Do Prayers Really Bring About A Change?
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
5 October
2022
" Na Dozakh Ka Dar, Na Khauf-E-Khuda
Hans Kar Maine Maut Se Loha Liya "
-Adil Rampuri
(Neither
hell nor Allah am I fearful of/ I challenged death with a grin on my face)
" Prayers can only have a Placebo effect
on a person or they can apparently minimize the severity of a situation. That
they can change a hopeless situation dramatically, is a very big
self-deception. Prayers are for frightened and religiously conditioned humans.
"
Ahmed Harqan, Egyptian Human Rights activist
and an outspoken atheist
Recently,
famous comedian Raju Srivastava passed away despite the whole country earnestly
praying for him for nearly two months. My friend's young sister died of cancer,
though her family called Pandits from UP to recite Maha Mritunjay Jaap
continuously for many days. Alas, nothing could help her survive. A complete
nonbeliever at Adelaide hospital in Australia, sternly told his near and dear
ones not to pray for him as he had no faith in any god and the effectiveness of
prayers. He recovered miraculously though all doctors gave up on him. He had
faith in himself that he'd survive. My point is that unwavering self belief and
courage of conviction can help a person sail through even the toughest
challenge(s) in life sans a skerrick of faith in any god, prayer or religion.
There's no arrogance about it.
Readers may
be aware that when a complete atheist Bhagat Singh was about to be hanged at
Lahore Central Jail on March 23, 1931, the fatherly jailor came to him and
politely requested him to pray. Bhagat Singh said, ' I'm not scornful of your
belief in some divine power, but I've never had any faith in any heavenly
power. So, at this juncture, I cannot compromise on my conviction. Please let
me die faithless.' Imminent death can make anyone vulnerable. Yours truly is no
exception.
But one can
triumph over the fear of impending death by having absolute self belief and
this belief is his/her 'spiritual' anchorage. Self belief sans any esoteric
mumbo-jumbo is true spirituality. I saw my professor and mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf
die. She too died of cancer at The Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, London. A
complete non-believer, Dr Ashraf chose to embrace death despite writhing in
extreme pain. She never prayed in life or had any faith in religion (read
Islam). Doctors attending to her were amazed by her self-belief and fortitude.
My atheist
mother was instructing doctors to give away her whole body for medical research
without praying or fearing for death. Yours truly never prayed (and will never
pray) throughout his life. Yet, he has got everything and all his wishes have
come to fruition. I know, death is inevitable. So, why should I worry or pray
to stave it off?
Mirza
Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote, ' Maut Ka Ik Din Muayyan Hai/Neend Kyon Raat
Bhar Nahin Aati ?' (The day of death is predestined/Why does sleep elude
all night?). So very true. When death is unavoidable, welcome it with utmost
calmness, equanimity and dignity. If the majority of people in the world are
religious and believers, there are also people who've no faith and are totally
godless. For such non-believers, approaching death mustn't be so overwhelming
as to degenerate them into believing something they never believed during their
lifetime.
-----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/prayers-atheist-faith-divine/d/128109
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