"Attachment: The Absolute Necessity" by Dr. Meghna Choudhury H.G. Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi

Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects two entities. We are all attached to someone or something. Aren't we? It could be our immediate family like our husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister or maybe a cousin, a friend. Often we develop attachments towards our home, car, bike, clothes etc. Sometimes, we also nurture amicable deep bonds for animals like a pet dog, cat, fish, birds etc. Often, people tend to get attached to their hometown, locality, district, region etc. Each and every one of us nurtures deep affinity for these things with varying degrees of such attachment for all these elements. Why do we get attached to all these? We become attached to people and things because under the influence of illusion we believe it succours a perceived need which, we think, if attained will give us happiness, it will make our lives complete. 

Root Cause

It is clearly and very rightly stated in our Vedic texts that attachment for one thing is the cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for God or or His devotee is called spirituality. Consciousness, therefore, is the platform of attachment. When we simply purify the consciousness from material consciousness to God consciousness, we attain liberation. Despite the common statement that one should give up attachment, 'desire-less-ness' is not possible for a living entity. A living entity, by constitution, has the propensity to be attached to something. We see that if someone has no object of attachment, if he has no children or someone to care for, he transfers his attachment to cats and dogs. This indicates that the propensity for attachment cannot be stopped; rather, it must be utilized for the best purpose.  

We should be wise to understand that all these are nothing but temporary objects of sense gratification. They do not belong to us. They never have belonged to us. Not in just in this lifetime but over millions of lives that we have undergone living in the false notion that this object is 'ours'. Nothing in this material world belongs to us. They are all creations of the Lord and are His property. I have personally witnessed people crying at the death of a pet dog. What was the cause of this pain? Attachment. Rather than attaching our minds and emotions to such things which do not belong to us, we must dovetail this attachment towards our Creator, the Supreme Lord, by praying to Him, "Help me develop attachment towards You, Your divine qualities, Your loving service...". 

Therefore, we infer that attachment is an absolute necessity but where we repose this attachment will determine the quality of our present lives and eventually determine our fate at the time of death. Our attachment for material things perpetuates our conditional state, but the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pure devotee, is the source of liberation and eternal peace and happiness.

"The Art of Acceptance" by Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Today we are all suffering from various painful cognitive and negative emotional response mechanisms like fear, distress, anxiety, stress, anger. When circumstances are not favourable to our inner set of desires and when they do not align with our preconceived notions we are overcome by irritability at the drop of a hat. Most of the times in a bid to establish our supremacy over others we resort to negative habits such as verbal abuse, rage and in extreme cases even physical violence. The root cause of such undesirable behaviour is the inability of the conditioned soul to accept situations due to a lack of the power of forbearance. 

The Source

This stems from having high expectations from people around us, from our own selves and when these expectations are not met, we plunge deep into the valley of darkness, we lose hope, we lose our self confidence, we lose our sense of rationality and we lose or ability to judge what is right and what is wrong. We try to look for ways and means to put the blame on others, engage in fault-finding, criticizing and end up hurting others.

The Higher Truth

Often the people whom we hurt by such incoherent behaviour are our loved ones, the most precious people whom the Lord has sent in our lives for a higher purpose. God is the ultimate well-wisher of all. Once we accept this absolute truth, we would surely be benefited in life. Those who do not accept scriptural instructions and those who do not accept the Supremacy of God cannot be liberated from this world. We ought to develop unshakable faith in Lord, glorify Him, chant His holy name - this is the sole goal of every human being; and realizing that every living entity is His servant. With this firm faith and His mercy, every soul can transmigrate to the spiritual world and live there eternally under His protection.

Universal Principle

The Founder Acharya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Srila Prabhupada, in one of his books speaks a dynamic line that I consider to be so very important to be understood by all classes of human beings. This one line goes beyond all sectarianism; it is a universal principle. Who is a great person? People love to adore great people or envy great people, and people like to become great in their own way somehow or other. 

But what actually is greatness? A 'mahatma' means great soul. So what are the actual qualities of a great soul? Does greatness mean - we need to have a lot of wealth? Some of the most degraded people, who lack basic moral principles are also millionaires and billionaires. Is greatness fame? Simply being a good singer, or a good dancer or having a beautiful body, being strong or athletic, or being heroic does not make one great. 

