It sounds like a phrase said by Prince Hamlet(To be or not to be) in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. But in reality it is a question for people who are neither atheists nor theists. An atheist is a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or Gods. An agnostic theist believes in the existence of a God or Gods, but regards the basis of this proposition as unknown or inherently unknowable. When a baby is born it is neither a theist nor an atheist. The question for the theists is not this but the different aspects of praying.

So it is the family background that promotes the habit of praying or not praying.

Krishna says in chapter 6 verse 41 - of Gita, when somebody who is a devotee who is used to pray to a formed God with qualities, dies, in the next life He will make them to be born in such a family who are used to pray for long hours so that, that individual can pursue the habit and enhance it to acquire good results. So where do atheists come from? Is it based on their previous life or atheism and agnosticism come from westernization, thinking it is fashionable to be westernized. Whatever it is, it does exists in the modern day society. So it is upto the individual atheist to decide whether to pray or not to pray. Perhaps there may be some agnostic theists as well in the society.

For the theist the question is not whether or not, but how and what for. The fundamental question is whether praying to God gives salvation or Moksha. The clear answer for that is a no. The next question will be if not, why pray and what does it achieve? Does it serve any purpose and if so how does it help and what does it do to the person praying. It is a matter of building up the personality and the right frame of mind to acquire the knowledge from a teacher to attain moksha or salvation and finally that the concept of moksha exists if and when a person thinks that there is a bandham(bondage with the earthly existence) or tied up with the worldly matters and family. When the acquisition of knowledge is complete(after learning from a Guruvu) one has to know that there is neither bandaham nor moksha in reality. Because the bondage is for the gross body and the subtle body but not to the soul. After studying the scriptures the person will come to know that he is the impersonal consciousness but not the body and hence the bondage does not exist and hence there is no salvation is necessary. One should not pray thinking that God will give all the materialistic things if they pray. It is a kind of dependency culture. It is to acquire the knowledge to clear the delusion that one is living in a world thinking it is real. One has to learn that it is like a dream and just as a dream is negated after waking up, the knowledge helps to negate the experiences of the awakened state as well.

Next question would be for a person who wants to pray is whether to pray in a temple, or in a room with an idol and pictures of God in the house or in one’s own mind. What is the difference between all these if any. If praying in mind whether to pray to one without form and a name or with a form, would arrive in the mind. Basically all types are praying. Going to temple may not suit or fit in to the life style of a person who is trying to make ends meet. Praying in a room in a house is acceptable. How does this compare with praying in one’s own mind. Praying in the mind one can do anywhere any time without any rules or restrictions. So if one can do this this is very good way. But all may not be able to concentrate in the middle of a disturbance. Going to temple or sitting in front of an idol is “bahishpragna” and praying in mind is “anthahpragna” as the experience is the same for both people. So one should not think that one is prayer and other is not a prayer. Pooja helps to focus the body(hands, eyes and tongue) on the idol in front where as Dhyanam or meditation(chanting a mantra in the mind incessantly) helps to concentrate, and both will help when sitting in front of the teacher to learn Sastra.

Finally one has to know prayer is not for a few minutes in a day or only when we need something from God. It can be concluded in this way.

In a happy moment praise God(because it is one of His splendour that caused the happiness).

In a difficult moment seek God(because until you know you are “HIM” you need some support to hold on).

In a quite moment worship God(So that you don’t fallout from the righteous living).

In a painful moment trust God(because if you think about God you will know why you got that moment and how you could avoid that next time).

Every moment thank God(for giving a healthy body and mind ,and intelligence to acquire knowledge about God and yourself, and to conclude that both are one and the same).

Mahatma Gandhi once said “In a prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart”.