Sivananda's Personality - 22.

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Noticing a sick person, or reading an obituary report, or observing a lame dog, or an ant accidentally trodden underfoot, the Master would breathe a hidden prayer with a feeling heart.

In the Ashram he regularly conducted Kirtan and collective prayer on behalf of devotees on their birthdays, or when they were sick, or when they desired success in some undertaking.

After invoking the Lord’s aid for the specific purpose, the Master would invariably pray in a general way for the welfare of the person concerned.


"May Lord bless Sri ... with health, long life, peace, bliss and prosperity; with health, long life, peace, bliss and immortality."


And most importantly, after listing the persons for whom prayers were being conducted on a particular day, the Master would never forget to add at the end, "And for the whole world at large."

The Master asked his disciples to always pray for the welfare of the whole world, and would ask sweetly, "Are you not included in the world?"

The tender feeling that he had for all mankind was also made apparent when he once declared, "I take a dip in the Ganges in the name of all those who are longing for a bath in the holy river."

Sri N. Ananthanarayanan
To be continued  ...


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