Read Summary of '''[[Gratitude Summary|Gratitude]]'''
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Men hail in my coming the Almighty's force
Or praise with thankful tears his saviour Grace.
(Savitri)
<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/34/the-triple-soul-forces#p233</ref>
=What Is Gratitude?=
<center>~</center>
...it is you who open all '''Gratitude Is One of the closed doors and let the Grace which saves penetrate deeply.<ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p1</ref>Five Psychological Perfections'''
<center>~</center>...that to do the integral yoga one must first resolve to surrender entirely to the Divine, there is no other way, this is the way.But after that one must have the five psychological virtues, five psychological perfections, and we say that these perfections are:
Gratitude Is One of the Five Psychological Perfections
...that to do the integral yoga one must first resolve to surrender entirely to the Divine, there is no other way, this is the way.But after that one must have the five psychological virtues, five psychological perfections, and we say that these perfections are:
Sincerity or Transparency
Faith or Trust (Trust in the Divine, naturally)
Devotion or Gratitude
Courage or Aspiration
Endurance or Perseverance. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/25-january-1956#p70</ref>
Animals have an altogether rudimentary mind. They are not tormented by incessant thoughts like human beings. For example, they feel a spontaneous gratitude for an act of kindness towards them, whilst men, ninety-eight times out of a hundred, begin to reason and ask themselves what interest one could have in being good. This is one of the great miseries of mental activity. Animals are free from this and when you are kind to them they are grateful to you, spontaneously. And they have trust. So their love is made of that, and it turns into a very strong attachment, an irresistible need to be near you… The unselfish movement, uncalculating, is one of the most beautiful forms of psychic consciousness in the world. But the higher one rises in the scale of mental activity, the rarer it becomes. For with intelligence come all the skill and cleverness, and corruption, calculation. For instance, when a rose blossoms it does so spontaneously, for the joy of being beautiful, smelling sweet, expressing all its joy of living, and it does not calculate, it has nothing to gain out of it: it does so spontaneously, in the joy of being and living.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/26-august-1953#p30,p34</ref>
==Different Degrees of Gratitude==
There are degrees, many degrees. Human intelligence is such that unless there is a contrast it does not understand. You know, I have received hundreds of letters from people thanking me because they had been saved; but it is very, very rarely that someone writes to thank me because nothing has happened, you understand! Let us take an accident, it is already the beginning of a disorder. Naturally when it is a public or collective accident, the atmosphere of each person has its part in the thing, and that depends on the proportion of defeatists and those who, on the contrary, are on the right side. I don't know if I have written this—it is written somewhere—but it is a very interesting thing. I am going to tell you... People are not aware of the workings of Grace except when there has been some danger, that is, when there has been the beginning of an accident or the accident has taken place and they have escaped it. Then they become aware. But never are they aware that if, for instance, a journey or anything whatever, passes without any accident, it is an infinitely higher Grace. That is, the harmony is established in such a way that nothing can happen. But that seems to them quite natural. When people are ill and get well quickly, they are full of gratitude; but never do they think of being grateful when they are well; and yet that is a much greater miracle! In collective accidents, what is interesting is exactly the proportion, the sort of balance or disequilibrium, the combination made by the different atmospheres of people. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/23-december-1953#p52</ref>
=Why is Gratitude Needed?=
Physically, materially, upon earth, it is in gratitude that one finds the source of the purest delight. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/15/messages-for-sri-aurobindos-arrival-in-pondicherry#p12</ref>
==For Knowing Our Weaknessthe Harmony of Life==
