The Science, Psychology and Metaphysics of Prayer

Some weeks ago, the students of Paramahansa Yogananda — the teacher widely credited with bringing Yoga and Yoga Science to the West – approached me to write an article on prayer, coincident with their upcoming annual week-long Self-Realization Fellowship Convocation. An exploration into the subject reveals prayer to be a considerably more complex subject than the stereotypic image we tend to have of the ardent believer, fervorently casting forth pleas for help, forgiveness or some other momentarily pressing need. Prayer is not just a going out, but also a going in, and it is a practice woven deeply into the fabric of global culture — a rich tapestry of science, psychology, metaphysics and, of course, faith and spiritual sojourn.

As a practice, prayer is the setting of an intention; it is not a plea, but a resolution, and that resolution takes many forms. Whatever that form, the psychology that underlies prayer issues forth from two fairly distinct perspectives. On the one hand, God, or the object of prayer, may be represented as an external construct of the ego, or something “out there”. On the other, God may be represented as an interior archetype, or something “in here”.

The various spiritual and religious traditions — major and minor, dormant and new – each fall primarily into one of these two containers, and then include some lesser blending of the other. This fundamental psychological framework subsequently influences and informs the form that prayer and meditation take within each of the various spiritual traditions.

The major Western traditions, such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam subscribe in large measure to the “out there” construct; so, God is primarily “prayed to”. The mystic traditions associated with each of these larger traditions — Gnosticism, Kabala and Sufism, respectively – lend the “in here” aspect to this particular container, resonating with the notion of the Self as divine.

The major Eastern traditions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism issue forth from the other side of this coin, subscribing in large measure to the “in here” construct; so, prayer from this perspective is something more introspective and akin to meditation. Within each of these traditions, there are also reflected varying aspects of the “out there”, compassed by things like the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons, or Tao begetting Yin/Yang begetting I-Ching, in a parallel of Genesis.

Smaller traditions both East and West, such as Wicca, Jainism Bon, Native American shamanism, Shinto, Voodoo, Santeria, etc., reflect a similar set of balances within their fundamental psychological underpinnings. Witness the Great Spirit of the Native American Sioux tradition, which also emphasizes the relationship between The People and The Land, anthropomorphizing tatanka, the Buffalo. Similarly, Wicca relies heavily on practitioner’s relationship to the 5 Elements as aspects of the self, but regularly calls The Goddess into the ritual circle, while Voodoo and Santeria hold close association with Christian tradition.

No matter the form of prayer particular to a tradition, one type of prayer that is ubiquitous to all is the prayer of blessing. Again, speaking to the psychological aspect, blessing is when prayer – no matter its antecedent – moves from the egocentric (praying for me) to the ethnocentric (praying for you/us) and geocentric (praying for all of us). After all, one of the most ubiquitous terms – and blessings — in the English language is “goodbye”, which is shorthand for “God be with ye”.