Srila Prabhupada, according to the universal principles of all spiritual paths, describes what is greatness: “One’s greatness has to be estimated by ones ability to tolerate provoking situations.” It is easy to make a show of being great, but when you are challenged, when provoking situations face you that is actually the test of the substance of your character. And this the great scriptures give us as a constant theme. There are six enemies that exist within our heart, and they are provoked by circumstances both within and without. What are those six enemies: lust, envy, pride, anger, greed and illusion. A great personality is one who is able to tolerate these urges.

The Reality

Unfortunately some sections of social media have been glamourising these deprave acts. These days news channels and some high profile reporters exhibit this volatile behaviour. The innocent masses, naively, follow them, idolise them without realising the serious damage they are causing to their own mental health. We, as the common man, need to understand that we are being misled by the concocted, corrupted versions of facts. We  need to be wise enough to understand - not to get carried away by what we are being bombarded with, on media. Not everything that is portrayed on these channels are true. Neither should we blindly form opinions or judgements based on a third person's random rants. It is imperative to remain highly cautious of what we hear, and extremely conscious of how we react and treat our loved ones. 

Analogy

We all keep garbage cans in our homes so that we can put all the garbage in those cans. Now imagine that there should be no corner for the garbage can at home, do you know what will happen? There will be garbage everywhere, in the whole house! So, this is why we must leave some space for imperfections. If someone is imperfect, just accommodate them, look at them with compassion. In due course of time, when they see your level of purity, your merciful nature, they’ll gradually transform. This will increase your own tolerance level. Today, this is what we lack very seriously. People are becoming less and less tolerant. We must learn from the wise saints and the older generation - how to remain calm and tolerant. On the contrary, if we look at the upcoming generation - they are becoming short-tempered and losing patience. We are witness to this adverse situation and some gruesome incidents due to such intolerance all over the world. 

Self Reflection - The Mirror

If someone shows us the mirror, we must be humble enough to admit or acknowledge our mistakes based on the reflection we see. Only then, can we find peace and become better versions of ourselves. Self-Reflection is the best method to realize what treasures and fears we are holding within!

Conclusion

Therefore the  foundation of keeping our calm, maintaining our sanctity and in the process harbouring healthy relationships is inculcating the habit of learning to accept situations and accept people the way they are, without being abruptly judgemental. Most importantly, we need to develop firm faith on the Supreme Lord's arrangement for each and every one of us and sincerely pray to Him to give us the strength to become humbler, become more tolerant and help us to perfect the art of acceptance.

Article by:

Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author | Social Activist | Artist

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World Premiere of Official Book Promo: "THE PATH OF SUCCESS" By Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

"The Royalty of 'LOYALTY' in Modern Society" by Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Today, after finishing my morning prayers, I decided to hit the gymnasium instead of taking a jog outdoors as the air was filled with dense smog. I was all geared up for my workout, with renewed vigour, to burn the calories waiting to pile up from our last night's sumptuous dinner feast. Being a public holiday, very few members turned up at such early hours to exercise. As I set foot into the Cardio room, I was shocked to see something that left me totally flabbergast.

Compromising the decorum of the premises, a young unwed couple, were flagrantly engrossed in amorous exchanges. Appalled to the core by such promiscuity, I moved away from that chamber in a bid to save my eyes from getting further contaminated. I decided to head to the Garden Section, where while I was in the midst of my workout, I overheard two young boys discussing how one of them has been cheating his boss since the past year by embezzling funds at work. The other friend joined in the natter by proudly sharing detailed accounts of how he dupes his colleagues in myriad ways. This left me wondering whether any ethics, morality, integrity or virtue is at all left in Society today.

As I proceeded to the Weight-Training Section, little did I know that there was something worse in store. Four well-built married men somewhere in their mid-forties were boasting about the number of girlfriends each of them 'possessed'. It was like they felt a sense of monstrous pride in such adultery. The immoral bunch seemed to be competing for the coveted crown of a Casanova, for the maximum number of romantic alliances outside their sacred institution of marriage.

