In honor of the month of Thanksgiving, please tell us of someone in your life who you are grateful for.
You can share your answer in the comments below, and enjoy others’ responses as well. You can even send your response to the person you’re grateful for.
Here are some nice articles on gratitude from around the web to get you inspired:
22 Comments
I am indeed grateful to my colleague Dr Aruna Katoch for inspiring me to follow the spiritual path of our beloved Guru ji Paramhansa Yogonanda and i always remember Guru ji Saying “Searching God means end of all sorrows.”
I can not pick one person. I am deeply thankful for every one at Ananda. Every single person has inspired me in some way – especially Nayaswami Kriyananda and all our wonderful leaders. My life is blessed by all the love and support of you all.
In Divine Friendship, Paalaka
“The second instruction on the sheet read: “Write an essay in Bengali on the life of a man who has most inspired you.” Gentle reader, I need not inform you what man I chose for my theme.” – Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi.
Dear Ananda, is there any need for me to mention who all am I grateful for in my life? Is there any way I can be more grateful to any one else other than Master, Swami Kriyananda and Ananda?
I am grateful for Ashleigh.
She is an inspiration for me because she embodies something I want to develop in myself: Child-like trust and unshakable faith in God. The knowing that God will bring her exactly what she needs in life on all levels.
Is she perfect in her application? I can’t say, but what I do know is that she has never turned her back on any challenge. She has always faced into the storm with the deepest faith.
I see this clearly in her art and in her life and for these examples I am eternally grateful.
I am deeply grateful to guruji for his book, Autobiography of a yogi. It has been a great source of inspiration to me and is like my own Bible/ Bhagvath gita. Please tell me if there are any of your ashrams in South Africa that I can join. Specifically in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Dear Reahanth,
I don’t know of any mediation groups that in South Africa, but you can email meditationgroups@ananda.org to find out for sure. Otherwise, I believe the closest one is in Italy.
Joy,
Radhika
for Ananda Sangha Worldwide
Aside from my other thousand Ananda family members (and wife Melody:), I am grateful for Prakash Van Cleave, whose radiant humility, unceasing service, and strict adherence to longer, deeper meditation have been for me an absolute lifeline.
The one person whom I am most grateful for, to the end of this life time, is Swami Kriyananda. I give thanks to him as the person I met, and for his gifts beyond time. One of them is community. I am grateful to my land lord, who is since decades a communitarian, providing a sanctuary for truth seekers. His imperfections and those of the other community members, make the WHOLE not a harbor or even a safe haven, but an endearing laboratory infused by Master’s ray.
Apart from Swami Kriyananda, Master and God, I am grateful for the presence of Nayaswami Jaya in my life. His unwavering patience, ability to see and bring out the best in everyone is truly an example to many.
What I like about him the most is that he can win people’s hearts and be impersonal at the same time.
Someday I hope I can help others the way he has helped many many individuals. He is one of the finest man I have ever met.
Thank you, Jayaji for helping Ananda India with so many things – spiritually and otherwise.
I am very grateful to my husband, Nabha, for his constant patience and kindness. He is loving and friendly to everyone, no matter how they have treated him.
I am also grateful for his support on the spiritual path. He has been with Ananda much longer than I have, and so it’s always useful to get his perspective.
My parents. Though we had tough periods and various interpersonal difficulties, who doesn’t? The main thing is my parents always made sure I knew they loved me, they encouraged my imagination and told me to follow my dreams. They were not materialistic and they inspired a love of learning, and spiritual seeking. Thanks to them, I sought deep internal truth and was lead to learn meditation and yoga. They also appreciated contemplation and vegetarianism (though later in life they didn’t follow vegetarianism, they eventually accepted my path and ate less meat as they became Seventh Day Adventists). Each day I’m thankful for their love.