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to the whole universe.
MAY THE SUN GOD GIVE US HIS BENEDICTION. MAY VARUNA, ARYAMA, INDRA, BRAHASPATI AND VISHNU GIVE US THEIR BENEDICTION. SALUTATIONS TO THAT BRAHMA. O VAYU, SALUTATIONS ESPECIALLY TO YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BRAHMA MANIFEST, I SHALL CALL ONLY YOU THE MANIFEST BRAHMA; THE TRUTH, THE RIT -- THE LAW. MAY THEY ALL PROTECT ME AND MY MASTER, THE SPEAKER.
The Upanishad begins with this prayer. The journey of religion has begun with a prayer. It has to be so. Prayer means trust and hope. Prayer means our feeling of being one with the whole universe. Prayer means, "How would I be able to manage alone?"
If it were possible that you alone could make this happen it would have happened long ago. But by yourself even the trivial could not be achieved. You had desired money, you could not achieve even that. You had wished for position, you could not manage even that. You had all sorts of wishes, large and small, but none were fulfilled. Alone you could not even manage the world: would this great journey of truth be possible by yourself alone? By yourself, you are even defeated in the world.
Everyone is defeated in this world. Even those who appear to be victorious are also defeated. They only appear victorious to others, in themselves they are utterly defeated. You also appear to yourself as defeated, but to others you appear victorious. There are people behind you who feel that you have achieved, that you have won in the worldly battle. But if we look within man, everyone is defeated.
This world is a long story of defeats. Here victory just does not happen. Here victory just cannot happen, it is not in the nature of the world. Defeat is the destiny here. Defeat is not of any individual, not of any person, but the destiny of being in the world is defeat. You will have to accept defeat there. Nobody ever wins there.
We could not win in the world where it was all a concern with petty things, where it was just a dream -- Shankara calls it maya, an illusion. When we were defeated even in that illusion, in that dreamlike happening, how then can we hope to win on our own in the world of truth?
Prayer means the realization
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