Part Three - The Path of Life
Chapter 16 Prayer and Worship
3) Praise
Worship Should Be Ardent And Emotional ; and there is no better way to generate emotional power than by praising God in songs and chants. Praise is a natural expression of our love for Him. Hymns and psalms give poetic and heartfelt voice to the word, penetrating the soul more deeply than any theological discourse. Singing can elevate us into an exalted spiritual state where we experience the mystic glories of heavenly choirs of angels. Chanting a sacred syllable or repeating the Lord’s holy names attunes our mind to Ultimate Reality and call forth its mystic power.
1. On the Value of Praise
World Scripture
He is the Living One; there is no god but He: call upon Him, giving Him sincere devotion. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds! Qur’an 40.65
I know that my greatest good is to worship The Wise Lord and those that have been and are. By their names will I worship them And come before them with praise. Avesta, Yasna 51.22 (Zoroastrianism)
Enthusiasm: The ancient kings made music in order to honor merit, and offered it with splendor to the Supreme Deity, inviting their ancestors to be present. I Ching 16: Enthusiasm (Confucianism)
The words dearest to God are four: Glory be to God, Praise be to God, There is no god but God, and God is most great.19 Hadith of Muslim (Islam)
The word which all the Vedas extol, Toward which all asceticism points, In quest of which men live disciplined lives, That will I tell you, that is “OM.” This syllable, indeed, is imperishable Brahman; This syllable, indeed, is the End supreme. The one who knows this selfsame syllable Will surely obtain whatever he desires. Katha Upanishad 1.2.15-16 (Hinduism)
The elements of word OM are fourths, the elements: the letter A, the letter U, the letter M. The waking state, the common-to-all-men, is the letter A… the dreaming state, the Brilliant, is the letter U… the deep-sleep state, the Cognitional, is the letter M… The fourth is without an element, with which there can be no dealing, the cessation of phenomena, benign, without a second. This AUM is the Self indeed. Mandukya Upanishad (Hinduism)
All Buddhas in the universe throughout past, present, and future invariably attain Buddhahood with the seed of the five characters of “Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo.” Nichiren (Buddhism)
If man, with constant endeavor, praise the Lord of the Universe, the unlimited Supreme Being, with His Thousand Names, if he worships daily and with devotion the same imperishable Being, meditating on Him, praising Him, bowing to Him, and making offerings to Him, if he sings daily the praise of Vishnu, the Great Lord of the whole universe who has neither beginning nor end and presides over the world, he overcomes all unhappiness. Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 254 (Hinduism)
When, indeed the Holy Spirit saw the human race was guided only with difficulty toward virtue, and that, because of our inclination toward pleasure, we were neglectful of an upright life, what did He do? The delight of melody He mingled with the doctrines so that by the pleasantness and softness of the sound heard we might receive without perceiving it, the benefit of the words… A psalm implies serenity of the soul; it is the author of peace, which calms bewildering and seething thoughts. For, it softens the wrath of the soul, and what is unbridled it chastens. As psalm forms friendships, unites those separated, conciliates those at enmity. Who, indeed, can still consider him an enemy with whom he has uttered the same prayer to God? So that psalmody, bringing about choral singing, a bond, as it were, toward unity, and joining the people into a harmonious union of one choir, produces also the greatest of blessings, charity. Saint Basil (Christianity)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Song is the material basis for harmonizing with God. That is why when you sing you should be intoxicated with joy. (16:289, July 31, 1966)
Hymns sung with deep emotion are the best form of entreaty and spirit-filled prayer. If you look into the eyes of people singing and praying, you will see something moving in them. You feel, “Ah, from here, God’s work begins!” (17:21, November 6, 1966)
Prayer is a time to be in harmony with God. From this perspective, prayer by singing can be more moving than prayer in words. When singing hymns, you can quickly experience the feeling of being drawn into a world of mystery. (270:19, May 3, 1995)
Buddhist monks chant and beat the wood block. We listen to sermons and sing hymns. They are all conditions. (January 5, 1999)
All creation praises God: even the insects, birds, fish and beasts praise Him. (269:171, April 17, 1995)
May we become Thy sons and daughters who sing songs of Thy love, after fulfilling all Thy hopes and all Thy Will!… May we become true children who comfort our Father with songs of joy and glory, who have accomplished Thy hope, Thy work and Thy thought, and who forever live with Thee! (5:280, February 22, 1958)