Coming from a background where chastity is considered one of the highest noble virtues, these acts of perversion make me ponder how can society thrive amidst such immorality and then expect peace and happiness in their lives? What is the root cause that ignites lustful propensities and makes people seek vanity while being unscrupulous?

According to a recent survey conducted by a global dating website 86% men and 79% women don't feel that infidelity is a sin. Owing to the rapid modernisation of society, in the name of so-called advancement, the holy fabric of loyalty is being soiled by the nescient masses.

Today infidelity, trechery, adultery, duplicity, cheating, subterfuge and trickery are being glamorised in movies, television serials and glorified in social media. Ignorant people who idolise such charlatans are being misled into believing that these deeds of immorality are acceptable and they have the license to freely be a part of it.

Unfortunately, being exposed to a circle of wrong association, ruthless abuse of social media, lack of righteous values and absence of bonafide guidance, people are being dragged into the dark tunnel of sinful cravings. The innate desire to simply gratify their senses while compromising their character and morality does not seem to affect them at all. However, it is important to remind ourselves that regardless of whether we accept or reject nature's highest convention, the law of karma keeps a detailed account & actually works with precision. It gives back to us what we throw at it, maybe not immediately but definitely at some point of time in future, in the form of sorrow, regret, grief, anxiety, frustration, guilt or even loss of our true loved ones.

Exemplary Paradigms

Our sacred literatures in every religion, enlighten us with the ultimate wisdom of God, that sages have propounded, since times immemorial. The purpose of these holy texts is to show us the correct path, guide us towards integrity and caution us against vices that are detrimental to our physical, emotional, mental health & in general, our overall well-being.

Let us learn from the following classic examples that how in the earlier Ages of Truth; loyalty, committment & chastity were upheld as paramount characteristics in every nature of relationship be it husband,wife, friends, relatives, teachers or masters:

Wife's Loyalty towards Husband

Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the epic story of Sukanya and her husband Cyavana Muni. King Sharyati's lotus-eyed daughter Sukanya once went alongwith her friends to gather fruits & flowers. She was suddenly intrigued by two glowing balls within a mountain of earthworm hill. Out of curiosity, when she pierced those two shining holes with a twig, blood started oozing from them. That's when she realized the huge blunder she had committed. Those two glowing holes behind the mountain were actually the eyes of a very old, diseased and ugly Sage Cyavana who was absorbed in penance since years. Her father immediately begged forgiveness from the wise sage and offered his beautiful daughter Sukanya as his wife. Sukanya whole-heartedly accepted the old Sage as her husband even though he was materially unfit for her and served him selflessly. Once the celestial physicians 'Aśvinī-kumāras' decided to test Sukanya's loyalty towards her husband. With their divine powers they transformed the old, ugly & diseased Sage into the most handsome & healthy man and brought him in front of her. Unable to recognise her husband, she sought refuge of the Celestial Beings. They were very pleased to see Sukanyā’s chastity and faithfulness. Thus they revealed Cyavana Muni, her husband, and after taking permission from him, they returned to the heavenly planets in their plane.

Husband's Loyalty towards Wife

In the Ramayana, we can witness the vintage era when the husbands showcased their profound loyalty towards their wives. While Lord Ram and his eternal consort, Sita, were spending their days in exile, they were living in a small hut in the forest. Ravan's sister Shurpanakha, a demoness, who had the ability to shape-shift, used this supernatural power and transformed herself into a gorgeous lady in order to seduce Ram. However, Ram refused her advances because he loved his wife Sita and was faithful to her. Even after repeated attempts to entice him to accept her, when she failed, she tried to kill Sita. That's when Ram's younger brother, Lakshman, punished her.

Loyalty between Friends

In the epic Mahabharata, the friendship between Duryodhana & Karna is unrivalled. Knowing well that he was the cousin brother of the Pandavas, Karna proved his loyalty towards his best friend, whom he had promised to support for the rest of his life regardless of whether he approved of his principles or not. Taking the side of his best friend Duryodhana, he fought against his own clan in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Loyalty towards Family

The all-powerful Bhishmadeva had taken a vow for his father's happiness, to always stand by his kingdom, under every circumstance. Sacrificing his own joys, peace and tranquility he always remained loyal to the Kauravas since they were seated on the throne as rulers of the Kingdom.

