"Gratitude" - Vocal Improvisation By Sri Chinmoy

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On April 13, 1986, Sri Chinmoy sang the word "gratitude" in a new and special way.

Although Sri Chinmoy has quite a few songs on gratitude, this performance was unique; he sang the word "gratitude" in an improvised way for more than 20 minutes!

Sri Chinmoy was also painting while this improvised vocalization took place. So two equally spontaneous events were taking place at the same time.

Gratitude has a very special place in Sri Chinmoy's philosophy. Below are excerpts from Sri Chinmoy's writings on gratitude. You can read more of Sri Chinmoy's writings at Sri Chinmoy Library.

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Gratitude

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

Gratitude is a miracle-action in us. This miracle-action strengthens our physical body, purifies our vital energy, widens our mental vision and intensifies our psychic delight.

The seeker in us tries to be simple, pure, humble, sincere. Every spiritual seeker tries to cultivate these qualities in abundant measure. The easiest and most effective way to cultivate these qualities is to open the gratitude-flower and let it blossom inside our heart petal by petal. How can we do this? Not only do we have to give more importance to what we have, but we also must give all importance to what we do not have.

What we have is wishful thinking, wishful seeking, wishful becoming. Wishful thinking: We think that we shall be great or successful in some way. Wishful seeking: We seek the truth and light in our own way, in the place where we think truth and light must abide. Wishful becoming: This is the most deplorable mistake we make. We want to become something that pleases us. If we want to please ourselves in our own way, then consciously or unconsciously we bring the vital-wolf to the fore.

What we do not have to the breathless inner cry and the measureless outer smile. If we can develop the breathless inner cry, then automatically we develop the measureless outer smile.

Either from within we come without, or fromwithout we dive deep within. We can start our journey either from the soul's capacity or from the body's capacity. Ultimately these two capacities have to be united. Needless to say, the soul's capacity is infinitely greater than the body's capacity. But the little capacity that the body has, has to be united with the soul's capacity. The body's greatest capacity is the acceptance of the soul's leadership. If the soul is accepted as the supreme leader, if the soul gets the opportunity to guide, mould and shape our destiny, then we get what we do not have right now: the sweet, pure, breathless, intense inner cry and the sure, measureless outer smile.

- Sri Chinmoy

July 2, 1977
Sri Chinmoy Centre
Jamaica, New York

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Question: What is gratitude?

Sri Chinmoy: Gratitude means to become a flower in every part of your being: body, vital, mind and heart. Everything in your being will exist only as a flower. There are 86,000 subtle nerves inside you, but there will not remain anything else except a flower. You as an individual will become only a flower to be placed at the Feet of the Supreme. This flower is completely open; all the petals are blossomed. This is gratitude.

A student quoted one of my aphorisms: "One second of gratitude to God is worth three hours of intense meditation on God." He was finding it difficult to understand this aphorism. He thought that it meant that just to say "Thank you" for one second was worth several hours of meditation. But gratitude is not like shaking hands and saying, "Thank you." No, it may take you many incarnations to come up to the stage of true gratitude.

Inside the physical body there are thousands of nerves and inside the subtle body also there are thousands of subtle nerves. When everything disappears, when you exist only as a most beautiful flower and you feel that you are ready to be placed at the Feet of the Supreme: that is gratitude. But it may take hours, days, months, years or many incarnations to come to that stage. For one second of gratitude, the preparation may take quite a few years. So when I say that gratitude is the most difficult thing and the most important thing, please remember that I am referring to this kind of gratitude. Wen everything of yours has gone away, when everything of yours has melted and there only remains one flower, when you remain only as a flower ready for worship and you have placed yourself at the Feet of the Supreme: that is gratitude. From now on, please feel that this is what I mean by gratitude. Otherwise, I will not say that one second of gratitude is equal to three hours of meditation.

- Sri Chinmoy

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Question: What is the significance of gratitude?

Sri Chinmoy: Gratitude is a living reality. A seeker has to know that his most powerful capacity is gratitude. What God has is infinite Compassion and what we have is gratitude. God's gift to man is infinite Compassion and our gift to God is an iota of gratitude to be placed at His Feet. Gratitude-power can never be surpassed. It is the only satisfaction we can offer God. This is not because God needs our gratitude but because He needs ample opportunity to enter into us in a more effective way, and gratitude increases our heart's receptivity.

- Sri Chinmoy

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Question: What is the relationship between gratitude and oneness?

Sri Chinmoy: Between gratitude and oneness we see the relationship of the outer reality and the inner reality. With gratitude, we go inside and discover our oneness. And when we come out from inside, where we have established our oneness, at that time we see that gratitude is there. Inside, we go to see what we are; outside, we come to see what we have. Gratitude is to have; oneness is to be. This is the relationship. Gratitude means that we have something and oneness means that we are something. One eternally is; the other eternally has. Gratitude has God as its very own and oneness is God Himself.

- Sri Chinmoy

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A Tiny Gratitude-Flame

What my heart needs
Is a tiny gratitude-flame,
For this flame alone
Will show my entire life
Perfection's core.
- Sri Chinmoy

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Gratitude

Gratitude is one's feeling of concern for the Highest. As the Highest has concern for the lowest, the lowest also should have some concern for the Highest. We may ask, "What can we do for God with our concern?" We have to know what He will think of us if we live an ordinary, undivine, animal life. The answer is that He will feel miserable. He will think that we are not making any progress and are holding back His Manifestation. Our concern for the Highest makes us feel what we can do, and that very thing is to offer gratitude. This is one way of viewing gratitude.

There is another way to view gratitude. When we are about to be totally destroyed, our hope, our pride, everything that we have is shattered and smashed. But inside our utter hopelessness, helplessness, destruction and frustration, if we see a streak of hope, a streak of light, that hope or that light is gratitude. Like a magnet, our iota of light is pulling down a higher force which is entering into us to save us. The moment we have this magnet, it pulls down more of God's Grace and God's Love. The magnet is our inner cry, our gratitude, bringing down more Love from above.

- Sri Chinmoy

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We offer our gratitude to you, our dear listeners, for giving us the opportunity to be of service to the Supreme in you.

Kamalakanta Nieves
September 2006

Artist: Sri Chinmoy
Release year: 2006
Duration: 20:30
Acknowledgements: Sri Chinmoy
Format: Advanced Audio Coding
Image: Pavitrata Taylor