According to Sri Ramakrishna, if prayer is sufficiently intense and one-pointed, it leads to the absorption of the mind and brings about the union of the soul with the Supreme Spirit.
Sri Ramakrishna was the very embodiment of spiritual aspiration.
He had the vision of the Divine Mother by dint of sheer aspiration. Aspiration,
which he termed vyakulata, is the dominant note of his sadhana. It is the
simplest form of sadhana that anyone can practise. By employing this sadhana of
continual prayer with intense yearning, he revealed a spiritual path which is
at once simple, easy, and accessible to all types of seekers. He observes: ‘Cry
to Bhagavan with an intensely yearning heart and you will certainly see Him.’ Regarding
the significance of aspiration he used to enlighten devotees in this way:
‘Longing is like the rosy dawn. After the dawn out comes the sun. Longing is
followed by the vision of God.’
This aspiration is not an abstract power or idea. It is a
concrete, inner feeling of the heart which expresses itself in the course of
seeking and sadhana as continuous prayer to the Supreme Being. Thus, prayer
itself is a kind of yoga sadhana which can be termed prarthana yoga or vyakulata
yoga. The lives of Sri Ramakrishna and many other saints, such as Bhakta
Kanakadasa and Mira Bai, are outstanding examples reflecting the power of
prayer.
Steady spiritual aspiration gives the soul strength to manage
the ups and downs of spiritual practice. In order to understand and check our
sincerity and intensity, now and then a seeker needs to ask: ‘What do I
actually want in life? Do I want anything apart from God?’ When the mind is
questioned by such enquiry, the discerning faculty is activated and spiritual aspiration
begins to manifest as a result. The power of spiritual aspiration is so potent
that it can transform an ordinary religious person with desires, artharthin,
into a seeker, jijnasu, and then into an enlightened being, jnanin. A worldly
person is thus transformed into a seeker of God and then into a man of
knowledge and experience. The exalted lives of saints like Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, Tukaram, Bhadrachala Ramadasu are some of the classic examples that
clearly indicate the peak of aspiration to which the human mind can be lifted.
It is longing for God that expresses itself as the different
modes of spiritual practice — such as prayer, worship, and japa — that
culminate in meditation. Spiritual aspiration is like a live wire carrying electricity,
connecting and powering sadhana at different stages of spiritual life. Any
spiritual practice devoid of spiritual fervor tends to become mechanical and
ineffective.
When longing for the vision of God reaches its peak, the
aspiring soul expects God every next moment, and struggles to see him in every
event and in every form. As the aspirant tries to discover the divine
connectivity and divine will in everything around, anything bereft of and
unconnected with God appears meaningless. The aspirant’s sincerity in seeking
God, which was initially limited, tends to pervade his or her whole mind,
resulting in total sincerity. This state is explained in the Narada Bhakti
Sutra as follows: [an aspirant] surrenders everything to Bhagavan and
experiences extreme anguish in the event of forgetting him [even for a
moment].’ This incessant seeking eventually purifies the heart and transforms
the whole mind.
Source – excerpts from article titled 'Aspiration' by Swami Muktidananda published in Prabuddha Bharata January 2010 issue.