SHORT STORY -THE POWER OF PRAYER!

Raju was a smart little boy. He was naughty and playful. He loved playing games and cricket was his favourite.  Even on school days, he would play cricket until it was time to get ready for school. Or sometimes he would get up very late, rush through his homework that he had forgotten to do the previous evening and would almost run to school to reach on time. He often forgot his morning prayers which, as days went by, even came to a stop. 

But Raju never realized that he was becoming more and more disorganized due to lack of planning. Raju’s grandfather, an austere disciplinarian, had been watching Raju for some time and decided to set things right. He knew that Raju was interested in Science and related inventions. He also knew that Raju nurtured an aspiration to become a scientist in future. So grandpa decided to play on that front to bring Raju in line.

One Sunday morning… it was raining outside. Raju was forced to stay indoors. He spent the time chatting with his grandpa. 

“Raju, what do you want to be in future?” 

“Grandpa, you know that I want to be a scientist”. 

“Well, then do you know that many great scientists and inventors believed in God and prayers? Amidst their busy schedule, they would always find time to pray.  Let me tell you a secret. These scientists and inventors realized that their prayers helped them and they were able to find solutions to complex problems without much difficulty that eventually led to their valuable inventions.” 

“Really, grandpa? Wow! Great! I didn’t know that”. Then grandpa proceeded to tell Raju an interesting anecdote that had happened in Louis Pasteur’s life. Grandpa explained how a young college student, during a train journey, had insulted his co-passenger (Louis Pasteur) who was praying with Rosary* in his hands. The student, without knowing the true identity of his co-passenger, insulted the old man by saying that he was wasting his time in prayers.  However, the student later realized that his co-passenger was Louis Pasteur, the great scientist and apologized profusely to him. 

Raju listened to the story with awe. “Raju, do you know that Louis Pasteur had absolute faith in God and Eternity without which, he believed, he would not have achieved what he had, in the field of science. The power of prayers is such. We just have to do our duty of praying and leave the rest in the hands of God”, grandpa finished with a subtle note. 

“Grandpa, now I understand. I will start doing my prayers from today, right away!”.  Raju ran inside the house. Grandpa knew that his prayers had been answered! 

-S. KARTHIK