| RELIGIOUS RITES |
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| 4 THE CONCEPT AND FORMS OF RITUAL |
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Prayer is an act of communication by man
with the sacred or holy--God, the gods, the transcendent realm, or supernatural
powers. Found in all religions in all times, prayer may be a corporate or
personal act utilizing various forms and techniques. Prayer has been described
in its sublimity as "an intimate friendship, a frequent conversation held
alone with the Beloved" by St. Teresa of Ávila, a 16th-century
Spanish mystic. |
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Prayer is a significant and universal
aspect of religion, whether of primitive peoples or of modern mystics, that
expresses the broad range of religious feelings and attitudes that command man's
relations with the sacred or holy. Described by some scholars as religion's
primary mode of expression, prayer is said to be to religion what rational
thought is to philosophy; it is the very expression of living religion. Prayer
distinguishes the phenomenon of religion from those phenomena that approach it
or resemble it, such as religious and aesthetic feelings. (see also
mysticism) |
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Historians of religions, theologians,
and believers of all faiths agree in recognizing the central position that
prayer occupies in religion. According to the American philosopher William
James, without prayer there can be no question of religion. An Islamic
proverb states that to pray and to be Muslim are synonymous, and Sadhu Sundar
Singh, a modern Christian mystic of India, stated that praying is as important
as breathing. (see also Christianity) |
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Of the various forms of religious literature,
prayer is considered by many to be the purest in expressing the essential
elements of a religion. The Islamic Qur`an is regarded as a book
of prayers, and the book of Psalms of the Bible is viewed as a meditation on
biblical history turned into prayer. The Confessionsof the great Christian thinker St. Augustine (354-430) are, in the final
analysis, a long prayer with the Creator. Thus, because religion is culturally
and historically ubiquitous, if prayer were removed from the literary heritage
of a culture, that culture would be deprived of a particularly rich and
uplifting aspect. |
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From its primitive to its mystical
expression, prayer expresses a desire on the part of men to enter into contact
with the sacred or holy. As a part of that desire, prayer is linked to a feeling
of presence (of the sacred or holy), which is neither an abstract conviction nor
an instinctive intuition but rather a volitional movement conscious of realizing
its higher end. Thus, prayer is described not only as meditation about God but
as a step, a "going out of one's self," a pilgrimage of the spirit
"in the presence of God." It has, therefore, a personal and
experiential character that goes beyond critical analysis. |
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Prayer is also linked to sacrifice,
which seems to support prayer as a cultic--as well as a personal--act and as a
supplement to the bare word of man in his attempts to relate to the sacred or
holy. In any case, the sacrificial act generally precedes the verbal act of
prayer. Thus, the presentation of an offering often prolongs prayer and is
viewed as a recognition of the sovereignty and beneficence of the deity or
supernatual powers. The word of man (in prayer), however, apart from a
concomitant sacrificial act, is itself viewed as the embodiment of sacred action
and power. |
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When prayer becomes dominating and
manipulative in its intent, it becomes magic.
With words and songs, man thus believes that he can ask, conjure, and threaten
the sacred or supernatural powers. Imprecation and incantation become, in
effect, "oral talismans" (charms). The effectiveness of such magical
prayer is believed to depend on the recitation of a precise formula, or rhythm,
or on the saying and repeating of the divine name. Manipulation by magic,
however, is neither the explanation nor the essence of prayer but rather its
deviation and exploitation, a tendency that is to be noticed whenever prayer
departs from its basic and essential meaning--i.e.,
the expression of a desire to enter into contact with the sacred or holy.
(see also theurgy) |
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During the 19th century, when various
evolutionary theories were in vogue, prayer was viewed as a stage in the
development of religion from a magical to a "higher" stage. Such
theories, which saw in prayer no more than a development of magic or
incantation, failed to recognize the strictly personal characteristics of
prayer. Even if a scholar could prove the chronological precedence of magical
incantations to prayer--which has thus far not been done--he would be derelict
in his scholarly duty if he saw in such a precedence the only explanation of
prayer. The origin of prayer is to be found--essentially and existentially--in
the recognition and invocation of the creator-god, the god of heaven. |
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Though some scholars, such as Costa
Guimaraens, a French psychologist in the early 20th century, have attempted to
trace prayer back to a biological need, the attempt, on the whole, has been
unsuccessful. If sometimes--especially with exceptional subjects or subjects
with fragile nervous systems--the act of prayer is accompanied by corporal
phenomena (e.g., bleeding, shaking),
such phenomena can accompany it without having provoked it and without
explaining its deep inspiration. In order to analyze normal prayer psychologically
it is especially important to choose normal subjects. Affective sources such as
fear, joy, and sadness doubtless play a role in prayer. Such affectations are
expressed in prayers recorded in various religions and particularly in the
Psalms of the Bible; but they do not explain the recourse to prayer itself,
which is explained by a motivation deeper than affective elements. The cause and
occasion of prayer must not be confused. (see also
social science) |
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Moral sentiments also are integrating
elements, but they are accidental to the development of prayer; virtue is not
necessarily expressed in the act of praying because there exist atheists of
incontestable morality.
Morality is more a consequence than a cause of prayer; and it follows more than
it prepares for the development of the religious man. |
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William
James and psychologists such as Joseph Segond describe
prayer as a "subconscious" and "emotional effusion," an
outburst of the mind that desires to enter into communication with the
invisible. Experiences of prayer very often, in fact, do include "cries
from the heart," "inexpressible laments," and "spiritual
outbursts." The psychological explanation has the advantage of probing the
subconscious, of describing the various forces that act within men's psyches;
but the emergence of the subconscious in the act of prayer is not the essence of
prayer since it minimizes the role of intelligence and the will. Among what are
called the higher religions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism),
divine action, which is the object of the human action of prayer, violates
neither man's consciousness nor his freedom. |
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Sociologists
often explain prayer in terms of the religious environment, which plays an
indubitable role in spiritual behaviour. Though prayer supposes a personal
belief, that belief is, to a great extent, provided by society. Society creates
and regulates social and religious rites and liturgies to express its beliefs,
but to explain the origin of prayer solely in terms of an environmental context
would be to neglect the inner, personal origins of prayer. That belief is
transmitted by society is incontestable, but the channel is not to be viewed as
the source. Society itself is, so to speak, a tributary of beliefs that are both
received from and given to the collective whole and also from and to each of its
members. The collective forms may influence personal prayer, but they do not
explain it. |
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The vertical (divine-human) as well as
horizontal (social) dimension of prayer is also expressed in the alternation
between speech and silence. Whereas magical formulas are used to coerce the
supernatural, liturgical language, even when incomprehensible to the
congregation, seeks to lead the participants into an apprehension of the mystery
of the divine. In the presence of the mystery of the divine, man often discovers
that he can only stammer or that his speech often falters. When this occurs, he
frequently expresses his "fear and love" (Luther) or "tremendum
et fascinans"--i.e., fear and
attraction (according to Rudolf Otto, a modern German historian of religion), in
apophatic (negative) formulas. Speech with the divine is, in such cases,
followed by silence before men, as one apprehends the inexpressible (i.e.,
the sacred or holy). Religious language, like silence, thus expresses the
distance and inadequacy of man in relation to the divine mystery. (see also
apophatic theology) |
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Because the various types of prayer are
connected and permit a flow from one type to another, it is difficult to
conceive of them in terms of rigid classifications. They are enumerated here
more on the basis of psychology than on history. |
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The role of the request in religion has
played such a central part that by metonymy (using a word for another expected
word) it has given its name to prayer. However contestable this may sometimes
be, it is impossible to refuse to recognize the importance of request, whether
it be for a material or spiritual gift or accomplishment. The requests that
occur most often are for preservation of or return to health, the healing of the
sick, long life, material goods, prosperity, or success in one's undertakings.
Request for such goals may be tied to a magical invocation; it may also be a
deviation from prayer when it takes the form of a bargain or of a request for
payment due: "In payment of our praise, give to the head of the family who
is imploring you glory and riches" (from the Rigveda (Rgveda), a
sacred scripture of Hinduism).