Loyalty between Master-Servitor

Hanuman had accepted Lord Ram as his master. He was always eager to serve with his heart, soul, and life. He is the highest personification of devotion. No obstacles could stand before him. Not because of his strength but because of his love and loyalty towards the Lord. Eventually, he was granted the boon of immortality.

How to Grow the Seed of Loyalty?

Here are some golden rules to assist you to sow, water, nurture and grow this sublime seed of loyalty at every realm of life:

L - Learn to be Sincere & Supportive

O - Offer Obeisances & Respects

Y - Yearn to be Trustworthy

A - Accept & Appreciate

L - Love Unconditionally

T - Take time to Express Gratitude

Y - Yield Compassion

My Role Model

Everyday, at the crack of dawn, I wake up to the life-sized portrait of my parents perched on the wall right below the Lordships, blessing me with their divine smile through that golden frame. Their relationship is something that inspires not just me but every soul acquainted with our world. Their sacred bond, their faithful adherence to obligations, their unswerving loyalty to each other, their commitment to a mutual goal of being together in eternal companionship and perennial servitude to God is iconic.

Personal Realisations - Crucial Lessons

I vividly remember as a child, my mother reciting the following story during bedtime. I have always treasured this story originally told by Bhishmadeva to Yudhishthira.

A giant tree with its branches spread around for miles, which towered over all other vegetation, lived in a forest near Kashi, India. This glorious tree gave shelter to many living creatures. Monkeys swung from its strong branches and joyfully jumped around, chattering with delight, as relished succulent fruits. The green foliage was painted with myriad colours by birds of all varieties, as they fluttered around and built nests on its branches. Rabbits gleefully made burrows under its shade and lived with their families. Squirrels scampered with excitement sheltering in the holes of its trunk. While lizards and snakes crawled beneath the tree and into the burrows around the roots seeking shade from the blistering sun. Bees and ants built their home in this tree, occupied in their toil and confident of their tomorrow. All these living creatures were secure and happy under the protection of this tree.

One day a hunter accidentally launched a poisoned arrow into the trunk of this tree while chasing its prey. Due to the poison, the leaves started falling from the tree, fruits & flowers withered away and the branches began to tremor. All the inhabitants of the tree started running away from the tree as soon as they smelled trouble. Insects stumbled upon each other in a rush to abandon their protector. Birds flew away to take shelter of neighboring trees. There was just one parrot who refused to leave the tree - its own shelter, even in such adverse condition. Everyone tried to persuade him to leave for his well being. Having lived in the tree hollow all his life, the parrot refused to join the exodus. He was just not ready to abandon and leave the tree, out of affection, loyalty, gratitude and compassion.

God always notices the noble acts of his creations. He was amazed by the parrot's conduct. He was surprised that how a small bird could have such divine traits, when humans in today's age fail to have them. He appeared in front of bird in guise of a priest to test him further and advised it to leave the tree. Lord said, " There are many excellent trees in this forest covered with leaves and heavily laden with fruit. O patient one, exercising discrimination and wisdom abandon this unqualified tree that is incapable of producing any good". The bird replied, " This is the place where I was born, here in this tree I gained all the good traits of my character and here I took shelter from all my enemies and natural hazards. Should I now abandon the one who has always been my support? The Vedas themselves teach us to honor our mother, father and guru like God. This tree has been all to me. Should I abandon it now?"

Pleased by the bird's explanation, God revealed His identity and offered the virtuous parrot a boon. With tearful eyes, the parrot craved, "Please save the tree!". Lord Krishna sprinkled the tree with divine nectar. The branches of the tree immediately got laden with fresh green leaves, fully bloomed flowers and delectable fruits. It regained its grandeur through the penance of the parrot. Thus, we see that the tree was saved just because of a small bird because that bird had sense of gratitude towards its benefactor.

The parrot fulfilled his debt to the tree, showing the highest level of loyalty and at the end of his life won the eternal companionship of God through his act of compassion and sacrifice.

