Life is ever a contest of smiles.
GRATITUDE
By Pilgrim
[From THE ARYAN PATH, June 1957, pages 255-57.]
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent
of all the other virtues.
-- Cicero
We can be thankful to a friend for a few acres or a little money;
and yet for the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for
the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, we
look upon ourselves as under no obligation.
-- Seneca
I hate ingratitude more in man
Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness,
Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption
Inhabits our frail blood.
-- Shakespeare
Gratitude is a virtue most extolled and yet most departed from.
In Occultism its lack is counted not merely a defect, but a
crime. The Master-Custodians of the Secret Wisdom have declared
that ingratitude is not one of Their vices.
Gratitude or devotion -- the one cannot be conceived of without
the other -- is an emotion innate in the heart of each human
being. It is a child's first instinctive feeling for its mother
and nurse; the first and foremost motor in man's nature. As the
child grows -- and if it is a normal and sound growth --
gratitude to others should become as habitual as the reception of
benefits is constant. But, although every normal person
recognizes it to be a moral requisite, its wider significance and
deeper import is often overlooked.
The dictionary defines "gratitude" as "recognition of benefits
received . . . appreciation of the kindness of a benefactor
and inclination to return it." Recognition and appreciation call
for the interplay of heart and mind. Gratitude is not only the
memory but the homage of the heart. Why need there be
thankfulness upon receiving what we consider to be our "due?"
Does not the answer lie in the fact that nothing can come of
itself? Life is ever sustained on the principles of unity and
interdependence. Life is, or should be, a constant exchange of
benefits. Without widespread cooperation and brotherly
assistance from all directions and from many remote places, we
could hardly live! Are not all those who serve us in one way or
another entitled to recognition and appreciation of "benefits
received?"
It is customary among some people to say grace at meals; but most
of us rarely feel gratitude for the many other blessings of life.
In his essay "Grace Before Meat," Charles Lamb wrote with
characteristic humor:
It is not . . . easy to be understood, why the blessing of
food -- the act of eating -- should have had a particular
expression of thanksgiving annexed to it, distinct from that
implied and silent gratitude with which we are expected to enter
upon the enjoyment of the many other various gifts and good
things of existence.
I own that I am disposed to say grace upon twenty other occasions
in the course of the day besides my dinner. I want a form for
setting out upon a pleasant walk, for a moon-light ramble, for a
friendly meeting, or a solved problem. Why have we none for
books, those spiritual repasts -- a grace before Milton -- a
grace before Shakespeare -- a devotional exercise proper to be
said before reading the Fairy Queen?
Gratitude should find expression in three directions: towards
those above us, towards those below us, and towards our equals.
Above us are our Elder Brothers, those Great and Peaceful Ones,
those Super-Men infinitely superior to us in wisdom, peace, and
power; they ever strive to alleviate the sum of human misery.
They "live regenerating the world like the coming of spring."
Having crossed the ocean of embodied existence, They help us
deluded mortals, out of boundless pity and compassion that seeks
no return, to cross it.
Is not silent gratitude the least thing we can do for Them? What
better expression of gratefulness can there be towards a Buddha,
a Christ, a Krishna -- to name but a few of Those who have come
out in the public world and whose life and teachings have
uplifted the level of consciousness of millions upon millions all
through the ages -- than energizing ourselves to live up to Their
message and passing on to those who know still less than we do
the Gift of Knowledge? What can be a better "outward and visible
sign of an inward and spiritual grace" than our effort to live to
benefit mankind?
Then below us are our younger brothers, beings in need of help
and support -- not only human beings, but all the kingdoms below
the human from whom we receive benefits and whom we ought to help
in return by becoming co-workers with Nature. The life-giving
sun and the beneficent rain, the productive earth and the
invigorating air, are all gifts which Nature like a true Mother
bestows on us. Bountiful Nature has much more to give, which is
ours for the taking. If we had but eyes to see and ears to hear,
we would find "tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
sermons in stones, and good in everything." Fruits and vegetables
give sustenance to the body; flowers and trees bring joy and
beauty into life with color and perfume and shade. The animal
kingdom too has its usefulness to man.
Surely sincere gratitude is due for everything used and enjoyed!
So the Gita enjoins that there be mutual nourishing between man
and the "gods" who minister to his needs, stating: "He who
enjoyeth what hath been given unto him by them, and offereth not
a portion unto them, is even as a thief." Instead of helping
Nature and working on with her, man in his ingratitude exploits
and robs her and breaks her laws. Have we any cause for
complaint when Nature rebels and earthquakes, floods, famines,
droughts, diseases, and the like visit the people of the earth?
Among our equals, our brothers of the human family, many, many
serve us in the manifold walks of life and are entitled to all
the help and guidance we can give them. The countless human
agencies involved in providing for us the necessities and
comforts of life, all those who have helped us grow in body and
mind, the generations of men who have gone before us and have
left us a legacy of knowledge and skills of various kinds and
whose accumulated experience we are availing ourselves of today
-- all these should evoke our gratitude, gratitude for being able
to give as well as to receive. But the weed of ingratitude, the
outcome of the seeds of envy, egotism, pride, and covetousness,
takes root in many a human heart, and instead of striving to
repay our fellow brothers for the benefits received from them,
far too often we try to grab as many of the good things of life
as we can for ourselves, depriving others of their rightful due.
If all human hearts were grateful hearts, would we have
competition and rivalry, strife, and bloodshed, in the family of
man? Would people be plundered and exploited on all sides, often
by appeal to their nobler traits, not only in the sphere of
commerce and industry, but also in the name of religion or of
science, of patriotism and what not?
Let us reflect on the fact that we can claim nothing as "our
own." There is not a thing we use or enjoy but is a gift. Our
bodies are gifts; our minds too are gifts. Life itself is a
gift. He who receives gifts and offers nothing in return has
aptly been called "creation's blot, creation's blank." Life often
brings us seeming misfortune or affliction, but let us be
thankful even for this, for it offers us opportunity for building
stamina and strengthening virtue, and serves to brighten all our
future days. To have a heart replete with thankfulness is to be
both good and happy; for such a one, life is ever a contest of
smiles.
I am grateful to you all whom are above me, below me & walking the path with me.
Happy New Year.
Crow.
__________________
The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.
- Jack Handy
|
Linear Mode
