India, Sept. 11 -- From my earliest childhood, prayer came to me as naturally as breathing. Whenever I fell sick, felt threatened, or faced the anxiety of an upcoming exam, my instinct was to fold my hands and turn to God. Only later did I understand why this came so easily: because, as the Bhagavad Gita (15.7) reminds us, every soul is a part of God. Just as a child instinctively seeks comfort from a parent, we turn to the Divine for protection and guidance. It is the most natural connection one can make.
As I grew older, I began to realise the profound benefits of prayer. The first and foremost is the direct connection with God - instant and without barriers. In the Gita (7.16), Lord Krishna explains that four kinds of people approach Hi...