THANK YOU GOD- I AM SO BLESSED

‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God’……..…Bible, Mattews 5.8

What is a Blessing

Blessing is invoking of happiness or success with God’s favour. A blessed person is considered to be fortunate, as he is endowed with something extraordinary which keeps the ‘feel good’ feeling alive in him. Some elements of a blessing which must not be lost sight of are:-

• A blessing makes you happy and rewarded.
• Blessings create a positive feeling, and focusing on it keeps your thoughts away from worries, tensions and negative feelings.
• You feel that it is something more than what you have either earned or deserved.
• You feel that it is a favour from God, that you are enjoying because of His grace.(‘Satguru’ says: note that a blessing is always bestowed by God’s Grace).
• You should feel humbled and shorn of all your ego.
• You must be thankful for the blessings bestowed upon you.

Impact of Science and Technology on Life

In the society today science has made tremendous advancements very rapidly. The pace continues unabated. It is a good thing that the explosion of information has made individuals highly knowledgeable and worldly wise, but they have also become very skeptic as well. They are questioning all ancient knowledge and wisdom including that of the ‘Vedas’. There is lack of faith in the Word of the Sages and ‘Satgurus’, wanting everything to be proved or made visible. On the same analogy, they go to the extent of creating doubts about the very existence of God.

Technology has kept pace with the advancement in science, putting in the hands of man an unthinkable number of attractive gadgets and devices for making life more convenient, comfortable and secure. On the other hand life has been made very busy, rushed and complicated. Man’s achievements have made him swollen headed. He feels he can achieve anything. He has become over confident, claiming that he can do all things on his own, and that there is no need for him to be grateful to anybody, least of all to God or to Mother Nature.

Due to the rise of a very large population of non believers a change is taking place in the psyche of the more educated and modern generation. This is more pronounced in the younger people. Some prominent aspects of this thought process are:-

• There is more and more dependence on science and technology
• They have no time to ponder over the real purpose of life. Being religious and believing in the existence of God is considered to be old fashioned.
• Scriptures are considered to be out of date, having been written in a primitive era. They are not considered to be relevant in the present time. Scriptures, they say, are full of imaginative narratives and concepts, which would not stand scientific scrutiny.
• Their advanced education has made them self reliant and confident. Reinforcing the general view that – the harder you work, the more you can earn, and the more empowered you will become in society. After all, money is currency of power today. They feel that with money they can collect all the things of comfort and pleasure that they need around them. This they assert will lead to all round happiness.
• The more material things that they collect, the more ‘blessed’ they feel.
• They also claim that the purpose of their life is to be happy and feel blessed, and if they can achieve this by earning more money, then what is wrong with their method.

Shift in the Perception About Blessings

Unfortunately, most people leading successful lives today, do not understand what being blessed really means. In the present times, one thing that stands out is the shift in the thinking about blessings coming from God, to feeling blessed with the possession of more money and material things for comfort and pleasure. Blessing is no longer focused on simple nature’s bounties or God’s grace. The lovely poem taught in schools in the first class does not seem to hold the same appeal that it used to:-

‘Thank you God for the birds that sing, Thank you God for everything.’

Today it is very common to hear the various mundane reasons for which people are feeling blessed. These range from feeling blessed for a good family, for a good job, for a good house, for a good bank balance, for an obedient son, for their health, etc, etc. ‘Satguru’ says that in this gross world, change is inevitable. Everything will come to an end, and the feeling of being blessed will be short lived and eventually end up in heartbreak and misery.

Being Truly Blessed

‘Satguru’ says that most of God’s blessings come without a price tag. They are free and in abundance; as such they are available equally to the rich and the poor; to the high and low; to the young and old. We should feel blessed for the sun that shines, the wind that blows, the water that flows through our rivers, the food we get from the trees and fields, and many more such bounties. When God gives us all our requirements, and frees us from daily worries, we should understand that He is giving us time to turn to Him in prayer and gratitude.

From the spiritual point of view ‘Satguru’ says that the reasons for feeling blessed are:-

1. I am blessed that I have been born as a human being.
2. I am blessed that I met my Realised Mentor (‘ my beloved ‘Satguru’).
3. I am blessed that God has given me the inspiration and wisdom to turn to Him.

1. Blessed to be Born as a Human Being. Goswami Tulsidas writes: ‘bade bhagya manas tan paya’. It is a blessing to have been born as a human being. Amongst all living species, humans are known as ‘the top of the creation’. The best amongst the 84 lakh known species through which the soul transmigrates before taking human birth. Some of the unique qualities of the human being are:-

• Humans are the only beings who create ‘Karmas’ (actions), the fruits of which they reap during this life time, or in successive lives.
• Humans are endowed with wisdom and the power to discriminate between the good and the bad. Human beings can thus perform selfless actions, which do not add burden of additional fruits that have to be cleared before they get liberated.
• Humans are the only species that have a conscience.
• Humans have the intellect which can reason and decide an independent course of action. Consequently, they have developed sciences with the help of which they have broken the shackles of instinctive existence in Nature, and are living a self carved out purposeful life unlike all other animals. How this precious life is used by humans is a matter controlled by the conditioning of the sub conscious mind. Spiritually the human being can know about His creator, ie, God, and has the ability to search for him, find Him, and become one with Him.

In short, a human being is blessed with a unique intellect, has a rational mind, and has the wisdom to discriminate between the good and evil. The human being knows that he has the ability for independent action, but he does not have a right to the fruits of his actions. He can choose to take a worldly path, or a spiritual path. Which way he wants to take his life, the choice is entirely his own.

2. Blessed to Have Met ‘Satguru.’ The true purpose of life eludes us till we seek the company of ‘Satguru’. We were living in the world with total materialism. We were running after wealth, name and fame, and seeking pleasure and gratification from outside. We were never satisfied. We are blessed to have met ‘Satguru’ as:-

• It is He who gives us spiritual knowledge, and puts us on the path of God realization, and salvation.
• It is ‘Satguru’ who gives us the right understanding about the temporary nature of this world.
• ‘Satguru’ brings out the truth about our worldly relationships with our near and dear ones.
• ‘Satguru’ cleanses us by highlighting our internal distortions, such as desires (kaam), attachments (moh, aasakti), greed (lobh), resentment (dvesh)and ego (ahankar). We are not in a position to be able to look at ourselves, nor will our ego be ready to be corrected by anyone else. But ‘Satguru’s’ case is different. One glance from Him cleanses us and becomes so persuasively binding, that we follow Him unquestioningly.

‘Satguru’s’ role is to make us realize that we will be truly blessed by turning inwards and not by chasing mirages in the physical world outside.

3. Blessed for the Inspiration and Wisdom to turn to God. Millions are born as human beings, and there are thousands who have met a ‘Satguru”, but unless the desire for God realization is aroused in your heart, you will not pursue our goal passionately. All seekers of the truth (God) are blessed that they are on the correct path for achieving the life’s true purpose.

A Practical lesson for All of us

Once we feel that we are truly blessed in the company of ‘Satguru’, we will be so engrossed with our good luck, that our life will be full of positivity. There will be no time for the dualities of this world. No attention will be paid to any negative thought, or to any tension arising out of any situation in this fast moving life. ‘Satguru’ says, since all things are in the hands of God, we must feel that all is well in my life. This will automatically create an attitude of gratitude and give rise to the feeling of being blessed.