Christianity has never condemned material requests but rather has integrated
them into a single providential
order while at the same time subordinating them to spiritual values. Thus, in
essence though not always in practice, requests are only on the fringe of
prayer. As a religion adopts more spiritual goals, the requests become more
spiritual: in the Choephori, a play
written by Aeschylus (a Greek tragic poet of the 6th-5th centuries BC), Electra,
the daughter of King Agamemnon, prays, "Grant that I may be a more
temperate and a more pious wife than was my mother." Other examples of the
transformation to spiritual goals may be seen in the prayers of the ancient Babylonian
and Assyrian kings who asked
for the fear of God, rather than material benefits, and that of a priest of the
Ewe (a West African people) who even asks of his god "That I remain near
you and that you remain near me." (see also
Near East) |
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The term confession expresses at the
same time an affirmation of faith and a recognition of the state of sin. In
Mazdaism (Zoroastrianism and Parsiism), as in ancient Christianity, the
confession of faith accompanies the renunciation of demons. The Confessionsof St. Augustine also illustrate this dual theme. In a similar fashion,
ancient and primitive men recognize that their sins unleash the anger of the
gods. To counter the divine wrath, a Ewe, for example, throws a little bundle of
twigs--which symbolizes the confessor's sins--into the air and he says words
symbolizing the deity's response, "All your sins are forgiven you." |
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The admission of sin
cannot be explained only by anguish or by the feeling of guilt; it is also
related to what is deepest in man--i.e., to
what constitutes his being and his action (as noted by Karl Jaspers, a
20th-century philosopher). The awareness of sin is one of the salient features
of religion, as, for example, in Hinduism: "Varuna is merciful even
to him who has committed sin" (Rigveda). Confession is viewed as the first
step toward salvation in both
Judaism and Christianity; in Buddhism, monks confess their sins publicly before
the Buddha and the congregation two times every month. |
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Situated at the most personal level of
man, sin places him directly before God, who alone is able to grant pardon and
salvation. The Miserere ("Lord, have mercy," Psalm 51) of the ancient
Israelite king David expresses repentance for sin with an intensity and depth
that has a universal value. One of the results of such a dialogue with God is
the discovery of the dark depths of sin. |
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Members of primitive societies have a
clear sense of their solidarity in the framework of the family, the clan, and
the tribe. This solidarity is often expressed in intercessory prayer, in which
the needs of others are expressed. In such societies, the head of the family
prays for the other members of the family, but his prayers also are extended to
the whole tribe, especially to its chief; the primitive may pray even for those
who are not members of his tribe (e.g., strangers
or Europeans). |
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Intercessory prayers are also
significant in Eastern and ancient religions. In the hymns of the Rigveda the
father implores the god Agni (god of fire) for all of those who "owe him
their lives and are his family." In the Greek play Alcestis by Euripides (5th century BC), the mother, on her death,
entrusts the orphans she is about to leave to Hestia, the goddess of the home.
Among the Babylonians and the Assyrians, a priesthood was established primarily
to say prayers of intercession. |
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Prayers of intercession to the divine
are supported by mediatory minor gods or human protectors (alive or dead),
marabouts (dervishes, or mystics, believed to have special powers) in Islam,
or saints in Christianity,
whose mediation ensures that the prayer will be efficacious. |
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In biblical religion, intercession is
spiritualized in view of a consciousness of the messianic (salvatory) mission.
Moses views himself as one with his people even when they fail in their duty:
"Pardon your people," he prays, "or remove me from the Book of
Life." Such solidarity finds its supreme form in the prayer of Christ on
the cross--"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do"--which St. Stephen (the first recorded Christian martyr) and other
martyrs repeated in the course of their sufferings. |
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Praise, in the prayer of primitive
peoples, can be traced to salutations, such as in the prayer of the Hottentots
(of South Africa) to the New Moon--"Welcome." Praise among most of the
ancient peoples was expressed in the hymn,
which was primarily a prayer of praise (whether ritual or personal) for the gift
of the created world. Israel praises its Creator for "his handiwork,"
as does the Qur`an. Contemplation of the majesty of the universe thus
often gives rise to a prayer that is not always completely free from pantheism
(the divine in all things) and that can be found all the way from the nature
hymns of Oriental religions to the effusions of J.-J. Rousseau, the 18th-century
French moralist, embracing the trees and contemplating the sunrise. |
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Praise--in addition to concerns for the
created world--plays an important role in the prayer of mystics, for whom it is
a form of adoration. Praise in this instance constitutes an essential element of
the mystic experience and celebrates God, no longer for his works, but for
himself, his greatness, and his mystery. |
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When the great deeds of God are the
theme of praise, it becomes benediction and thanksgiving. Even when words
denoting thanksgiving are not present, the substance of thanksgiving is
manifest, even, for example, for the Pygmy of Central Africa, who says to his
god, "Waka [meaning God], you gave me this buffalo, this honey, this
wine." Mealtime prayers, frequently enunciated in both ancient and modern
religions, give thanks for the goods of the earth and are linked to the giving
of an offering. |
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In Christianity, Christ is discovered as
the gift of God and in his mission the economy (or mode of operation) of
salvation. Thus, the giving of thanks is viewed as man's response, as a
spiritual reaction to the benefit received--i.e.,
the mediatory work of Christ. Because of the cultivation of this expected
response, praise and thanksgiving occupy a central position in Christian prayer
and in the liturgy, so much so that its name is given to the Eucharistic Prayer
(i.e., the Prayer of Thanksgiving). |
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Adoration is generally considered the
most noble form of prayer, a kind of prostration of the whole being before God.
