Category Archives: Prayers

Prayers Before Meals:

Bahá’í Prayer Before Meals


O my Lord, my Hope!
Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing. O our Lord! Strengthen us to partake of this heavenly food, so that its fine essence may run through the pillars of our spiritual being and that we may thereby obtain a celestial power for serving Thy Cause, promulgating Thy signs and adorning Thy vineyard with lofty trees, the fruits whereof shall be near (to gather) and of perfuming fragrances. Verily Thou art the Possessor of great bounty! Verily Thou are the Clement, the Merciful!

~ (Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha Volume 1, p. 167)

Hindu Prayer Before Meals


Brahmārpaṇam brahma havir
Brahmāgnau brahmanāhutam;
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam
Brahma karma samādhinā.


“Brahman is the oblation; Brahman is the clarified butter etc. constituting the offerings, by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman; Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in all actions.”

Irish Grace Prayer Before Meals

Bless, O Lord, this food we are about to eat; and we pray You, O God, that it may be good for our body and soul; and if there be any poor creature hungry or thirsty walking along the road, send them into us that we can share the food with them, just as You share your gifts with all of us.

Anglican Prayer Before Meals

Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you
give us food to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Catholic Meal Prayer Before Meals

Father of us all,
This meal is a sign of Your love for us:
Bless us and bless our food,
And help us to give you glory each day
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen!

General Graces Before Meals

~ Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ God is great, and God is good, And we thank him for our food; By his hand we all are fed; Give us, Lord, our daily bread.

~ God, we thank you for this food. For rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above. But most of all for those we love.

~ O Lord, we thank you for the gifts of your bounty which we enjoy at this table. As you have provided for us in the past, so may you sustain us throughout our lives. While we enjoy your gifts, may we never forget the needy and those in want.

~ Bless this food to our use, and us to thy service. Fill our hearts with grateful praise. Amen.

O God! Educate these Children… (Bahá’í Prayers)

O God!  Educate these children.  These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden.  Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love.  Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the utmost beauty.  Thou art the Giver.  Thou art the Compassionate.

~‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Ek Onkar

ek onkar satnam kartapurakh
nirmoh nirvair akaal murat
guru parsad jap aad sach jugaad sach
hai bhi sach nanak hose bhi sach

soche soch na ho wai
jo sochi lakh waar
chhupe chhup na howai
je laai har lakhtaar

ukhiya pukh na utari
je banna puriya paar
sahasyanpa lakh woh hai

ta ek na chale naal
ke ve sach yaara hoi ae
ke ve kude tutte paal
hukum rajai chalna nanak likheya naal

(PS: Please forgive if there are mistake in what I wrote. You may correct me by commenting. Thank you.)

The Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri mantra is one of the oldest and most powerful of Sanskrit mantras. It is believed that by chanting the Gayatri mantra and firmly establishing it in the mind, if you carry on your life and do the work that is ordained for you, your life will be full of happiness.

The Gayatri Mantra

Aum
Bhuh Bhuvah Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo nah Prachodayat

                                                                                                ~ The Rig Veda (10:16:3)

The Meaning

“O thou existence Absolute, Creator of the three dimensions, we contemplate upon thy divine light. May He stimulate our intellect and bestow upon us true knowledge.”

Or simply,

“O Divine mother, our hearts are filled with darkness. Please make this darkness distant from us and promote illumination within us.”

 

History:

The word “Gayatri” itself explains the reason for the existence of this mantra. It has its origin in the Sanskrit phrase Gayantam Triyate iti, and refers to that mantra which rescues the chanter from all adverse situations that may lead to mortality.

Goddess Gayatri is also called “Veda-Mata” or the Mother of the Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Saam and Atharva – because it is the very basis of the Vedas. It is the basis, the reality behind the experienced and the cognized universe.

The Gayatri mantra is composed of a metre consisting of 24 syllables – generally arranged in a triplet of eight syllables each. Therefore, this particular meter (tripadhi) is also known as the Gayatri Meter or “Gayatri Chhanda.”

…≈…

Bahá’í Children Prayer.

Lord, my God! This is a child that hath sprung from the loins of one of Thy servants to whom Thou hast granted a distinguished station in the Tablets of Thine irrevocable decree in the Books of Thy behest.

I beseech Thee by Thy name, whereby everyone is enabled to attain the object of his desire, to grant that this child may become a more mature soul amongst Thy servants; cause him to shine forth through the power of Thy name, enable him to utter Thy praise, to set his face towards Thee and to draw nigh unto Thee. Verily it is Thou Who hast, from everlasting, been powerful to do as Thou willest and Who wilt, to eternity, remain potent to do as Thou pleasest. There is none other God but Thee, the Exalted, the August, the Subduer, the Mighty, the All-Compelling.

~Bahá’u’lláh

 

Bahá’í Prayer

“Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.”

~ Bahá’u’lláh

Vakratunda Mahakaaya (Lord Ganesh’s Prayer)

Sloka:

“Vakratunda Mahakaya, Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva, Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada”

Meaning:

O Lord with curved trunk and massive appearance whose splendour is equal to that of a billion suns.
Please bless me such that I do not face any obstacles in any of my endeavours, any time.

Vakratunda – curved trunk
Mahakaaya – huge form
Surya- sun
Koti – billion
Sama – equal
Prabha — splendor
Nirvighnam — no obstacles
Kurumey — give me
Deva — God
Sarva — All
Karyeshu — Endeavours
Sarvada — Always

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever and ever.

Amen

 

Thank You Lord

Lord,

As I go to bed this night,
I thank you for my blessed life.

Thank you for my family,
Thank you for creating me.

For the world and all my friends,
And for your love that never ends.

Protect me through the darkness of night,
Keep me in your blessed sight.

Show me to another day,
Direct me to your loving way.

Bring me into your arms,
So you may protect me from sin and harm.

Thank you and goodnight to you,
And Lord, may my love stay forever true.

Amen.