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(Continued from Issue 219)
To awaken and experience spiritual emotion,
initially one needs to make constant efforts at the level of the
mind and intellect. In the last Issue, 219, we discussed what gratitude
towards God is. In this Issue, we will discuss the importance of
gratitude towards God.
Importance of Gratitude
A. Reduction in ego: Gratitude is a means of offering
the doership (ego or ‘i’ness) of an act to God/the Guru; hence it
helps in reducing the ego. Seekers often forget to thank God for answered prayers
or for deriving Bliss (Anand) from rendering service unto God (satseva). A seeker
can develop subtle ego about getting spiritual experiences or experiencing Bliss.
It is therefore important to offer the credit for a spiritual experience or the
experience of Bliss to the Guru/God.
B. Action becomes non-action (akarma karma): In expressing
gratitude, one offers the result of an action unto God. Since the result of the
action is sacrificed,
the action becomes a non-action (akarma karma) and no give-and-take account (and
hence, no further Destiny) is generated. Thus, the chances of a seeker getting
entrapped in the cycle of birth and death are reduced.
C. Spiritual experiences of increase in spiritual practice
after expressing gratitude: An example of increase in spiritual practice after
expressing gratitude is given
here.
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Increase in the number of
repetition (chanting) of The Lord’s Name on the counter after expressing
gratitude:
On July 16, 2002, while repeating (chanting*) The
Lord’s Name, I looked at the photograph of H.
H. Dr. Jayant Athavale in front of me. I expressed gratitude and spoke
to His photograph just as if speaking to Him personally. I
said to Him, ‘I cannot meditate. Please get it done from
me.’ Tears swelled in my eyes as I said this and I happened
to look at the tally counter (used for keeping a count of one’s
chanting). Before expressing gratitude, I had repeated (chanted)
The Lord’s Name 188 times. When I looked at the counter
after expressing gratitude, the count had exceeded a thousand.
Thereafter, I told Him (His photograph) what points were shared
during a recent meeting (satsang) and prayed. Then, when I
picked up the counter for chanting, noticed that the count
had increased by another forty. |
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- Mrs. Sankalpa Tambe, Chiploon, India. |
In the next Issue, we will discuss examples
of expression of gratitude with spiritual emotion (bhav). |