ThereforeHuman intelligence is such that unless there is a contrast it does not understand. You know, I have received hundreds of letters from people thanking me because they had been saved; but it is very, if very rarely that someone laughs at writes to thank me because nothing has happened, youunderstand! Let us take an accident, or says something which it is not kind, already the first thing to do is to look within yourself and see what beginning of a disorder. Naturally when it is a public or collective accident, the weakness or imperfection which atmosphere of each person has allowed such a its part in the thing to happen, and not to be disconsolate or indignant or sad because people do not appreciate you for what you consider to be your proper value; that depends on the proportion of defeatists and those who, on the contrary, are on the right side. I don't know if I have written this—it is written somewhere—but it is a very interesting thing. I am going to tell you should thank ... People are not aware of the divine workings of Grace for having pointed out to you except when there has been some danger, that is, when there has been the weakness beginning of an accident or imperfection the accident has taken place and they have escaped it. Then they become aware. But never are they aware that if, for instance, a journey or deformation anything whatever, passes without any accident, it is an infinitely higher Grace. That is, the harmony is established in such a way that you have nothing can happen. But that seems to rectifythem quite natural. When people are ill and get well quickly, they are full of gratitude; but never do they think of being grateful when they are well; and yet that is a much greater miracle! <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1505/undated-before23-februarydecember-19601953#p3p52</ref>
In all Scriptures meant to help mankind to progress, it is always said that you must be very grateful to those who show you your faults and so you must seek their company; but the form used here is particularly felicitous: if a fault is shown to you it is as if a treasure were shown to you; that is to say, each time that you discover in yourself a fault, incapacity, lack of understanding, weakness, insincerity, all that prevents you from making a progress, it is as if you discovered a wonderful treasure.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/03/the-sage#p16</ref>==For Pointing Out Our Weakness==
<center>~</center> Therefore, if anyone sneers someone laughs at you , or says something that which is not very charitablekind, the first thing you should to do is to look within yourself for whatever and see what is the weakness or imperfection which has allowed such a thing to happen , and not to be disconsolate, or indignant or aggrieved, sad because people do not appreciate you at for what you think consider to be your true proper value; on the contrary, you must be thankful to should thank the divine Grace for having pointed out to you the weakness or imperfection or deformation that you must correcthave to rectify. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/0315/theundated-before-february-elephant1960#p17p3</ref>
==For Progress==
...four virtues are indispensable, without which progress is uncertain and subject to interruptions and troublesome falls at the first opportunity:
Sincerity, faithfulness, modesty and gratitude. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/13/conditions-for-admission#p22</ref>
<center>~</center>
By definition, the Ashramite has resolved to dedicate his life to the Divine realisation. But true to his resolution he must be sincere, faithful, modest and grateful in his consecration, because these qualities are indispensable for all progress, and progress, a steady and rapid progress is indispensable to follow the pace of Nature’s evolutionary advance.Without these qualities, one may have sometimes the appearance of progress but it is only an appearance, a pretence, and at the first occasion it crumbles down. To be sincere all the parts of the being must be united in their aspiration for the Divine - not that one part wants and others refuse or revolt to be sincere in the aspiration, - to want the divine for the divine’s sake, not for fame or name or prestige or power or any satisfaction of the vanity. To be faithful and steady in their consecration, - not to have faith one day and the next one, because things are not as they wish them to be, to lose their faith and shelter all sorts of doubts. Doubt is not a sport to indulge in with impunity; it is a poison which drop by drop corrodes the soul. To be modest means to have the correct appreciation of what one is, and never to forget that whatever are one’s achievements, they are practically nothing in comparison with what one ought to be to fulfill the Lord’s expectation. And above all to feel in an absolute way one’s own incapacity to judge the Divine and his ways. To be grateful, never to forget this wonderful grace of the supreme who leads each one to his divine goal by the shortest ways, in spite of himself, his ignorance and misunderstandings, in spite of the ego, its protests and its revolts. [<ref>The Mother, White Roses (Mother’s answers to Huta), p.35]</ref>
==For Curing Egoism==
So I find that devotion without gratitude is quite incomplete, gratitude must come with devotion. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/25-january-1956#p58</ref>
=How is Gratitude ExpressedAwakened?= ...it is you who open all the closed doors and let the Grace which saves penetrate deeply. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p1</ref>
