Oleg Torsunov: “Prayer gives new life, and not what is destined for us by fate. This is your freedom of choice.”
Most of the listeners of Oleg Gennadievich’s lectures begin to reach for knowledge when life has cracked and it becomes impossible to live as before, and all the previous methods of emergency rescue no longer work. The husband leaves the family, the apartment is taken away, the child becomes seriously ill, debts accumulate - there can be a lot of such situations, and the main criterion is that 1) I cannot influence it and 2) nothing helps.
It is at such a moment that we begin to look for solutions. Oleg Gennadievich claims that even in the most dead-end situation you can find a way out, but to do this you need to answer the question - why am I living? When a person is able to break away from the situation and delve into himself, to understand that he is actually a soul and should live not for momentary pleasures, with which all mass media are saturated, but for something deeper and more serious, then yes, a solution can be found .
But if we don’t want to study ourselves, our “cockroaches” and behavioral scenarios, but simply want to point a finger at the culprit of all my troubles and misfortunes, then nothing will change. Moving forward begins only if we are ready to understand that not everything is all right with us and we are not always right, as it turns out. As the Buddhist saying goes, “He who blames others has a long road ahead of him. Anyone who blames himself has already gone halfway. He who does not blame anyone has reached the end.”
To reach this state, prayer is precisely what is needed. Although most people have heard about it many times, they still ask Oleg Gennadievich: “What should I do specifically in my situation?” But the answer is always the same: everything that happens in your life is a reflection of your fate: your parents argue, your husband drinks, your son is a drug addict, your wife goes on walks, etc. But it is impossible to overcome such a fate without prayer. We have very limited resources, and without the support of God, who also deliberately puts us in this situation, we are powerless.
Old fate or new life?
Forgetting about spiritual reality, we plunge into the abyss of our problems, affairs and worries and consider all these events to be very important. To the question: “If you feel bad, why don’t you pray/stopped praying?”, we most often answer: “No time.” But, as Oleg Gennadievich says, if we fall in love with someone, then we will always find time for a date. And if we don’t have time for prayer, then this means only one thing - we don’t understand why it is needed. A date cannot change our life for the better, since it is just a portion of happiness that is destined for us by fate, while prayer changes our whole life and gives us a new destiny!
What is karma? As the people say, what you earn is what you get, and our whole life is woven from karma. This happens mechanically. The time has come, I fell in love, the time has come, I fell out of love. But when we communicate with a holy person, come into contact with holiness, strive for purity, then the mechanics end. Karma is destroyed.
— Prayer gives new life, and not what is destined to us by fate. This is your freedom of choice. This is a new destiny, and it does not depend on karma at all. This is not predicted, and no one can predict it. This is what frees you from all suffering and destroys all difficulties, gives you victory and ultimately elevates you, emphasizes Oleg Torsunov.
The beginning of the spiritual path
Prayer should be in the life of each of us. This is the most intimate and bright side of our life, about which we know so little. But as soon as difficulties arise, a person begins to look for solutions. If he has done enough good deeds, he will hear the voice of God in his heart and listen to His instructions: where to go, what to do, who to turn to, etc., and, despite the fact that it is difficult for him now, he will be able to overcome the difficulties that have arisen .
The problem is that we usually do not hear the voice of God. When we commit unfavorable actions, each time we listen less to our conscience, as a result of which its voice becomes inaudible to us. The Vedas claim that God is right in our hearts, so it is impossible to hide anything from Him. This is the secret witness who always sees and hears everything, and also helps those who seek refuge in Him and ask for help.
So, when we begin to pray, the Lord fulfills our desires, as a result of which faith grows stronger. It often happens that small children, without knowing about prayer, mentally turn to God and ask Him so that their parents no longer quarrel, so that everything will be Fine. When parents stop quarreling, the child’s faith in higher powers strengthens in his heart. But we are far from children, however, even those who have been listening to lectures for a long time sometimes take a very long time to come to God.
Mostly we remember God when we need to ask Him for something. But Oleg Gennadievich explains that it is best to ask God for spiritual knowledge and the opportunity to serve Him. Because He always knows better than us what we need and when. He is never late and makes sure that all events in our lives come in due time, so there is no need to rush Him. We need to stop worrying and completely trust Him, and also thank Him for everything that He gives and does not give, because we do not know what exactly can make us happier and what we need to go through for this.
“We have only one daily bread—spiritual knowledge.” If we ask God for spiritual knowledge, then this is the best bread for our heart. And holiness is the best food that purifies fate. Therefore, when we begin to pray, God gives us relief in life, and then, if we progress in spiritual practice, He gives us new life! Lighter and cleaner, which you never even dreamed of. This is something that is not included in the plans of our destiny. This is already a victory over fate, and you need to live in order to defeat fate, and not in order for it to be realized,” comments Oleg Gennadievich.
The Role of Mind Development
To begin spiritual practice, you need to develop your mind. We wrote in detail about why this is needed in the article "Why is it necessary develop the mind?”. Thus, several aspects hinder victory over fate and progress in the spiritual field, such as a disordered life, a strong thirst for success (living beyond one’s means), empty talk and laziness.
For example, if you do not maintain a daily routine, the mind will not be able to develop. In this case, it will be very difficult to defeat fate and show willpower in the fight. If we get up late, we feel that we do not have the strength to pray. If we go to bed late, same thing. If we also overeat at night, then all the more we will not have the strength for spiritual life. These are all the results of a disordered life.
If you deliberately condemn another person in a conversation with someone, then the purity of your soul is destroyed at that moment. Instead, you will feel the defilement entering your heart and mind. It seems like we were gossiping a little, and then I want to scold everyone. This is how ignorance works, and it also destroys the mind. Why do we want to discuss someone? Because we lack love. Instead of praying and during prayer getting rid of irritation and dissatisfaction, a person calls another and begins to tell him the details of someone else’s life.
Thus, by developing the mind, we can stand on a stable platform of spiritual life, but without its development this is impossible. It is also impossible to progress spiritually without any support. To do this, you always need communication with exalted people who have already established themselves in their spiritual tradition. Communication with them will elevate consciousness and convey a taste for spiritual life. Communicate with them, ask questions, go to church, help people. Even if you do not have such communication, and your loved ones do not allow you into the temple, you can choose a holy person in your spiritual tradition and pray to him, mentally establish a connection with him, and bow to him.
— If a person in spiritual life relies only on himself and does not place a spiritually pure person or God as a stronghold, then it will be impossible to achieve spiritual happiness or victory over fate. This is simply self-deception. You can’t pull yourself out of the swamp by your hair,” emphasizes Oleg Torsunov.
Thus, prayer helps to overcome crisis situations in life. This is something that always helps under any circumstances. Our task is only to understand that we must fight not with circumstances, but with our destiny. Our loved ones, work, social circle, etc. are just a reflection of our destiny. If a crisis occurs in life, then knowledge about this helps to defeat fate and get a new life, one that cannot be predicted and which has everything for deep, non-immediate, spiritual happiness. You just need to make a choice.
