Love itself is a prayer

Opening
Life becomes truly beautiful when we find joy in the mundane moments.

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Love itself is a prayer.

It was just a normal day. After a tiresome day , I went to the mandir to seek peace. The ambience was vibrant yet warm, bustling yet quiet. There was a concert today; devotees were singing the beautiful bhajans and ballads about the beauty of god , exploits of Krishna, magnificence of Narasimha , victory of Ram and many more. I hummed a few rhymes that I knew and for those I didn’t know I stayed quiet; but my eyes roamed freely, sometime they saw the kids playing in a distant, pigeons flying in mandir precincts. Far off, in some street I saw…..

A couple was walking in the street, the mother carrying the child, the father holding some belongings. From a distance, it looked like they had come back from shopping. The mother was busy pointing out things to her child: “This is sweet, that’s a tree, that’s a dog, there’s a car…” Her eyes roamed with the curiosity like of a deer — eager to show every new creation of God. It seemed, she wished her child to know as much as possible, to grow with every step. At one point, I felt she even showed the temple as well. With every new thing she showed, the child laughed with zest. Meanwhile, the father walked quietly, focused, trying to remember if he had forgotten something.

As the couple neared the temple, the previous song ended, and by the time they came to the gate of the temple a new bhajan began — “Narayana, Narayana.”

The mother led with the child, the father following closely behind. As she reached the gate, she froze. The father looked at her with a questioning gaze. She whispered something in the child’s ear, and he folded his palms, closing his eyes. The mother looked at her child with a tenderness no words could capture. When he opened his eyes, she glanced him with such love, lifted him, dancing gently to the rhythm of “Narayana… Narayana…”

It was such a joyous moment. The child laughed as he was jingled with the rhythm of the bhajan, and seeing the child, the mother laughed too; emotions overflowed. She pressed her forehead to the child’s and kissed him softly. The father, who had been silent and was lost in his thoughts, forgot everything and joined their laughter. He kissed the child’s forehead. The mother looked at him as if to remind him he had forgotten something, and he kissed her too. Her cheeks flushed as she glanced around, checking if anyone was watching. I shifted my gaze, respecting their privacy. Together, they laughed, bowed to the Lord, and went on their road.

As they disappeared into the street, the chant of Narayana, Narayana lingered — a reminder that love itself is a prayer.

“Sometimes, the simplest acts of love are the truest prayers. Have you noticed the sacred in your everyday moments?”