Prayers from World Religions

"All religions teach one basic discipline; the removal from the mind of the blemish of egoism, of running after little joys. Every religion teaches humanity to fill themselves with the Glory of God, and evict the pettiness of conceit. It trains them in methods of detachment and discrimination so that they may aim high and attain liberation. Believe that all hearts are motivated by the One and only God, that all faiths glorify the One and only God, that all Names in all languages and all Forms man can conceive and denote the One and only God; his adoration is best done by means of love. Cultivate that attitude of oneness between men of all creeds, all countries and all continents. That is the Message I wish you to take to heart"
Voice of the Avatar, Vol 2, p154

Hinduism

May there be peace on Earth, peace in the atmosphere and in the heavens. Peaceful be the waters and the plants. May the Divine bring us peace. May the holy prayers and invocations of peace-liturgies generate ultimate Peace and Happiness everywhere. With these meditations which resolve and dissolve harm, violence and conflicts, we render peaceful whatever on earth is terrible, sinful, cruel and violent. Let the earth become fully auspicious, let everything be beneficial to us.
Atharva Veda, XIX-9

Buddhism

Homage to Him, the Exalted One, the Arahant, the All-enlightened One.
To the Buddha I go for refuge.
To the Norm I go for refuge.
To the Order I go for refuge.
Khuddaka Patha

Jainism

Lead me from Death to Life, from falsehood to Truth.
Lead me from Despair to Hope, from Fear to Trust.
Lead me from Hate to Love, from War to Peace.
Let Peace fill our Heart, our World, our Universe.

Judaism

Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire house of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honoured, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May the prayers and supplications of the whole house of Israel be accepted by their Father who is in heaven; and say, Amen, May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
Daily Prayer Book: The Kaddish

Christianity

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6. 9-13 (RSV)

Islam

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.
Show us the straight path:
The path of those whom You have favoured;
Not of those who earn Your anger nor of those who go astray.
Qur'an 1: The Fatihah

Zoroastrianism

In this world may obedience triumph over dis-obedience,
May peace triumph over discord,
May generosity triumph over niggardliness,
May love triumph over contempt,
May the true-spoken word triumph over the false-spoken word,
May truth triumph over falsehood.
Yasna 60.5

Sikhism

He is the Sole Supreme Being; of eternal manifestation;
Creator, Immanent Reality; Without Fear, without rancour;
Timeless Form; Unincarnated; Self-existent;
Realised by the grace of the Holy Preceptor.
Adi Granth: The Mul Mantra.

Hinduism

May the whole world be peaceful.
May the wicked become gentle.
May all creatures think of mutual welfare.
May their minds be occupied with what is auspicious.
And may our hearts be immersed in selfless love for the Lord.
Bhagavata Purana 5.18.9

Baha'i Faith

My God, my Adored One, my King, my desire!
What tongue can voice my thanks to Thee?
I was heedless,
Thou didst awaken me.
I had turned back from Thee,
Thou didst graciously aid me to turn towards Thee.
I was as one dead,
Thou didst quicken me with the water of life.
I was withered,
Thou didst revive me with the heavenly stream of Thine
utterance which hath flowed forth from the Pen of the All-Merciful.
0 Divine Providence! All existence is begotten by Thy bounty;
deprive it not of the waters of Thy generosity, neither do
Thou withhold it from the ocean of Thy mercy.
I beseech Thee to aid and assist me at all times and under all
conditions, and seek from the heaven of Thy grace
Thine ancient favour.
Thou art, in truth, the Lord of bounty, and
the Sovereign of the kingdom of eternity.
Baha'u'llah

Christianity

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
0 Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek;
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
And it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Then miracle shall follow miracle,
And wonders shall never cease.

Jainism

May my mind remain always steady and firm, unswerving and unshaken; may it become stronger every day. May I bear and endure with patience the deprivation of dear ones and occurrences of undesired evils.

May universal love pervade the world and may ignorance of attachment remain far away. May nobody speak unkind, bitter and harsh words!

May disease and pestilence never spread, may the people live in peace, may the highest religion of ahimsa (non-injury) pervade the whole world and may it bring about universal good! Amen.

Zoroastrianism

With pleasure of the Wise Lord!
Blessed is the thought, blessed the word,
Blessed is the deed of Holy Zarathustra!
I pray with obeisance,
With up-stretched hands for this support:
First, 0 Lord, that I perform all deeds
With Right, of the beneficent Spirit,
With wisdom of Good Thought,
So I may serve the Soul of Creation!
Avesta, Yasna 28.1

Buddhism

May all beings be peaceful and happy and free from ignorance, desire, suffering, sorrow and conflict - may their heart be full of infinite loving kindness, sympathetic joy, compassion and equanimity, may they be enlightened.

Hinduism

Let us be united;
Let us speak in harmony;
Let our minds apprehend alike.
Common be our prayer;
Common be the end of our assembly;
Common be our resolution;
Common be our deliberations.
Alike be our feelings;
Unified be our hearts;
Common be our intentions;
Perfect be our unity.
Rig Veda in Earth Prayers

Judaism

The Shema

Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Islam

Our Lord! Lo! We have heard a crier calling unto faith, "Believe in your Lord!" So we believed. Our Lord! Therefore forgive us our sins, and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die the death of the righteous.
Qur'an 3.193

Hinduism

From the unreal lead me to the Real!
From darkness lead me to light!
From death, lead me to immortality!
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28

Baha'i Faith

Create in me a pure heart, 0 my God, and renew
a tranquil conscience within me,
0 my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm
Thou me in Thy Cause, 0 my Best-Beloved,
And by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy
path, 0 Thou the Goal of my desire!
Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto
the heaven of Thy holiness, 0 Source of my being,
and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me,
0 Thou Who art my God! Let Thine everlasting
melodies breathe tranquillity on me, 0 my Companion,
and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me
from all except Thee, 0 my Master,
and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible
Essence bring me joy, 0 Thou Who art the most manifest of
the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden!
Baha'u'liah

Judaism and Christianity

The Lord bless you and watch over you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord look kindly upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 (NEV)

Buddhism

I take refuge in the Buddha,
the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma,
the way of understanding and Love.
I take refuge in the Sangha,
the community that lives in harmony and awareness.

Judaism and Christianity

May all that I say and think be acceptable to Thee, 0 Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 (NEV)

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