In this book are the stories from Mahipati’s Śrī Bhaktavijayam, stories of men and women who transformed themselves through living a prayerful life, and by doing what was called for in situations they faced. Their lives were not easy, but yet, these bhaktas were able to grow and ultimately triumph.

In many of these stories nitya karma – a daily, regular, act of prayer – acts as an important method of intelligently dealing with emotional pain, for neutralizing the effects of past karmas,
and of invoking the grace of the Lord. Ultimately, a life of prayer and of karma yoga, prepares and matures the human mind and makes it fit for self-knowledge.

A prayer is an act of will, centered on a self-conscious and self-judging person relating to Īśvara. The fact that you can pray implies an acceptance on your part, not only of your limitations but of a power higher than you. This acceptance itself is a beautiful thing; it is the immediate result
of prayer, dṛṣṭa phalam. It may not be easy for one to sit and pray, but when one does, the results are apparent.

In addition, there is the unseen result of prayer, adṛṣṭa phalam. This is what we call grace, and it will manifest in time. The purpose of prayer is to tap the grace of the limitless that is the Lord, and to help neutralize the result of wrong actions that we may do, wittingly or not.

Whether an individual bhakta studies the śāstras, the religious forms he or she adopts, such as pūjā, mantra japa or kīrtan (singing in praise of the Lord) are based on wisdom born of inquiry
into the source-books, śāstra vicāra. Śāstra makes it clear that grace is the result of karma – such as prayer, or reaching out and helping other beings in the world – (a karma that acknowledges your self as accommodating more than the small unit called “me” or my family).

(Excerpt from Foreword by Swami Dayananda Saraswati)