One may seek within oneself, one may remember, may observe; one must notice what is going on, one must pay attention, that's all. Sometimes, when one sees a generous act, hears of something exceptional, when one witnesses heroism or generosity or greatness of soul, meets someone who shows a special talent or acts in an exceptional and beautiful way, there is a kind of enthusiasm or admiration or gratitude which suddenly awakens in the being and opens the door to a state, a new state of consciousness, a light, a warmth, a joy one did not know before. That too is a way of catching the guiding thread. There are a thousand ways, one has only to be awake and to watch. <ref>http://incarfnateword.in/cwm/08/26-december-1956#p20</ref>
There is nothing which gives you a joy equal to that of gratitude. One hears a bird sing, sees a lovely flower, looks at a little child, observes an act of generosity, reads a beautiful sentence, looks at the setting sun, no matter what, suddenly this comes upon you, this kind of emotion—indeed so deep, so intense—that the world manifests the Divine, that there is something behind the world which is the Divine. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/25-january-1956#p57</ref>
<center>~</center>=How is Gratitude Expressed?=
And then there are those who have an innate faculty of gratitude, those who have an ardent need to respond, respond with warmth, devotion, joy, to something which they feel like a marvel hidden behind the whole of life, behind the tiniest little element, the least little event of life, who feel this sovereign beauty or infinite Grace which is behind all things. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/07/28-december-1955#p11</ref>
As soon as we think of the result we begin to bargain and that takes away all sincerity from the effort. You make an effort to progress because you feel within you the need, the imperative need to make an effort and progress; and this effort is the gift you offer to the Divine Consciousness in you, the Divine Consciousness in the Universe, it is your way of expressing your gratitude, offering your self; and whether this results in progress or not is of no importance. You will progress when it is decided that the time has come to progress and not because you desire it. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/23-april-1958#p5</ref>
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I knew people who had no knowledge, so to say, of anything, who were hardly educated, whose minds were altogether of the ordinary kind, and who had in them this capacity of gratitude, of warmth, which gives itself, understands and is thankful. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/07/28-december-1955#p121</ref>
===Grateful Submission===
''Last time, in the text it was said: "They [those who have faith in a God, their God] belong to him integrally; all the events of their lives are an expression of the divine will and they accept them not merely with calm submission but with gratitude, for they are convinced that whatever happen to them is always for their own good."
''
''What is the difference between a calm and a grateful submission?''
A calm and a grateful submission?... When you receive an order, you may carry it out with resignation because you have resolved to submit; so you carry out this order without any joy or pleasure, just very drily and superficially, and you tell yourself, "I was told to do this and I am doing it." This means that you do not try to understand and make no effort to adhere willingly to what is asked. This is resigned submission. You accept your fate and if you do not complain it is because you have determined not to complain, it is because of this determination, otherwise you would complain.
The other instance is of understanding why an order was given, of grasping its inner value and wanting to express what has been asked with all one's strength, with the knowledge and joy that it is something, perforce, that's bound to bring the Divine closer and give you full satisfaction. Then you are happy, you are satisfied and you collaborate. That makes quite a considerable difference.
''In a calm submission, doesn't one feel happy?''
Usually one is very proud of oneself! One becomes vain, tells oneself that one is doing something remarkable. One doesn't question, doesn't try to understand: one obeys, and besides is resigned. One doesn't even ask oneself if it is good or not: one is too superior! One is puffed up with pride…
''So it is not a true submission, is it?''
I think the other one is better. At least here one has the satisfaction of understanding why he does things; one does them with joy and feels strengthened through the very fact of doing them, while in the first instance one bends the head lower and lower and feels as though one were a poor victim of some despotic authority crushing one with its omnipotence. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/17-march-1954#p5,p6,p7,p8,p9,p10,p11,p12</ref>
==Absolute Trust in the Divine Grace==
<center>~</center>
''Q. What is the way to accept the Grace with gratitude?''
''A.'' Ah! First of all you must feel the need for it.
This is the most important point. It is to have a certain inner humility which makes you aware of your helplessness without the Grace, that truly, without it you are incomplete and powerless. This, to begin with, is the first thing.
