The Spirit Of Spirituality: Living a life of gratitude

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Living a life of gratitude

All of us go through our normal lives in a mechanical manner without for a moment stopping to reflect on what is it that has brought us to the current position. We attribute all success to ourselves and rarely step back to say thanks to all the entities that made it possible. Each of us has an obligatory duty to stop for a moment and remember these entities that made us. I am trying to list below the entities for which we should be grateful.

The first and foremost entity whose debt we carry and who is deserving gratitude is God. This is called as Devaruna or obligation to God. I can already hear the voice of atheists who say, we do not believe in God. Well, if they tell me, they do not believe in a specific idol or picture or name, so be it. The God that I am referring to is that all powerful universal principle, because of which the universe functions as it should. What is it that keeps the Sun at a specific distance away from the Earth? Anything farther would have made life uninhabitable. Anything nearer would have scorched any chance of life. What is it that causes the heart to beat, the lungs to draw oxygen to purify? There is some supreme power that is holding the universe together. That universal power is what I refer to as God. Don’t’ we have a duty to have gratitude towards that universal power because of which we are what we are? Is it too much to wake up in the morning and tell a small prayer to God? Can’t we end our day with a thank you to the Lord for giving us a great day? Most religions also advocate this. But in our daily rat race, we seem to have forgotten this eternal sense of gratitude. Even if we bow to the altar, we do it in a mechanical form without a real sense of gratitude.

The second entity whose debt we carry and who is deserving gratitude is Parent. This entity is called as Pitraruna which includes parents, and other elders. Where would I have been, but for my mother caring for me when I was an infant? Where would I be if my father had not held my hand as I took my first step? I do not think anyone would deny the need to show gratitude to parents. Most of us do love our parents and we make an attempt to stay in touch. We do talk to them and show our affection. But how often, do we stop for a moment to see if we have done everything we can for them. For those of us who have come to far off countries searching for the golden pot, have we for a minute thought of the loneliness in their lives? The fact that they have not said anything does not mean that they are not lonely or that they do not long for us. In our mad rush to acquire a Benz or a villa, have we lost sight of the people who made it possible? Is it difficult for us to visualize all these elders/parents/teachers just for a moment when we are basking in our glory?

The third entity whose debt we carry and who is deserving gratitude is the sage. This entity is called as Rishiruna. Ancient sages, be they in any religion have toiled to understand the mysteries of this creation and to provide us with means for a better and fulfilling life. It is through their toil that such masterpieces like the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran have come. Some of the modernists may say that these are not masterpieces, but some ancient beliefs which cannot be proved. But still, does this in any way lessen the compassion of the great masters who did not want us all to fall in the trap of unhappiness, but rather learn the method to gain peace. They were masters who were fully at peace and they had no reason to transmit this source of happiness, but for their infinite compassion. How many of us have taken the time to read any of these ancient masterpieces? We say that in our busy lives, we do not have time to reads them though we find time to read about every gossip or every scandal. We always have a right to disagree on the teaching or that we do not understand it, but we do not have a right to say that the sages were fools just because we cannot rise to their level of perception. Is it not our duty to show gratitude towards the ancient sages by at least making an attempt to read and try to understand what they preached?

The next entity whose debt we carry and who is deserving gratitude is the environment. This is called as Bhutaruna. We are all part of an ecosystem where each entity sustains another in the food chain till it reaches the human. Are we taking help from this ecosystem? We most surely are. Are we giving anything back to the ecosystem? Before we say, yes, let us think of the several plastic cups that we throw and the endless quantity of carbon fuel we burn or the tons of pollutants we add to rivers. What gave us the right to destroy habitats of our fellow dwellers on this planet? Who gave us the right to pollute the rivers? In the name of economic progress at the cost of all other entities, are we not being selfish? Can we not for a moment thank the wonderful environment for providing us everything that we need? Can’t we for moment show gratitude to this environment and think twice about the environmental impact before picking up that Styrofoam cup?

The last entity whose debt we carry and who is deserving gratitude is the society. This is called as Manushyaruna. I am what I am today because of the society I which I grew up. It was that societal system comprising the farmer, the milkman, the teacher, the driver, the policeman etc. which helped shape the society which in turn nurtured me to become what I am. Don’t I have a duty to remain grateful to this society and do whatever I can do to repay my debt to society? From my bustling pocket full of money earned through society, can I not share a portion in alleviating the problems of society? Can I not spend a moment to thank the milkman for the daily milk? Though most of say seem courteous, is it because we want to look good and polite or do we genuinely believe in the society which nurtured us?

As readers may be aware, 3 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com.

I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.

1. My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality

My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality