Book Review

‘Prayer: Its Nature and Technique,’ by Kirpal Singh. Delhi: Ruhani Satsang, third edition 1970. 153 pp., hard cover, $4

This gentle compassionate book, by one whose existence is the fulfilment of prayer, is both a careful examination of all forms and aspects of prayer, and a highly charged devotional manual.

It traces prayer from the elementary dualism of Turgeniev’s comment,

Every prayer reduces itself to this: Great God, grant that twice two be not four,

to that stage where life is prayer, where

prayer itself ceases to be a prayer and becomes a state of being.

Very profound concepts are dealt with in very simple language; the book abounds in short passages that sparkle like jewels and stick in the memory.

For Example:

Prayer is nothing but concentrated will falling back upon its source, the great reservoir of Power. […] Great indeed is man. He lives in a God-made temple along with the God Himself. His very spirit is just a drop from the Ocean of Divine Life. Between God and spirit there is no other obstacle but that of the veil of the mind. If this veil were to stop fluttering in the breeze of desires, as it does at present, the spirit could take in directly the cosmic energy from its very source.

Also included are an appendix containing specimen prayers from all religions, and two photos of the Master.

Based on a section of the Master’s great Punjabi classic, ‘Gurumat Sidhant,’ the book was revised, expanded and clarified especially for English-speaking readers by the Master personally, so that the finished product is much more than a translation; every word carries the charging and full impact of the consciousness of the Saint Who wrote it. To read it receptively is to move from reading about prayer to praying; such is the power of the words of the Living Master.

Russell Perkins