20 Gratitude can take you beyond pain🔗

I will speak on this fracture that I had on my arm and the lesson to be learnt from this whole thing. The lesson I lived and the lesson all of you can learn, pick up. First thing, first question, everybody asked 'Why did Swamiji get on to the horse? What is the need?' See life is not supposed to be just waking up from the same bed, and walking through the same floor, and getting in to the same vehicle, going to the same office, coming back, and lying down in the same bed.

Life is learning. So I also thought why not pick up horse riding. And after all this horse riding, swimming, all these things are inside our bio-memory (memory in our physical body). Just if you awaken it, it will come up. 'Hmmm'. So I thought 'why not try?' That's the reason I tried. The horse riding was going well. Everyday it was going well, and everyday I was going around the ashram on the horse; morning and evening. I think on that particular day loud music was played in the ashram and all our ashramites (people who live in and ashram) have started cheering. So the horse got a little excited and I fell off the horse.

And the moment I fell, the first thing I thought is 'ohh these fellows (ashramites) should not suffer.' All the brahmacharis, ashramites who were around me they should not suffer. First thing I told is 'I am ok. Don't worry.' That is the first thing that I said. After I got up, I saw the fracture in my hand, and I told them 'maybe there is a fracture. Lets go to the hospital and do what needs to be done.'

We went to the hospital. At 7 o' clock I fell and only at 2:30 they performed the surgery. Till that time I had no pain killers and no anesthesia. It was a compound fracture, two fractures. The bones had gone piece-piece and doctors were shocked and surprised. They were again and again saying 'what do you mean by no pain Swamiji?' I said 'I don't know.' Actually, the fracture did not have any impact or problem to my body.

There was no suffering and there was no pain. The doctors were saying impossible. The doctors were saying it must be excruciating pain Swamiji, because the bone came out of the skin and made a hole in the skin. The bone was two fractures and three to four pieces of bone with bleeding. And you may ask 'why no pain?' See, there was no suffering. I did not look back to think why did I get on the horse. I could have just avoided getting on to the horse or this brahmacharis could have avoided the music. I did not think about all this or look back at what had happened and question why.

The time shaft (past, present or future) should not be looked at with the why. You should not look at the time shaft with a post mortem mood. I did not do post mortem. This is the way life is; that's all. Either see time with a deep complete acceptance or with gratitude. I looked with gratitude. 'Ehh fortunately there was no injury on the head. There was no injury on the back. Usually when people fall from the horse they have injury on the head. They break the collarbone. Nothing of that injury has happened. 'So I looked at time only with gratitude.

Do not look at life with a post mortem mood. I could have thought 'oh these fellows could have avoided the music. These fellows could have avoided the shouting, cheering up. I could have avoided getting on to the horse. What is the need for me to learn horse riding in this age? Who asked me to learn horse riding?'

In thousands of ways you can ask 'why' towards life. But 'why' towards

life always brings suffering. Why and if and wife! All three bring suffering. The 'why' does not give any answers. It just brings more and more suffering.

So I always say look at life either with complete acceptance or with deep gratitude; that's all. Then there will not be any suffering.

Come on sit with this one idea for a few minutes 'let me approach life with a deep gratitude or full acceptance. No 'why' to life'.

Gratitude in Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the wonderful things that I learnt from the west. Understand, I am very open and honest, whatever is said and done somehow the thanksgiving idea was not there; the very idea did not get engraved so much in Bharat. Only in the west, especially this function, this thanksgiving function, I saw so much of importance and respect given to it.

Yes, there are some wonderful things we need to learn. So this was one of the great things at least I learnt from this country, from this tradition. And not only that, even verbally thanking is given so much of importance in this culture, which is needed.

In the Vedic tradition thanksgiving or gratitude has become more of a spiritual quality. It was never a social quality. It was there, but more or less a spiritual quality. But here (in the west) I saw, it's vibrant, alive in day-to-day life. It is a social quality that we need to really learn and imbibe.

Maybe I can say, this is a kind of constant meditation; everyday meditation. Whenever you say the word 'thank you' it is like meditation everyday, reminding yourself how gratitude becomes a spiritual practice. Today a very funny, but mystical incident happened. Today during the performance of the rituals and offerings, I was in such a deep silence and Samadhi. I saw, behind me the group that was sitting, one or two people were a little uncomfortable. Of course, I did not see physically, but because I was in Samadhi, I can see very clearly what is going on in the minds of people around me.

I saw that a few minds were a little unsettled, a little irritated. I was thinking, 'arey, this presence anybody will fall in tune so beautifully, so wonderfully. What is the problem?' I saw a few guys were a little agitated, because that preist who was chanting the mantra, he chanted the name THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM also along with the mantra. These few, one or two people did not understand that in the traditional chants there is a word THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. It is another name for Shiva (a Hindu God).

I was just casually seeing what was happening. Another funny thing is, I did not even remember or hear it is as my name, because I was in such a deep Samadhi. I never felt that it was my name.

And there were a few intelligent guys, maybe who had the click or initiation, who had the gratitude or the love, I saw, the more they heard that word, they were able to feel more and more connected. And the few people, it did not happen never knew or never had any blessings or never had any benefits from the Master. The gratitude, the thanking attitude has not started yet. If that starts, you will stop judging.

The Master is like a window or a door, feeling connected to Him or being grateful to Him will open a new door of being grateful to everything, feeling connected to everything.

Thanking or gratitude is one of the very powerful qualities. In our first meditation program, the seventh technique, the quality to open the sahasrara chakra, the ultimate chakra, is gratitude. In gratitude, you will stop judging and fall in tune more and more and more. I saw today beautifully the power of thanksgiving consciously.