Even if the prayer of request is predominant among primitives, they are seized
with the feeling of fear and trembling before the numen (spiritual power) of all
that is mana (endowed with the power of the sacred or holy) or taboo (forbidden
because of association with the sacred). Names given to the divinity in prayers
of adoration express dependency and submission, as, for example, in the prayer
of the Kekchí Indians of Central America: "O God, you are my lord,
you are my mother, you are my father, the lord of the mountains and the
valleys." To express his adoration man often falls to the ground and
prostrates himself. The feeling of submissive reverence also is expressed by
body movements: raising the hands, touching or kissing a sacred object, deep
bowing of the body, kneeling with the right hand on the mouth, prostration, or
touching the forehead to the ground. The gesture often is accompanied by cries
of fear, amazement, or joy; e.g., has (Hebrew),
hu (Islam), or svaha
(Hindu). |
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Adoration takes on its fullest meaning
in the presence of the transcendental God who reveals himself to man in the
religions of revelation (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). In the Old
Testament prophet Isaiah's vision of the holy (Isa. 6:3), the seraphim (winged
creatures) chant to Yahweh: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the
whole earth is full of his glory." This hymn of adoration became a part of
the Christian liturgy. The supreme form of adoration, however, is generally
considered to be holy silence, which can be found in primitive religion and in
ancient religions, as well as in the "higher" religions, and among
mystics it expresses the most adequate attitude toward the immeasurable mystery
of God: "I am in a dark sanctuary, I pray in silence; O silence full of
reverence" (Gerhard Tersteegen, an 18th-century Protestant mystic). Silent
adoration is often viewed as the introduction or the response to an encounter
with the sacred or holy. |
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Ecstasy
is literally a departure from, a tearing away from, or a surpassing of human
limitations and also a meeting with and embracing of the divine. It is a fusion
of being with being, in which the mystic experiences a union that he
characterizes as a nuptial union: "God is in me and I am in him." The
mystic experiences God himself in an inexpressible encounter because it is
beyond the ordinary experiences of man. The mystical union may be a lucid and
conscious progression of contemplative prayer, or it may take a more passive
form of a "seizing" by God of the one who is praying. |
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The mystic, by his goals and actions, is
removed from both the world and himself. He discovers in the light and majesty
of the divine his own poverty and nothingness and is thus torn between the
contemplation of the greatness of God and his own meagreness. St.
Francis of Assisi exemplified this dichotomy in his prayer: "Who are
you, O God of sweetness, and who am I, worm of the earth and your lowly
servant?" Ecstatic prayer goes beyond the frame of ordinary prayer and
becomes an experience in which words fail. Mystics speak in turn of unity (e.g., the 3rd-century-AD Greek philosopher Plotinus), of great
pleasure (Augustine), or of intoxication (Philo). It is found in the accounts of
Hindu, Persian, Hellenistic, and Christian mystics. "You are me, supreme
divinity, I am you," says Nimbaditya. The Sufi
(mystic) of Islam Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi sighs
in the same words as a Christian mystic, Angela da Foligno: "I am you and
you are me." Mechthild von Magdeburg develops the same kind of reciprocity:
"I am in you and you are me. We cannot be closer. We are two united, poured
into a single form by an eternal fusion." Such reciprocity that is so
complete that it becomes identity is the supreme expression of ecstatic prayer.
It is found in all of the mystic writings, from the Orient to the West. |
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The forms that prayer takes in the
religions of the world, though varied, generally follow certain fixed patterns.