Practical Implementation: Loyalty to Ourselves

Due to a dearth of spiritual inclination and enlightenment, one fails to comprehend the Absolute Truth. In turn, due to an absence of the knowledge of this greatest virtue of loyalty, today meaningful relationships are unable to survive. The sole reason is that people are chasing temporary sense pleasures. They are infatuated with sensual objects and wrongly identify happiness with a never-ending lust, greed for something more, something better, something more beautiful, something more attractive, something of higher monetary value. When we remain discontent with whatever is bestowed on us or whoever has been chosen to be with us by the Will of Providence, we become depressed, stop living upto our latent potential and simple waste our energy mulling over insignificance. The key element in relationships is pure love. Unalloyed love is the backbone of loyalty. The foundation of sacred love is based on deeper compatibility and not on material attraction. It encompasses giving more than receiving. Giving love, respect, acceptance, appreciation etc. By keeping our Creator at the centre of everything we do, we have a higher purpose to be together under any and every circumstance. Any relationship is like a rollercoaster ride. We need to acknowledge that alongside the happy moments; trials, arguments & setbacks are bound to exist in relationships. Cheating is simply an excuse. The real test is when we are able to transcend those challenges, rather than cheating on our husband,wife, partner, spouse, or people who hold us close to their hearts. Commitment is crucial at every phase of our lives. Being loyal to our own selves is pivotal, which involves using discretion to distinguish between right & wrong as it helps us stay focused and channelize our energies in the right direction.

Conclusion

There is a popular adage: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. It is imperative to constantly remind ourselves that if we are cheating someone today, we will surely be cheated tomorrow. If we have integrity, we have everything. Therefore, we must always be loyal to those who have offered shelter to us and who have been our support in bad times. We should never forget the people who have been compassionate towards us. If we are unable to see God in the one who has been our support or stood for us, then we can never see God anywhere. We may possess the best of virtues or good qualities but without loyalty and compassion they are meaningless. When we make loyalty to our loved ones and above all, our own selves; our topmost priority, that is the guarantee of real success, permanent happiness and the highest perfection of life. Let's aspire to foster the royalty of loyalty in modern society by setting a high standard of morality and impeccable character, by being souls who are complete within themselves, self-satisfied, contented and believe in spreading divinity.

Article by:

Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author | Social Activist | Artist

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New Year's Eve Kirtan 2018- By: Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi De...

"The Art of Staying Positive" by Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

This evening I received a voice message from my high school friend. I was overjoyed to reunite with her. However, this glee was short-lived as she gradually shared her darkest fears, which were consuming her since the past few weeks. I was overwhelmed to witness her drowning in a well of negativity towards people, circumstances and her own life.

This is not just a one-off case but at some phase during our lifespans we have all faced such moments of truth wherein we perceive things in a negative way, when we let apprehensions and doubts cloud the mirror of our minds leading to irrational judgement. How many times have we thought ourselves unworthy, engaged in negative self-talk, felt resentment and hatred towards others or towards the way our own lives are shaping up? There have been numerous occasions when we may have exclaimed, "Why do things always go wrong with me?", "Why do I always meet bad people?" etc.

The Foundation:

Let me share the following story that I narrated to my distressed friend, which not just gave her an anchor, a direction but served as a stimuli to shed her negative mindset and transformed her vision towards events, people and circumstances.

I apprised her that, "A battle is going on inside me. It is a fierce war between two cats. One is evil – he is filled with anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.The other is good – he is filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight between the two cats is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

To this, she asked me, “Which cat will win?”

I simply replied, “The one you feed.”

What is the food? The food is the decision we make, the choice we opt for which voice within the mind we are going to nourish and accommodate. Every choice that we make, makes one cat stronger and the other weaker. Every time we make an abominable choice, we become more addicted to immorality because the bad cat becomes stronger and good cat becomes weaker. Every time we make an ethically right choice, we come close to liberation.

If our default mindset is toward negativity, we’ll always see the glass half empty. The moment we become conscious of our choices, shift focus from darkness towards light, despair towards hope, we can start feeding the good cat to see, and live, the silver lining. It’s significant to have foundational beliefs and spiritual values that keep us composed, to appreciate and celebrate the good, and to process trials knowing they shall pass soon.

Tap the Source:

The highly revered, topmost sacred Vedic manual, 'The Bhagavad Gita As It Is' very aptly describes that the mind can be our greatest friend or it can be our biggest enemy.

All the holy scriptures warn us to not succumb to the mind’s myopic urges seeking instant pleasures. Many of us may be consciously or subconsciously attempting this. But we will frequently find ourselves trapped in a cage of pessimism, because often situations do go out of control, things go wrong and people do behave unreasonably, and our mind tends to glue on the negativity around us.

The mind can make heaven out of hell and hell out of heaven. The state of our mind determines the quality of our life. Our mind is the root of all thoughts and actions. It navigates our life. So it is crucial for us to learn to tap the power of the mind.

Hence, we need to critically evaluate its plans, which are often detrimental to our long term self-interest. However the mind proposes its ideas, desires and views so subtly and irresistibly that we rashly consider them to be our own and impulsively act on them. Only when hit with the consequences do we regret our imprudent decisions and behaviour. When we consciously monitor our mind, we are able to judiciously reject the negative or complacent thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

Vedic Chronicles:

When Mother Sita was kidnapped by the Demon Ravan, the servitor of Lord Rama - Hanuman ji, set out to look for her. He frantically searched at innumerable destinations. But he did not lose hope neither did he let frustration creep into his efforts. He was persistent and with complete faith in God, while maintaining a positive outlook, eventually succeeded in his endeavour.

Another pivotal incident was when the mighty warrior prince Arjuna became confused, bewildered and filled with miserable thoughts before the epic Battle of Kurukshetra. When he completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord Krishna, thats when he was enlightened with real spiritual knowledge. As soon as he took shelter of God, all negativity vanished and the illuminating light of positivity flooded his soul. He received the highest transcendental knowledge and experienced newfound bliss.

A classic example of optimism was King Bali. He did not feel dejected when Lord assumed the form of Vamandeva to test him. He willingly offered himself and surrendered at God's Lotus Feet. Pleased by his positive attitude and virtues, the Lord granted Him benedictions.

Positive thinking can be cultivated and eventually becomes natural when we comprehend the purpose of our existence. We are all souls, spiritual beings, the beloved children of God and are meant to rejoice in eternal loving exchanges with Him. When we train ourselves to see all events in our life as expression of God’s love for us and to make all our actions as expressions of our love for Him, then we tap our latent positive spiritual energy. Hence love of God is the source and essence of all positivity.

The Highest Test:

The highest test was faced by Maharaj Parikshit - a great saintly monarch. He was cursed to die by a young Brahmana boy. The King knew he had only seven days to live. Now this did not cause him to grapple with fear, whimper, complain or become morose. Rather he gracefully accepted it as the will of the Lord, took it as an opportunity to understand the purpose of his life. He immediately renounced all his worldly opulences to nourish his soul by absorbing himself in hearing the glories of the Lord. This was the greatest test that he passed at the time of death and attained His ultimate destination - He went back to Godhead in the spiritual world.

The soul is an eternal spiritual person with a full existence beyond this temporary world. To attain that original identity, we must awaken the love for God that is always present in our hearts—although it’s covered now by illusion. Through patient and submissive service to Lord, we can rekindle that sublime love. We can most easily and effectively experience God’s love for us and express our love for Him by chanting His Holy Names, by associating with pure devotees. God being omnipotent fully manifests Himself in His Names and gives us the strength to reject negative thoughts.

Therefore, we can perfect the art of staying positive when we practice devotion. Through this sincere attempt to dovetail unfavourable phenomena towards purifying our consciousness, we experience showers of love, peace, joy and wisdom that washes away all the negativity from the mind. This expression of gratitude uplifts us to a higher realm, filled with colours of vibrance, success, positivity and eternal bliss.

Article by:

Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author

For Complimentary Articles, Videos, Podcasts, Power-Quotes & more...

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"How to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude?" by Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Why Should we be Grateful?

Once a valiant Soldier who was well-known for his valour, lost his feet while fighting for his Country, on the Battlefield. He was awarded the prestigious Bravery Award by the State and was blessed with profusion. Even though he had lost his wife, few years ago, he was fortunate to have a loving son and started living a peaceful life in his village. The son looked upon his father as his role model. He served his father wholeheartedly with utmost love and affection. Both father-son shared a beautiful bond of not just parent-child but more than that, of best friends. However, due to the tragic occurrence, the soldier became irritable and confined to the bed. As time passed, the soldier started finding faults, criticizing and abusing his son over petty issues, even though the son served his father selflessly at the cost of his own health and life. The son silently suffered every humiliation. After few months, the son became emotionally shattered. He considered himself to be the cause of grief to his father, and when he could not endure his father's piercing words anymore, the son left his body.

