget]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1975]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, General]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in Africa, S. Africa - Durban]]
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<h2>Lecture</h2>
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<h3>General Lectures</h3>
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Prayer is needed because we are in danger. And actually we pray when we are in great danger. Suppose if immediately there is some earthquake or there is some danger, naturally, spontaneously, we pray. We pray. But we forget it. But the prayer, the tendency of offering prayer to the Lord at the time of danger, is automatic. So we should know that we are in danger. We are in this material condition of life means we are in danger. Therefore we should pray.
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<mp3player>https://vanipedia.s3.amazonaws.com/clip/751007LE-DURBAN_clip01.mp3</mp3player>
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[[Vanisource:City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975|City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975]]:
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Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The question is, "Why should one pray to God?"

Prabhupāda: Our prayer is, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught:

:''ayi nanda-tanuja patitaṁ kiṅkaraṁ''
:''māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau''
:''kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja''
:''sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya''
:([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.32|CC. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5]])

Just like if you are in danger, you ask your friends to help you, this is prayer. So our prayer is, to Kṛṣṇa, ''ayi nanda-tanuja''. ''Nanda-tanuja ''means . . . Kṛṣṇa appeared as the foster son of Nanda Mahārāja; therefore He is addressed as ''nanda-tanuja'', means "the son of Mahārāja Nanda." So ''patitaṁ kiṅkaraṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau'': "I am Your eternal servant. Somehow or other, I am now fallen in this ocean of nescience, ignorance." Just like if you are a person of the land, if you are thrown in the ocean, it is struggle for existence. ''Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati ''([[Vanisource:BG 15.7 (1972)|BG 15.7]]). This is struggle for exis . . . everyone is struggling. But what you will struggle in the ocean? You may be a very big swimmer, but how long you shall swim? You will be tired. The only means is to take you out of the ocean. Even one inch above the ocean is your safety. It doesn't matter how many inches you are taken from the ocean. Similarly, the prayer is, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I am Your eternal servant. Somehow or other, I am now fallen in this ocean. Please pick me up and fix me again as the dust of Your lotus feet." This is the prayer. 

So we should know in what dangerous position we are. Then there is necessity of prayer. And prayer to whom? To the Supreme Person to save us. Therefore there are so many prayers in the ''śāstra''. Prayers means addressing the Lord to save us from this. The real saving is to pick us up from this ocean of nescience, ignorance. Then everything is all right. As soon as we come to the knowledge that, "I am not this body; I am spirit soul, part and parcel of God," then our knowledge is perfect. This is called ''brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā''. This is called Brahman realization.

:''brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā''
:''na śocati na kāṅkṣati''
:''samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu''
:''mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām''
:([[Vanisource:BG 18.54 (1972)|BG 18.54]])

So prayer is needed because we are in danger. And actually we pray when we are in great danger. Suppose if immediately there is some earthquake or there is some danger, naturally, spontaneously, we pray. We pray. But we forget it. But the prayer, the tendency of offering prayer to the Lord at the time of danger, is automatic. So we should know that we are in danger. We are in this material condition of life means we are in danger. Therefore we should pray. We must pray to pick him up, to pick us up. That is necessity of prayer.
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