These include: benedictions (blessings), litanies (alternate statements, titles
of the deity or deities, or petitions and responses), ceremonial and ritualistic
prayers, free prayers (in intent following no fixed form), repetition or formula
prayers (e.g., the repetition of the
name of Jesus in Eastern Christian Hesychasm, a quietistic monastic movement, or
the repetition of the name of Amitabha Buddha in Japanese Buddhism),
hymns, doxologies (statements of praise or glory), and other forms. |
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Prayer is one of the most ancient
expressions of religion. Practically the only evidence of early forms left,
however, is that to be noted among the most primitive peoples of today. Together
with his dependency in relation to his tribe, the primitive man is aware of his
dependency in relation to the Supreme Being. He often addresses his prayers,
however, to various numina (spiritual powers): the dead, the divinities of
nature, protective gods or actor gods, the Supreme Being localized somewhere in
heaven, or a feminine divinity linked to the earth (i.e.,
the great mother). It is impossible to determine the historical precedence
of one over the others, and it is difficult to describe the most primitive
prayer because certain forms escape modern scholars, so much so that it has been
assumed by some that prayer was absent in earliest religion. The first form may
have been a cry, then brief formulas repeated as incantations, such as
"Come . . . hear me . . . have pity." (e.g.,
Algonkin Indians of North America). (see also
primitive religion) |
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Internalized prayer is found among the
Eskimos of North America, the Algonkin tribes, the Semangs (of the Andaman
Islands in the Indian Ocean), and the Aboriginals of Australia. Prayer in
gestures is also found among the Semangs. Another form is spontaneous prayer,
without any precise formulation, which is found, for example, among the Negritos
of the Philippines and the Alacaluf (Halakwulups) of Tierra del Fuego. More
developed liturgies and prayer vigils are found among the Negritos and the
Pygmies of Gabon. |
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The prayers of peoples of a nonliterate
society generally are concerned with the self (egoistic) and concerned with
well-being (eudaemonic) at the same time; they are clearly pragmatic, concerned
above all with food, protection, and posterity. But the higher forms of
adoration and recognition of obligations, of confidence, and self-abandonment
are to be noted. Among the Australian
Aboriginals are prayers on tombs for the dead, so they may be received in
heaven, and prayers are also addressed to the spirits of ancestors. Request and
pardon accompany sacrifices in the propitiatory rites of the Semangs. Of special
interest is the fact that the Wiradjuri-Kamilaroi of Australia practice public
prayer on only two occasions: the burial of a man and the consecration of
puberty. They believe that excessive prayer serves no purpose. |
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From the 3rd millennium BC to the
beginning of the Christian Era, forms of prayer changed little among the
Assyrians and Babylonians and their descendants. The oldest forms are composed
of hymns and litanies to the moon goddess Sin and to the god Tammuz. Though some
songs of joy have been found, most are adjurations. Some hymns of thanksgiving
tell of gratitude to the divinity for victory over an enemy. One such hymn,
addressed to Marduk (the
Babylonian sun god), apparently goes back to the 12th century BC. A number of
hymns of later date celebrate the king, but their intent is to request divine
protection first for him and his country. Preserved in the library of
Ashurbanipal (7th-century-BC Assyrian king) at Nineveh is a rather long hymn to
the goddess Nana (queen of the world and giver of life), the consort of the god
Nabu, son of Marduk and a god of wisdom and science. There also is a long
acrostic poem in praise of the god Marduk, creator of heaven and earth, and
hymns that the Babylonians recited at the new year, at the beginning of spring,
and at the celebration of Marduk. |
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Other hymns accompany sacrifices, such
as in the offering of a young gazelle in place of humans. A most important form
of prayer, however, is found in the conjurations and exorcisms of a priest or
believer and in lamentations, which are particularly numerous and which often
end in a refrain similar to a litany. |
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Ancient Egyptian piety is preserved in
numerous precepts engraved on the backs of scarabs. These engravings sometimes
include praises of the divinity ("All good fates are in the hand of
God"), statements of confidence, or requests for protection for the one
praying and for his whole family ("God is the protector of my life; the
house of one favoured by God fears nothing"). Hymns of thanksgiving, such
as that of the artist Nebre, who obtained from the god Amon the healing of his
son who had been struck with illness because of Nebre's fault, are numerous in
ancient Egyptian religion.
