Gratitude......A Powerful Yoga

“Spiritualism” sounds like little jargon to our deep materialistic life on this earth here yet. While ethics is still seeming tough to practice in our daily walks of life, words like spiritualism no doubt echoes from distant caves for us, isn't it? But have we ever stopped from staring at the silverlined horizon to gaze little inner to our own self? If we do a little inner engineering we will be astounded to find a boon in every form of our vanity life that we are living which will lead towards the gateway of spirituality, the much-coveted aspect of mortal life on this earth. This is never a strict ritual practice, strenuous yoga, serene meditation or a holy dip in sangam etc..... It's a mere gesture, acknowledging the benevolence from society towards us and reciprocating with gratitude.... a lovely thank you. 

In this cosmic world every action we deliver creates a vibration and all effective vibrations collectively lead to a resonance that decides the momentum of this mysterious creation of the omnipotent, omniscient almighty. Better let's understand it in our so-called scientific way. Now we are heading in a digital transformation, our virtual communication is the cry of the hour. But do we know the carbon emission for each of our sent emails cumulates in millions to be equal to 100 aircrafts' emission to atmosphere! A message sent or an email sent seems a matter of miniature thing but it too carries its action in form of some carbon emission, so the erudite proactive masses now run a campaign of “zero net.... zero pollution.” Our one conscious step towards avoiding one unnecessary email creates a positive vibration towards a greater positive resonance ahead. 

Coming to our corporate life, we cry always for noble attributes like responsibility, accountability, empathy and leadership, etc. Being deprived of those creates a sense of brain drain, a collosal depression and anxiety. Here a very simple quality that helps us to aboard our journey to heaven is humility. No need to ponder how to deal with humility within us, by practising simply an expression of gratitude is a noble way in itself to resume our blissful tour from hell to heaven. A simple pat on the back, an acknowledgment, a smile or a heartiest ‘thank you’ is a precious gift of gratification to us ever rather than a fat cheque or an embossed letter of promotion. So the smoke of spiritualism emits from our own palace of paradox too, like there in the nostalgic Himalayas if just think once to thank them all who has a micro contribution to our well-being. 

There goes a beautiful story that interprets the power of gratitude in a humorous way. “There lived a miser king with his queen who was very pious. She always asked the king to go for a holy pilgrimage to get the blessings of the Lord in form of a child to them. But the miser king ever denied her to avoid the expenditure but to save some penny. One day she made her heart out prayer before him to at least go for one holy place, the king was emotional to nod in favor of this. However, he couldn't sleep peacefully that night realizing the expense to be incurred for that single tour.

The next morning he had a serious discussion with his advisors in his courtyard brainstorming an efficient plan on how to save cost but go on the holiest pilgrimage. Eventually, the chief priest gave a precious proposal to him and the king was delighted. That day night the queen was keen to remind the king of his agreed proposal to venture out on a holy pilgrimage but was finally bewildered when he revealed his plan. The holy Prayag ghat was just near to their palace and after three days on a very sacred moment thousands of saints were coming to take a dip there, so they both will join them too and there is no such a serene pilgrimage other than that. The queen was pleased and praised the almighty to finally showering them with some grace. On that day, early morning, the queen and the king left palace for the Prayag Ghat but seeing the humongous crowd of saints and brahmins there he made his plan B.

He convinced the queen that they will go deep down the ghat to a place where there is no crowd so that they can better perform the holy dip. Actually, the miser king didn't like to give an honorarium to this huge no of saints and brahmins. While both the king and queen were in their blissful sacred dip they caught the attention of mother Parvati who was aboarding with Lord Shiva. Merciful mother asked Lord to pay attention to them and praised them for there benevolence of pure devotion to them being away from the crowd. Lord Shiva was too impressed to take an assessment of the king's devotion. He landed there in disguise of a brahmin and raised hand to bless the king. The king was astounded seeing a brahmin there too and shouted at him saying he doesn't have a single penny to give him for a blessing and all is back in his palace. Without staring at the brahmin more the king rushed towards their fort hand in hand with the queen assuming the brahmin will flee away. However, at the entrance of the fort, the queen let the king know that the same brahmin has been following them all way along.

Getting irked, the king asked the guard to tell the brahman to come next week as they don't donate anything on this day to earn goddess Laxmi's curse. The brahmin was made to return that day and the king was relaxed that he is relieved from the donation of a penny as he will not come all the way again for this. One day morning after a week the king has intimated the arrival of the brahmin at the gate, this time the king made a plan, he went to bed under the blanket and asked his queen to inform the brahmin that he breathed his last that morning. The queen was in tears at such behavior of her husband and reluctant to lie to the holy brahmin, however, she just managed to meet him at the gate with tearful eyes but no words. The brahmin could realize something pity with them and asked her permission to meet the king. At the queen's nod he rushed into the palace for the king and found the king lying like dead in bed.

He was afraid and asked the queen whether he is dead indeed and the queen again noded head in great sorrow and tears pouring out. The Lord disguised in as a brahmin wanted to give him a lesson, he declared behind the queen that he will finish the last ritual for him free of cost at the same holy place where he has taken a holy dip. The brahmin bore the king on his strong shoulder and rushed towards Prayag Ghat. The king hanging with his head on the back of the Lord was signaling his queen and other courtiers not to utter anything. When the brahmin declared reaching very close to the bank of the ghat that he is going to throw him to the holy water of Prayag as it would be the best final ritual for the body, the king leaped from shoulder to ground and touched the feet of the brahmin and cheered the brahmin God for making him alive again from death. The lord Shiva who is famous to forget things easily, thought the king is praying, chanting, touching his feet being a great devotee indeed as mother Parvati has remarked in the beginning. So he declared aloud that he is pleased with the Kings devotion and asked him to take any boon from him. The king was excited and asked to waive off him the one coin honorarium which was due to himself.” 

From this story, it can be interpreted two things.... One is the power of gratitude when the king leaped from the Lord's shoulder in fear that he may be thrown to water but touched the brahmin's feet praising that with the touch of God he got alive again. This high voltage gratitude from the king made the Lord bewildered, he forgot the stupidity of king being too miser to a brahmin and finally blessed him to be waived off it..... & the second is the mere silly perspective of the miser king. He could have asked any big boon from the Lord finally but his horizon was restricted to that single penny only. 

Last but not least hell and heaven are not at all a place, it's entirely a state of mind. Heaven is nothing but perfection, a state of ultimate happiness. This happiness doesn't come from money, assets, net worth but from dignity & humility. The best way to earn this humility is showing gratitude..... saying a cheerful 'thank you' to create a reciprocal smile on the others. There you transform the hell to heaven through this yoga of expressing gratitude.