Once upon a time, there lived a Master and disciple and they were doing a lot of social work helping the poor and caring for the needy. On rainy days when they could not travel, they would go to their small hut and rest. One day, after finishing their work, they returned home. When they arrived, they found that a big storm had damaged it and only a little portion was left, where they could hardly sit.
When the disciple saw this, he became very angry with God.
He prayed and asked God if He could not have saved one small hut for them. That they had not asked Him for anything! They just had that one hut for shelter and He did not even save that! He further said that they had told everybody that God was very compassionate but now he would have to take back all his words since he did not feel that He was compassionate at all! And he had stopped believing in what he had been preaching. He asked his guru how he had said that God was all-merciful. Where was the mercy? He was making them suffer. He had said that they were the children of God. Was He really taking care of them?
The Master’s reaction was the exact opposite. He was so happy. He started dancing and singing more bhajans. He said that God was so beautiful! He had saved a little portion of the hut for them. The storm had been so severe that the whole hut could have been destroyed. At least God had preserved a corner for them. At least, both of them could sit there. God was so kind and wonderful. He was ever so grateful to Him. So the Master felt even more grateful and started dancing.
Gratefulness is that deep quality in our very nature the has to be enlivened by us. Stop thinking about enlightenment. Just start being grateful.
Find every little opportunity to be grateful and then you will see that you will abide in your Self. This is enlightenment. And all the other things –knowledge, etc. would follow. You will find yourself present all over. But the first step is ‘being grateful’. We can’t take everything for granted. If you start taking things for granted, gratefulness will die in us. To be grateful is our very nature.