Protective magic, widely
practiced, also utilized formulas of incantation, recited or written, and
amulets (charms). Some of the incantation formulas (anonymously written) come
from the earliest times, and others, more recent but no less efficient, were
composed by magicians. In order to increase their authority and efficacy,
several, such as those composed by pharaoh Ramses III (12th century BC) and
preserved in Cairo, were attributed in origin to the gods themselves. (see also
Near East) |
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Collections of formulas, such as the
Egyptian Pyramid Texts and the Book
of the Dead, were compilations of magical prayers that allowed the dead
to forestall all the dangers and meet all the eventualities. In particular, they
contain negative confessions in which the dead man justifies himself before the
court of Osiris (god of the dead). The funeral
liturgies of the ancient Egyptians have preserved lamentations that echo the
family in mourning. Hymns written on papyrus that are compositions in honour of
a divinity and that were recited during sacred ceremonies have also been
preserved. Such are the hymns of the pharaoh Akhenaton (Amenophis IV, 14th
century BC) to the god Aton and the hymns in honour of the god Amon-Re that
boast of divine benefits and sometimes confess misery and sin. (see also
Egyptian religion) |
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In Greece, poetic prayer can be
distinguished from ceremonial prayer. The first, like all of the liturgical
prayers, contains three essential parts: the invocation of the god, a
justification for fulfillment (e.g., sacrifices
offered, favours given and received), and a conclusion that formulates the
request, such as in the prayer of Diomedes to the goddess Athena in the Iliad
(written by the Greek poet Homer in the 8th century BC). Generally, the
ceremonial prayer followed a ritual pattern: washing of the hands, the prayer
proper, then sacrifice and libations. The prayer initiated the liturgical
action; without it there could be no ceremony. Prayers often were transformed
into hymns, a characteristic of Greek
religion. One of the oldest known Greek hymns is that of women devotees
of Dionysus, the god of wine
and fertility. That such hymns were not always sublime in character is attested
to by the comment of a 6th-century-BC Greek philosopher in regard to a Dionysiac
festival. |
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If they did not hold a procession and
sing a hymn to the genitals, it would be an outrageous performance. Hades and
Dionysus, in whose honour they rage and celebrate the Bacchus rites, are one and
the same. |
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Another ancient hymn is a morning hymn
to Asclepius, the god of healing. All the hymns begin with invocations of the
names of the gods to whom they are addressed. The invocation was believed to
have an almost magic value. Though there are many individual Greek hymns in
existence, the only official collection remaining contains the Orphic Hymns
(addressed to the ancient hero Orpheus); it dates from the Greco-Roman period (c.
3rd century BC-c. 4th century AD). |
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Roman prayers begin with an invocation
to the divinity. Addressing the god is of capital importance and one must be
careful not to address the wrong god. In order to avoid this error, there were
litanies of 15 gods and goddesses. The prayer itself generally takes two forms,
depending on whether it implies a request or is simply limited to praise. The
prayer of request has a juridical pattern in which the offering, as a
contractual element, dominates. The offering is what jurists call bail bond, a
guarantee. The prayer of request's effectiveness depends on a precise
formulation, with parallelisms, solemn repetition, and accumulation of synonyms.
The verb precor ("I pray")
is reinforced by many synonyms. Prayers of praise developed out of meditation or
experiences of religious elevation and utilized various patterns in both public
and private ceremonies. An example of collections of prayers of praise is
preserved in the Verba pontificalia ("Priestly
Words"). (see also Roman religion) |
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Another form of prayer is the votum
("vow"), in which a person undertakes to offer to the divinity, in
exchange for divine favour, a sacrifice, the building of a temple, or other such
offerings. It is a kind of bargain in which is still felt the prudence of the
peasant who has experienced failure. These vota
("vows") become more numerous than other prayers the farther one
goes from the historical origins of Rome. The most solemn form of the vow is the
devotio ("act of devotion"),
by which a chief offers himself to the divinity in order to obtain victory. |
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Although the religion of the Vedas
contains private prayers, it gives importance and hieratic stature to liturgical
prayer, which may or may not include sacrifice. There exists a whole series of
hymns, such as the morning hymn addressed to Agni (the god of fire), who brings
light, and to the two Ashvin (twin gods of light). There is also an
evening prayer, the savitu, more
precisely a prayer for dusk, which the disciple of the Brahmins (priestly
teachers) says at nightfall until the stars appear, and a benediction formula.