This sudden grave loss came as a shock to the soldier. While he sat on the bed, uncontrollably wailing in front of his son's lifeless corpse, he blamed and cursed God.The soldier was all through his life a very pious soul. Moved by his devotion and sincere cry, the Lord appeared. He exclaimed, "O ignorant one! Why do you lament the death of your son now? When he was alive, you magnified his mistakes but seldom appreciated his unalloyed love towards you". The soldier realized his blunder. Shedding tears of sorrow, he asked forgiveness and begged the Lord to return his son back to life. The all-merciful Lord fulfilled the intense desire of his pure devotee by granting the soldier this boon and gave the gift of life to his son. Overjoyed, the soldier tightly embraced his son, and from that very moment began cultivating the attitude of gratitude.

The Essence

We are faced with myriad circumstances in our lives which continuously oscillate like a pendulum - between success and failure, good and bad, happiness and distress, health and disease, peace and war, honour and dishonour, victory and defeat, frustration and pleasure, love and hatred. How we respond to these situations reflects our attitude and shapes our character. Our character is moulded by our behaviour, our thoughts, our actions, that, over a period of time, eventually become our habit. Habit in turn governs our quality of existence. When we cultivate the immaculate habit to be grateful under any given set of conditions, we emerge victorious, we are able to overcome miseries, we get the strength to transcend the ropes of material bondage. Gratitude empowers us to break free from the shackles of egoistic pride and conditioning that binds us to our self-limiting beliefs.

The Spiritual Perspective

From a spiritual perspective, we must optimally utilise every moment as an opportunity to take shelter of the Divine and trust His higher plan for each one of us. When we suffer blows, we must thank God for giving us lesser obstacles or discounted sorrows than what we truly deserve. When we are blessed with abundance, we must again thank God for showering us with more happiness or success than we actually deserve. When we completely surrender to our Creator, when we absorb our minds and senses in chanting His glories, when we render unalloyed devotional service; we become eligible to receive His causeless mercy. Thus, by acknowledging the existence of a Higher power and by invoking Divine blessings, we are able to imbibe the powerful characteristic called gratitude. Gratitude is like the root of the tree which further helps us grow branches of kindness, humility, tolerance and patience. All these are pivotal elements that aid us in radically transforming our lives to achieve real success.

Golden Keys to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

G - Give up all Negativity and Self Limiting Beliefs

R - Recognize and Remember all Positive Elements

A - Appreciate People Around and Every Moment of Life

T - Trust our Creator and Have Faith in Him

I - Imbibe the Spirit of Being Thankful - Count Your Blessings

T - Treasure the Virtues of Compassion, Humility, Tolerance and Patience

U - Utilize every Opportunity to take Shelter of the Divine

D - Discover Transcendental Bliss in Purifying Consciousness

E - Empathize, Empower and Exercise this Wisdom Everyday

Conclusion

Let me share my personal realization to ascertain how we can lay the foundation to develop this noble quality. Since childhood my mother has always taught me to be grateful for everything that comes our way. She opened my eyes to a beautiful world that can be carved when we magnify the positive facets, when we open our hearts to people around us, when we express appreciation for even the smallest of things. We must feel fortunate for the air we breathe, for the rising sun, for the chirping birds, for the food we honor, for the obstacles we may have to face, for the joys, the sorrows, the laughter, the tears.

I am deeply indebted to my mother for sharing this precious wisdom, which has not only helped me transform my outlook towards life but is helping thousands of my counsel-seekers globally. Our immediate circumstances may not always seem favorable but we must seek to comprehend the inconceivable higher plan of the Supreme Being in every situation. When we anoint our eyes with the tinge of gratitude, when we return kindness, it brightens our entire existence, it qualifies us to become recipients of unconditional love of God, so that we envision the path to eternal bliss and reach the pinnacle of success.

Article by:

Meghna Choudhury (H.G. Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author

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