Traditional Prayers : A Path to Devotion or Leads to Psychological Disorder?
Connection with your own little divine energy is a fundamental part of spirituality, meant to bring peace, reflection, and a deeper connection with Big Eternal Energy recognized as God in layman terms.
Prayers that are originally meant as connectors or bridge between us and our inherent God; has taken monotonous and ritualistic form.
Canonical Prayers are burdensome act rather than a natural inner conversation, it no longer serve its true purpose of connecting with the Divine and Healing one's broken soul / self.
Canonical Prayers, when performed out of obligation and fear of an Authority rather than love and devotion leads to psychological disorder called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Scrupulosity in prayer, a form of religious OCD, involves excessive worry, guilt and anxiety about whether prayers are performed correctly or if one is pleasing God properly. It leads to uncertain behaviors of unfulfilled feelings of anxiety because they are not getting the desired success which they expect from their canonical religious rituals.
Religious life is an artificial life of fear and sycophancy 24x7 rather than a life in love or being connected naturally to the Divine Source. The religious behavior stems not from true devotion but from fear of failure, anxiety and a lack of spiritual connection.
The Difference Between Sincere Connection and OCD-Driven Prayer.
1. True Connection: A true connection does not require ritual Prayers. It is a spontaneous act, cultivating inner peace, spiritual growth, and awareness of Source / Eternal Energy. It should be done with an urge to seek knowledge of the Source of our entity rather than out of fear or compulsion.
2. OCD-Driven Prayers: When canonical prayer is forced upon, it is not natural but due to fear of punishment, it can become distressing rather than uplifting. Instead of bringing peace, it leads to guilt, anxiety, and a never-ending cycle of bondage and servitude.
Does God Require Time Bound Canonical Prayers?
All religious scriptures are for spiritual awakening and enlightenment. There are no prayers in scriptures but cures for our mental or spiritual illness. God does not require excessive repetition of words or fear-driven rituals.
The Quran states:
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then verily I am near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be guided aright." (2:186)
"Call upon your Lord humbly and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors." (7:55)
Dua is a call, a prayer and a invitation.
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided. (16:125)
Similarly, in the Bible, Jesus warned against excessive words in prayer:
Matthew 6:5-13 King James Version (KJV)
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Daniel, known for his unwavering faith, prayed alone in his room, facing Jerusalem, even when such acts of worship were outlawed (Daniel 6:10)
These teachings suggest that there are no traditional Prayers. The prayers should be sincere and free from monotonous and excessive words. Silence is the language of God.
Breaking Free from Compulsive Prayer:
For those who are struggling with meticulousness or scrupulosity, it's essential to comprehend that God is not a Dictator just waiting to catch you if you miss prayers or make mistakes in Prayers. God is a Mercurial Energy that we need to understand and act accordingly. Trust, Faith and Belief must be based on deep knowledge, empathy, mindfulness and testimony; not on unknown fear and compulsion.
Here are some steps to liberate or achieve freedom from compulsive Prayer Habits:
1. Trust in Natural Justice: Understand that sincere actions matters more than the number of times the ritual prayers are performed. Prayers cannot avert Natural Justice of Cause and Effect. Traditional Prayers gives temporary placebo effect.
2. Focus on Connecting with Nature. Not Rituals: Instead of repeating the same alien words over and over again in Prayers, engage in personal reflection, seeking knowledge, learning and experiencing the connection.
3. Understand what is a Prayer: If you feel the urge or a call then go and attend that call, that's your duty, thats your call. Your call is your Prayer. Lip service is not Prayer. To repeat same prayers excessively, repetitively is not Prayers but deceiving your own selves.
4. Prayer is a call which comes from inside and not from loudspeakers or from some external source.
5. Connection brings peace, soundness and not distress. Ritual prayer causes placebo for a very short period of time that's why it's need timely recharge. Therefore missing the timings of the prayers causes stress, anxiety when not able to attend on time.
Whereas Spiritual Connection is 24x7 experience / feeling of bliss of being Connected.
Conclusion
A real Prayer should be a liberating experience, not a burden. Monotonous prayers endlessly out of fear or compulsion may indicate a deeper struggle, such as continuous insecurity. God / Eternal Energy values a sincere frequency and vibrations of heart over mechanical rituals and superficial words.
Connection is not an act of worship or forceful obedience. Connection bring peace, awareness, and empathy with all the divine beings around us.
If canonical prayers becomes a source of burden or distress, it is a time to rethink our approach and seek a more meaningful and mindful relationship with God the Eternal Energy 🙏