The gestures of adoration (upasthana)
in effect give more intensity to the prayer. The prayers that accompany
sacrifices and the numerous hymns of the Rigveda (Rgveda; a collection of
sacred ritualistic lyrics), which were composed by the members of the priestly
caste according to a stereotyped and schematic form, are addressed to the
greatness of the divinity in exaltation of his great deeds. (see also Vedic religion) |
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In Hinduism there is an elementary form
of prayer--i.e., an affirmation of
homage and refuge with the divinity. More frequent is a more elaborate prayer in
two forms: dhyana ("meditation")
and the stotra ("praise").
The stotra occurs in a variety of
subforms and generally opens with an invocation. It is often characterized by a
sort of litany of the titles given, for example, to Vishnu (Visnu; the
preserver god) or Shiva (the destroyer god). The Shivasahasranaman ("The Thousand Names of Shiva")
lists 1,008 titles. In this hymn, each strophe ends with the same refrain. When
recited with concentration and pure heart, these prayers are believed to achieve
remission of sins. |
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Hindu mysticism gives great importance
to spoken prayer, which, by progressive absorption, leads to ecstasy. The scale
of the prayer of Hindu mystics is exemplified in the five stages of bhakti("devotion") as taught by the Hindu mystic Caitanya
(15th-16th century AD), who uses the metaphor of love in social relationships: shanta
(peaceful love), dasya (servant of
God love), sakhya (friendship with
God), vatsalya (filial attitude toward
God), and madhurya (love of God as
one's lover). "When I was no longer capable of recognizing, I said me and
mine. I am you and you are mine" (Nalayiram).
(see also Hinduism) |
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In Chinese Buddhism
and Taoism, in addition to
prayer that accompanies sacrifice, there is the monastic prayer (mu-yu), which
is practiced morning, noon, and night to the sound of a small bell. There is
also a prayer for the dead, related to the transmigration of souls, which is
recited at funerals, the 30th day, the anniversary of the death, and the
celebration of the deceased's day of birth. Taoism gave increased importance to
this latter form. (see also Chinese
religion) |
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Private prayer prepares the way for
liberation and illumination. The tsai-fei is
a prayer--to accompany abstinence--that monks will recite for a believer on
payment of alms. Other prayers accompany vows and pilgrimages. Both Buddhist
monks and laymen use a string with 108 beads, which monks always carry in their
hands. |
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In Judaism
is one of the best known collections of prayers, the 150 psalms
in the Bible. In these psalms,
which always presuppose a collective witness, though they may be used by an
individual privately, praise is descriptive (God is . . .) or narrative (God
does . . .) in nature. Also included are hymns,
exhortations to praise God, and supplications. The psalms of request include
lamentations and songs of confidence or gratitude. Whether individual or
collective, the psalms have a rather similar structure: a cry to God, a
confession of sins, a protestation of innocence, and imprecations against one's
enemies. |
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To the prayers of the Bible, the rabbis
(religious teachers and leaders) added the Shema
("Hear"), which is a confession composed of three quotes from the
Bible (Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21, Num. 15:37-41) with attendant blessings and which
the Israelite recites daily. At the time of Christ, there appears the prayer par
excellence, the tefilla
or 'amida (standing prayer), also
called shemone 'esre ("18
Benedictions"), which every Israelite recites two or three times a day. To
these must be added the benediction before eating that raises the meal to the
level of the dignity of a religious act. |
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Christianity preserves the doxologies
and benedictions from its Jewish heritage. It adds to them the Lord's
Prayer, psalms, hymns, and canticles, the first specimens of which are
furnished by the New Testament (e.g., the
Nunc dimittis, "Now let your
servant depart"). Christian prayer, like that of other religions, includes
liturgical prayer and personal prayer. Liturgical prayer frames and explains
more especially the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist (Lord's Supper). |
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The liturgical collection, for Sundays
as well as other days, includes readings from the Bible, collects (brief prayers
including an invocation, petition, and conclusion in which the name of Jesus is
called upon), and a litany (general prayer) for the intentions of the universal
church. During the Eucharist,
there is a consecration of the bread and wine to be used in the sacred meal.