==By Meditating on His Remembrance ==
This evening, instead of answering questions, I would like us to ... meditate on the remembrance of Sri Aurobindo, on the way to keep it alive in us and on the gratitude we owe him for all that he has done and is still doing in his ever luminous, living and active consciousness for this great realisation which he came not only to announce to the Earth but also to realise, and which he continues to realise. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/14-august-1957#p1</ref>
==The Mother's Prayer of Gratitude to Sri Aurobindo==
To Thee who hast been the material envelope of our Master, to Thee our infinite gratitude. Before Thee who hast done so much for us, who hast worked, struggled, suffered, hoped, endured so much, before Thee who hast willed all, attempted all, prepared, achieved all for us, before Thee we bow down and implore that we may never forget, even for a moment, all we owe to Thee. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/13/mahasamadhi#p5</ref>
=Acceptance with Gratitude in Yoga=
The… method is for those who have faith in a God, their God, and who have given themselves to him. They belong to him integrally; all the events of their lives are an expression of the divine will and they accept them not merely with calm submission but with gratitude, for they are convinced that whatever happens to them is always for their own good. They have a mystic trust in their God and in their personal relationship with him. They have made an absolute surrender of their will to his and feel his unvarying love and protection, wholly independent of the accidents of life and death. They have the constant experience of lying at the feet of their Beloved in an absolute self-surrender or of being cradled in his arms and enjoying a perfect security. There is no longer any room in their consciousness for fear, anxiety or torment; all that has been replaced by a calm and delightful bliss. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/12/the-fear-of-death-and-the-four-methods-of-conquering-it#p5</ref>
===Attitude of a Sadhaka=== It is the fact that people who are grateful and cheerful and ready to go step by step, even by slow steps, if need be, do actually march faster and more surely than those who are impatient and in haste and at each step despair or murmur. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/patience-and-perseverance#p9</ref>
It is the fact that people who are grateful and cheerful and ready to go step by step, even by slow steps, if need be, do actually march faster and more surely than those who are impatient and in haste and at each step despair or murmur.<refcenter>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/patience-and-perseverance#p9~</refcenter>
The pure flame of gratefulness must always burn in our heart, warm, sweet and bright, to dissolve all egoism and all obscurity; the flame of gratefulness for the Supreme’s Grace who leads the sadhak to his goal - and the more he is grateful, recognises this action of the grace and is thankful for it, the shorter is the way.
<ref>http://motherandsriaurobindo.in/#_StaticContent/SriAurobindoAshram/-09%20E-Library/-03%20Disciples/Huta%20Hindocha/-01%20English/White%20Roses/-003_1958.htm</ref>
<center>~</center> If you can't as yet remember the Divine all the time you are working, it does not greatly matter. To remember and dedicate at the beginning and give thanks at the end ought to be enough for the present. Or at the most to remember too when there is a pause. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-central-processes-of-the-sadhana#p24</ref> <center>~</center>
Those who have the immense privilege of being here quiet and in safety must at least show their gratitude by discarding all petty quarrels and silly grievances.
The unregenerate vital is not grateful for a benefit, it resents being under an obligation. So long as the benefit continues, it is effusive and says sweet things, as soon as it expects nothing more it turns round and bites the hand that fed it. Sometimes it does that even before, when it thinks it can do it without the benefactor knowing the origin of the slander, fault-finding or abuse... Most have this kind of experience, few escape it altogether. Of course, people with a developed psychic element are by nature grateful and do not behave in this way. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/ego-and-its-forms#p122</ref>
<center>~</center>
A self-willed man cannot be grateful―because when he gets what he wants he gives all the credit for it to his own will, and when he gets what he does not want he resents it badly and throws all the blame on whomever he considers responsible, God, man or Nature.<ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p15</ref>
<center>~</center>
''I think that some element in me does not believe in the divine Grace: that is what prevents the gratitude...''
''At first I used to feel so much love for You, but now my love has become more selfish.''
Yes, that is it; you began to bargain in your giving and that has dried up the source. If, however, you resolve not to demand anything in return for what you give, you will soon rediscover the incomparable joy of loving. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/17/24-may-1935#p1,p3,p4</ref> <center>~</center>
'''Mother's Commentary on the Dhammapada'''
<ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/03/conjugate-verses#p31,p32</ref>
<center>~</center> Now I know why the darkness always returns to you, even after I have driven it away. It is because the sense of gratitude has not yet awakened in you.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/17/23-may-1935-2#p1</ref> <center>~</center>
It is very difficult to keep up your gratitude; for a time it comes very strongly and again it goes back. The Divine can go on tolerating everything in spite of your ingratitude because He knows fully the how and why and wherefore of everything. He knows why you are doing a certain thing. He knows the full working and that is why He can tolerate it. <ref> http://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p1</ref>
'''Content curated by Priti Mandi'''
<div style="text-align: center;">
Men hail in my coming the Almighty's force
Or praise with thankful tears his saviour Grace.
(Savitri)
<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/34/the-triple-soul-forces#p233</ref>
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