GRATITUDE is the centre of today’s Mandala. Gratitude is the Master key that unlocks us out of all difficult situations. When we start offering Gratitude for the Countless Blessings that we receive day in and day out, when we focus on all the things in our life that we can be grateful for, we can feel a fountain of Joy inside ourselves, and Peace descends on our being. One may ask, “What is there to be grateful about in the present situation, when we can’t go out, can’t have a normal life, our household helps cannot come and we are burdened with unending work, in addition to the threat of a Pandemic that is  looming over us……?”……one can go on and on with a much longer list of complaints and anger; and eventually this leads to frustration and sadness. Focusing on the negatives in our life is going to attract more negativity towards us (and this is true even in normal circumstances!).
But if we make an about turn in our attitude and decide to focus on all the good things in our lives at the moment ( e.g. we have a house to live in, we are endowed with good health, we have enough food to fill our bellies, we have friends and family that love us…….this list also can go on and on ) and start offering Gratitude for everything good in our life, we attract more positivity, we can remain happy and it becomes easier to deal with any tough situation. And this has been scientifically proved by functional MRI studies of the brain where it was found that offering Gratitude enhances the same areas of brain that are enhanced during Happiness
Psychologists studying the effects of Gratitude, have recommended 3 simple Gratitude practices in our daily lives
1. Expressing gratitude to family members every day for simple jobs done by them e.g. making a cup of tea
2. Expressing gratitude towards yourself for the good things that you did today (You can do this practice as you are brushing your teeth at night.)
3. Writing a letter or a mail to someone expressing your gratitude towards that person, at least once a month
You can also keep a daily journal of 3 things you are thankful for…either early morning or before going to bed.
It was found that just following these simple practices for 9 weeks improved the quality of life.
I myself have experienced this power of Gratitude during my chemotherapy 5 years ago. I was advised by a staff member of our spiritual organisation Sukyo Mahikari to write a Gratitude diary every day, and to thank people for even something simple like your driver driving you to the hospital or your cook cooking for you. (Normally, we do not feel the need to thank these people as they are paid for it ). As I started writing the diary every night before going to sleep, it made me realise how lucky I am to have so many people helping me during my tough time. It helped me remain focussed on the positives in life rather than crying over the difficulties. I now realise that it also helped me stay positive and cheerful throughout the challenging period of chemotherapy and being confined to the house for most of the time. (Even at that time, I was confined to my house for almost 6 months) I am continuing with the practice of thanking God for the innumerable blessings I receive daily and thanking people for their help or love or good wishes or good times together. It has come to my notice that whenever I move away from the practice of Gratitude into the zone of Complaining, I am unhappy. Just switching back to Gratitude makes life blissful once again.
I am a sending you an excerpt from an Osho discourse in  which he endorses the practice of Gratitude every day.

After reading this, would you be willing to start this simple practice of Gratitude from today ?

 

 

*कृतज्ञता से भरें..!!*

मुझे *भोजन* उपलब्ध हुआ है, यह बहुत बड़ी धन्यता है।

मुझे *एक दिन और जीने को मिला* है, यह बहुत बड़ा ग्रेटिटयूड है। आज सुबह मैं फिर जीवित उठ आया हूं। *आज फिर सूरज ने रोशनी की है।आज फिर चांद मुझे देखने को मिलेगा।*

*आज मैं फिर जीवित हूं।* जरूरी नहीं था कि मैं आज जीवित होता। आज मैं कब्र  में भी हो सकता था, लेकिन आज मुझे फिर जीवन मिलाहै। और मेरे द्वारा कुछ भी कमाई नहीं की गई है, जीवन पाने को। जीवन मुझे मुफ्त में मिला है। *इसके लिए कम से कम धन्यवाद का, मन मेंअनुग्रह का, ग्रेटिटयूड का कोई भाव होना चाहिए।*

*भोजन* हम कर रहे हैं, *पानी* हम पी रहे हैं, *श्वास* हम ले रहे हैं, इस सबके प्रति अनुग्रह का बोध होना चाहिए।

*समस्त जीवन के प्रति, समस्त जगत के प्रति, समस्त सृष्टि के प्रति, समस्त प्रकृति के प्रति, परमात्मा के प्रति एक अनुग्रह का बोध होनाचाहिए कि मुझे एक दिन और जीवन का मिला है। मुझे एक दिन और भोजन मिला है। मैंने एक दिन और सूरज देखा। मैंने आज और फूल खिले देखे। आज मैं और जीवित था।*

*रवींद्रनाथ* की मृत्यु आई, उसके दो दिन पहले उन्होंने कहा—उन्होंने कहा कि हे परमात्मा, मैं कितना अनुगृहीत हूं कैसे कहूं! *तूने मुझे जीवनदिया, जिसे जीवन पाने की कोई भी पात्रता न थी।* तूने मुझे श्वासें दीं, जिसके श्वास पाने का कोई अधिकार न था। *तूने मुझे सौंदर्य के, आनंद के अनुभव दिए, जिनके लिए मैंने कोई भी कमाई न की थी।* तो मैं धन्य रहा हूं और तेरे बोझ से, अनुग्रह के बोझ से दब गया हूं। औरअगर तेरे इस जीवन में मैंने कोई दुख पाया हो, कोई पीड़ा पाई हो, कोई चिंता पाई हो, *तो वह मेरा कसूर रहा होगा।* तेरा जीवन तो बहुत—बहुत आनंदपूर्ण था। वह मेरी कोई भूल रही होगी। तो मैं नहीं कहता हूं तुझसे कि मुझे मुक्ति दे दे जीवन से। *अगर तू मुझे फिर से योग्य समझेतो बार—बार मुझे जीवन में भेज देना। तेरा जीवन अत्यंत आनंदपूर्ण था और मैं अनुगृहीत हूं।*

यह जो भाव है, यह जो *कृतज्ञता का भाव* है, वह *समस्त जीवन* के साथ संयुक्त होना चाहिए।

*ओशो*