This consecration prayer is called the Eucharistic (Thanksgiving) Prayer, a long
prayer in which the element of thanksgiving is dominant. Addressed to the
Father, through the mediation of the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, this prayer
develops, like the Jewish liturgies,
from praise, to thanksgiving, to the memorial (or anamnesis), and finally to an
invocation of the Spirit (epiclesis). Originally improvised and spontaneous,
this liturgical prayer became fixed in stereotyped forms, first in the West,
then--though with more flexibility--in the East. |
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The first Christians retained the custom
of praying three times a day, reciting the "Our Father" (Lord's
Prayer). Special times for prayer are morning and evening. Christ's custom of
praying at meals (as a devout Jew) is also maintained. This framework can and
does favour the life and spirit of prayer that make a Christian existence,
according to the words of Clement of Alexandria, a 2nd-3rd-century theologian,
"an uninterrupted celebration." Bible readings, silent prayer (in the
West especially), brief, fervent invocations, and the repetition of formulas
like the Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy") in the East have enriched
spiritual life and have led monks and laymen to contemplative prayer, as is
shown by the growth of mysticism in both the West and East. (see also
Christianity) |
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From its beginning in the 7th century
AD, the most important part of Islamic
liturgy has been the ritual prayer called the salat(daily prayer), in which both Christian and Jewish influences can be seen.
This minutely detailed prayer is recited while the suppliant turns toward Mecca
(in Saudi Arabia) five times a day. On Friday, the salat
al-jum'ah (Friday prayer) replaces the noon prayer. It is celebrated by the
community in the principal mosque and includes preaching and a salat of two ritual bowings. Twice a year, at the end of Ramadan
and the 10th month, a solemn salat is
celebrated, similar to Friday's. |
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Islamic prayer is an act of
adoration of Allah (God) and
thus it would not be suitable to add a request. Before adoring God the believer
must purify himself by means of ablutions in pure water or, failing this, in
sand. The prayer is accompanied by a meticulous ceremonial with prostration of
the body (rak'ah). The sense of
adoration and conversation with Allah has led many spiritual Muslims to
the heights of mysticism (Sufism). |
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In Mazdaism, Avestan (scriptural)
prayer, sacerdotal prayer, and the prayer common to priests and laymen alike can
be distinguished. In the very first poem of the Avesta,
Zoroaster (Zarathushtra)
presents himself to Ahura Mazda
(the Good Lord) in a prayer that ends with these words: "I will sing for
you again praises of great value." What is characteristic of these hymns is
that man proceeds almost exclusively by questions and answers. Only priests can
understand the ceremony of the Yasna (the
sacrifice), during which they recite verses from the Avesta, adding to it the Visp-rat
(shorter liturgy), with or without the Videvdat
("Law against the Demons"), which is concerned with ritual purity.
Songs (involving light symbolism) accompany the five fire ceremonies that are
celebrated daily. There are also ceremonies in which both priests and laymen
participate. The great Baj, a
ritual offering of consecrated bread, grain, and butter, begins with a long
preface: "In the name of God, Lord Ormazd, may your power and glory
increase." The Satum, in
praise of the dead, is recited at the beginning of a meal prepared in their
honour every month for the first year after a death and then on each
anniversary. Other prayers accompany benedictions, especially those used at the
consecration of fire, initiation, and marriage. To these must be added the
prayers of great purification. (see also
Zoroastrianism) |
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Though historians of religion,
psychologists, and anthropologists debate various theories concerned with the
origin of prayer, the act of prayer itself is of great significance to the
believers of all religions, whatever their inspiration, revealed or otherwise. Ludwig
Feuerbach, a 19th-century German philosopher, summed up the significance
of prayer when he stated, "The most intimate essence of religion is
revealed by the most simple religious act: prayer." |
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As a religious phenomenon, prayer--in
terms of its evolution--appears to be neither universally progressive nor
progressively regressive. Its great moments and the appearance of men of prayer
at various times, whether simple men or men of genius, are found throughout its
long history, which thus marks it as a significant and characteristic element of
most, if not all, religions. Whether halting or mystical, ceremonial or
personal, prayer expresses the experience of a mystery that envelopes and
surpasses man. In the presence of that mystery, prayer seeks and establishes
dialogue. |
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(A.G.Ha.) |
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