Prayer for Saturday (Vaisakhi)

Today is the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi.  The Hindu festival of Chaitra Navratri continues today and the Iroquois Thunder Ceremony ends today.

Our obligation is to give meaning to life
and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.
~ Elie Wiesel

A Prayer of Gratitude on Vaisakhi*

O Lord our God, Gracious and kind Waheguru,
Today is the beginning of the month of Vaisakh.
We, your children gather here to thank you
for bestowing so much upon us on this day of Vaisakhi.
Blessed are you O Lord our God,
Wondrous Waheguru
Father and Mother of the Universe
Who dwells in us
And blessed are we, your children
Chosen by you, as the Khalsa!
‘The Pure Ones’, your very own, we thank you
On this of day of Vaisakhi for bestowing so much upon us.
You have give us
This season of joy and festivity
In Punjab the land of our Fathers,
The farmers are rejoicing for a bounteous harvest.
And wherever, we, your children live
Across the five continents,
You have kept us in prosperity and chardikala.
Blessed are you, O lord our God
Who has granted us life and sustenance
And helped us in our daily tasks.
O Father and mother of the Universe
Who dwells in us
We bow in obeisance to you
For sending us the Ten great Gurus
Who blessed the earth
With the glorious examples of their lives
And taught us to live in grace and gratitude.
You sent us Guru Nanak,
Who sang of your glory and
Through whom you delivered to us
The great hymn of Japji
So we can recite the wonder of Your Creation.
Your bard, our first great Guru
Stripped the veil of ignorance
So the Truth could be heard.
The Truth of Your existence,
Of the oneness of Your creation
Of the universality of Your presence.
The truth that had been shrouded
Shone again through your son, Guru Nanak.

(Jasjit Kaur)

^{* The prayer is inspired by the Jewish prayer of gratitude offered at Passover – also called Sader, a celebration also, coincidentally, held in April each year. It is a unifying experience as families assemble at meals and acknowledge God’s gifts of plenitude and all the blessings we enjoy. – JK.}

This Week’s Affirmation:

“I forgive everyone for everything”

(For more on Affirmations, go to my Affirmations Page.)

Prayer for Saturday

As each day comes to us refreshed and anew,
so does my gratitude renew itself daily.
The breaking of the sun over the horizon
is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world.
~ Terri Guillemets

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.

(child’s mealtime blessing)

This Week’s Affirmation:

“I am grateful for all that I experience in this lifetime.”

(For more on Affirmations, go to my Affirmations Page.)

Prayer for Friday

When eating bamboo sprouts,
remember the man who planted them.
~ Chinese Proverb

Though our mouths were full of song as the sea,
and our tongues of exultation as the multitude of its waves,
and our lips of praise as the wide-extended firmament;
though our eyes shone with light like the sun and the moon,
and our hands were spread forth like the eagles of heaven,
and our feet were swift as hinds,
we should still be unable to thank thee and bless thy name,
O Lord our God and God of our fathers,
for one thousandth or one ten thousandth part of the bounties
which thou has bestowed upon our fathers and upon us.

(Nishmat, Hebrew Prayer)

This Week’s Affirmation:

“I am grateful for all that I experience in this lifetime.”

(For more on Affirmations, go to my Affirmations Page.)