Life is a gift from existence. We have not earned it; in fact, we don’t even deserve it. But we are such ungrateful creatures that not even a simple thank you arises in us. We are not grateful that we are alive; we are not grateful that we have been given this opportunity to grow, to see, to love, to laugh; to enjoy the music of existence, the beauty of the world. We are not at all grateful. On the contrary, we are continuously complaining.
If you listen to people’s prayers, you will be surprised: all their prayers are complaints. Their prayers are not out of thankfulness; they are asking for more. They are saying, “This is not enough.” And in fact, it is never going to be enough. The poor person is asking, the rich person is asking, the emperor is asking — everybody is asking!
Everybody is asking for more. That simply means whatsoever you have been given is not enough: “I deserve more! You have not been fair to me.” I call this irreligiousness. Hence to me, all the prayers that go on in the temples and the mosques and the churches are irreligious. The true prayer is only of thankfulness; just a simple thank you is enough.
