Kindly explain the sentence on Prayers, in the book📖 – The Synthesis of Yoga. “Its forms are very often crude and not only childlike, which is in itself no defect, but childish; but still it has a real power and significance.”

Chillike form implies the words, the sentences, and outer structure given to the prayer. 

Childish refers to the actual content of the prayer, for example asking for all kinds of ‘impossible’ desires and wishes to be fulfilled as if God is meant to be always at our service bound to fulfil all our reasonable and unreasonable wants and wishes. Not that He cannot do so if He so wills, but it is somewhat like asking few pennies from a king when he is ready to make you his friend.

Affectionately,

Alok Da