Thank You...

[Guest guest]

1. What is gratitude?

God is our creator and has given us all the various things in our

life including our life itself. Everyday we wake up in the morning to

live another day due to His grace. This life on Earth is precious as

it is the only region where spiritual practice can be done to attain

the ultimate purpose of life. When any person does something for us

we feel gratitude. However most of us are not used to expressing

gratitude to God for all the things He has given us. Expressing

gratefulness to God for all the various things He does for us is

called gratitude in spiritual practice. The ability to live in this

feeling of gratitude is an important and intrinsic part of a seeker's

spiritual journey.

The reality is that while most people accept God as their Creator,

they do not feel the need to express gratitude to God. This is mainly

because they think that all the things that happen in their lives, or

at least most of the mundane things in their lives – good or bad,

happen of their own volition. It is only in extraordinary turnarounds

after intense prayer like a miraculous cure of a very sick child

suffering from an incurable illness that one would think of paying

gratitude to God. However even here memories of being helped by God

in such a dramatic way are short-lived and as time goes by a person

goes back to his same old ways until the next big issue strikes him

where he begins to pray for divine intervention.

At a lower stage in our spiritual evolvement, in current times, on an

average 65% of events happen as per destiny and 35% happen as per our

willful action. (i.e. If you take one step God will take ten.) As we

evolve spiritually, we begin to feel God's presence in our lives. As

we experience His presence in our lives, we experience His grace and

that everything happening in our lives is happening as per His wish.

It is only after the 60% spiritual level that one begins to really

appreciate and experience this fact. Along with the experience comes

the gratitude in the true spiritual sense of the word.

A seeker and a true student of the Science of Spirituality develop a

learning attitude in all situations, good or bad. From the various

situations and issues of life he begins to learn about how he can

understand his defects and qualities. This way he learns where he

must work to shed his base self of personality defects and has a

greater understanding and awareness of his qualities. From all

situations in life, he gets a clue to improve upon himself, by not

only enhancing his current set of qualities but by replacing

personality defects with new qualities. He perceives that God is

helping him through all situations good and bad to enhance his

seekership. Accordingly he feels gratitude to God in all situations

good or bad as he feels God's subtle hand in his life presenting him

with situations and also providing him with the capability to grasp

the spiritual lessons and learning.

In most cases this gratitude is directed to one's spiritual guide. To

grow spiritually a seeker needs to rise above the emotions (both

positive and negative) that a non-seeker is steeped in, to develop

spiritual emotion (bhaav), which is experiencing God's presence

everywhere. Gratitude helps to increase spiritual emotion (bhaav).

2. Superficial gratitude and spiritual emotion of gratitude

Gratitude expressed only in words is superficial gratitude. In the

initial stages of one's spiritual practice, one has to make an effort

even to think of words to express gratitude to God. Still for our

spiritual progress, it is important that we do make the effort to

inculcate the habit of paying gratitude in us.

At this initial stage, paying of gratitude comes from the heart

mainly when we can very clearly see divine intervention in our lives.

This may be in the case of a loved one getting miraculously cured

after doctors have given up hope or a long-standing problem suddenly

getting alleviated after intense prayer. In almost all other cases,

we pay gratitude for the various things in our life and even for our

life itself at a superficial or intellectual level.

As we immerse ourselves more and more into spiritual practice we open

up a whole new world that was up to now veiled from us. We get

spiritual experiences and these spiritual experiences are God's way

of talking to us. There are myriad small pleasant coincidences in our

lives where we slowly but surely feel God's guiding hand in our

lives. Gratitude begins to build for even the smaller events in our

life and the constant divine help and encouragement we are receiving

in our spiritual practice. When we feel gratitude and express

gratitude repeatedly throughout the course of the day, one gradually

develops the spiritual emotion of gratitude. Here as explained

earlier in this article there is continuous realization before,

during and after the action that `everything happens as per God's

wish, He does everything'. Hence one's gratitude is continuous and is

automatically expressed in heartfelt thoughts. Thus in this state,

gratitude is present and is reflected in every action, movement and

thought.

This higher stage of evolvement is activated when ego has reduced and

once one attains this state, the ego remains low.

Actually spiritual emotion of gratitude is activated by Guru's grace

and hence remains constant.

3. What is the importance of gratitude?

A seeker begins by effortful expression of gratitude. However over a

period of time by repeatedly expressing gratitude and also through

spiritual growth he develops the spiritual emotion of gratitude. Once

this state is attained, as one constantly realizes that `God is the

Doer, I am nobody', his subtle ego starts reducing. He starts

appreciating his limitations and lack of capacity. Hence in any

difficult situation he humbly surrenders before God and only then

does any action. This is called `surrender to God'. When he starts

surrendering to God not only in difficult situations but even in

small-small incidents in day to day life, his spiritual emotion of

surrender increases. God promptly fulfils prayers with spiritual

emotion like `God please look after my spiritual growth, please tell

me what my next step should be, You only guide me'. A seeker having

spiritual emotion of gratitude and surrender is always close to God.

God bestows everything that is required, i.e. spiritual experiences,

guidance and knowledge to such a seeker even without asking.

Dear God,

I seek ye first the kingdom of heaven. Today, I accept and sign my

spiritual contract to be as you would have me to be. I follow the

Divine mind. I listen to the Divine voice. I see with Divine eyes. I

hear with Divine ears. I smell with Divine sense. I taste with Divine

favor. I touch with Divine Love. I am that, I am. I am because God

is. I am

Lord, this day I am free in you. I know only to follow your Divine

Guidance. I am God's channel and servant. I am solely and wholly

yours, God. I no longer exist only my oneness with you stands. Here I

am lord send me.

Yesterday is gone and will not come again. I don't know what tomorrow

may hold. But right here and right now. I choose to seek ye first the

kingdom of heaven. I choose to be present in God. I choose to know

that ALL things are possible to them that believe.

Thank you Lord for my Divine Discontent that has helped me to find

peace in your presence.

Thank you Lord for my Divine Darkness that has helped my light to

shine brighter.

Thank you Lord for my Divine Disbelief that have helped me to evolve

to a better understand.

Thank you Lord for my Divine Mishaps that have helped me to learn to

trust in you.

Thank you Lord for my Divine Breakdowns that have helped me to grow

stronger.

Thank you Lord for Loving me even when I didn't love myself.

Thank you Lord for Caring for me when I was lost in my ego

foolishness.

Thank you Lord for Supporting me when it seem there was no way out.

Thank you Lord for Comforting to me when I cried alone in the dark.

Thank you Lord for my spiritual teachers that have helped me along

the way.

Thank you Lord.

God is my infinite source, my immeasurable supply, and my unlimited

abundance of everything and in everything now.

My Divine Employment manifest for me right now.

I quickly and easily transition into my Divine Ministry and my Divine

Employment.

I am in my ministry right now.

I am one with God, the universe, the world, my community and myself.

To everyone I love you, I bless you, I appreciate you and I thank God

for you.

Freely I give: Freely I receive.

Thank you God in me as me and so it is.

Amen

With Love,