Saints "On Gratitude"
What a guardian of spiritual and at the same time material treasures gratitude is, we will see in the example of the beautiful Joseph. This chaste young man was gifted and enriched with many blessings by two people: God and man. God enriched him with spiritual gifts, purity, chastity and other virtues. The man, the Egyptian military leader Potiphar, enriched him with external gifts, entrusting him with his entire house and all his property. The spiritual enemy and thief, being jealous, wanted to steal all this from him. And for this purpose, he taught his mistress, Potiphar’s wife, to seduce Joseph into sin, with which he would anger God and offend his master, would lose the mercy and grace of God and man, would destroy spiritual wealth and lose material wealth. Let’s see how the good young man responds to her temptations: “Behold, my master does not know anything in the house with me, and he has given everything that he has into my hands; I am no longer in this house; and he forbade me nothing except you, because you are his wife; How can I do this great evil? (Gen. 39:8–9). Saint Gregory, reflecting on these words, says: “He immediately remembered the benefits that he received, and thereby defeated the evil that oppressed him. He remembered the covenants of gratitude and broke the power of sin approaching him.” During the very struggle of sin, when the chaste Joseph, on the one hand, was carried away by a nasty wife and on the other was encouraged to sin by natural lust, when he was already standing between the nets and the captor, he thought how he could repay evil for good: “How Will I do this great evil? By this, he immediately overcame seduction and natural inclination, drove away the spiritual thief and predator, and preserved the wealth of virtue. He did not anger God and did not offend his master. Look how gratitude is the guardian of all virtues. The man of the Gospel was also grateful for the good deeds of the Lord, from whom the demons came out, cast out by the power of Christ, for he “asked Him that he might be with Him.” The Lord did not allow him to follow Him and let him go (Luke 8:38), but he did not forget his Benefactor: he went throughout the city, preaching about what Jesus had done for him. Truly, this man was enriched with spiritual and inexhaustible treasures: for his gratitude he was awarded the gift of preaching. We will pay attention to the fact that, as a sign of gratitude, he wanted to always be with Christ: “He asked Him that I might be with Him” (Luke 8:38). And let us say this to ourselves: nothing else can be done to thank the Lord God, our Creator and Redeemer, who always provides us with innumerable benefits, except by diligently and according to one’s strength, trying relentlessly and always to be with Him, our Lord. For obvious, known and perfect gratitude consists in always clinging to your benefactor.
Does God need our gratitude?
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But is it necessary to thank the Lord, sing praises to him, express your gratitude to him? After all, the Lord is perfect and in His perfection and completeness does not need anything. Including helping people, he cannot expect any kind of praise, recognition or attention from them. He doesn't need it at all.
People seek fame on earth because they are ambitious or lack self-confidence. They perform certain actions in order to be noticed, to be crowned with recognition and to be shown at least imaginary love and attention. There is, of course, a commercial component in the search for fame, which, unfortunately, has come to the fore in the 21st century. But why does the Lord need our boasts and glorifications? He owns everything he told man:
If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the universe and everything that fills it are Mine (Ps. 49:12).
From these words one can understand that the Almighty does not need anything. But it is not so. He has one, most important need - the salvation of every person and his return to the Kingdom of Heaven. Otherwise, it will turn out that the Sacrifice was made in vain.
Features of reading mantras of gratitude to the Universe
Reading mantras implies a special mood, which is achieved through a set of breathing exercises and focusing on the main semantic component of the ritual.
It consists of a sincere appeal to the cosmos with words of gratitude for the great gift of life in all its manifestations.
It is important to adjust your breathing, eliminate any negative experiences and fully immerse yourself in the meditation process.
Particular attention should be paid to pronunciation. Mantras are performed in Sanskrit, and the words are selected in such a way that the sound waves resonate with the necessary energy flows. Each syllable is a key that opens access to one or another power of the Universe.
Texts of the mantra of gratitude to the Universe
Thanks to the Universe can be expressed through prayer to any of the Indian deities. One of the strongest among them is the creator and destroyer Shiva. The mantra dedicated to him has strong energy and is considered the most ancient and comprehensive. It has only 6 syllables:
A powerful mantra of gratitude to the Universe.
This spell, which, according to legend, fulfills any desire, is a direct appeal to the primordial cosmic forces that created world order from ancient chaos.
Gayatri Mantra
A widespread prayer to the goddess Gayatri and the Sun-Savitar, the bearer of life-giving light. With its help, they cleanse karma, awaken intuition and premonition, free themselves from negative influences (evil eye, damage), achieve bodily cleansing and enlightenment of the mind.
The text was first written down in the Rig Veda and is recited 3, 9, 21, 27 or 108 times:
Gayatri mantra for purifying karma.
The Gayatri mantra is considered one of the most powerful and universal in all Buddhist movements. Even people who do not profess an Eastern religion know it and use it in prayer practices all over the world.
Dhanvantari Mantra
Vishnu in the form of the great healer Dhanvantari is most often approached with gratitude for healing from serious illnesses or with an expression of gratitude for the health of one’s own, family and friends. The well-being of a person’s material condition and physical body depends on it. The mantra goes like this:
Dhanvantari mantra for healing.
There is also a short invocation of the deity used by those who seek to master the art of healing:
We learn the words of the mantra by heart.
Gratitude to enemies
The ability to forgive an offender or enemy is one of the highest forms of manifestation of the human spirit. By offering a prayer for them, a person is freed from the negative energy that he has accumulated in himself towards them. Thus, he gets rid of stereotypes that interfere with a peaceful life, cleanses karma, and expands consciousness.
How to thank God?
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Prayers of thanksgiving by the whole world - in church, during prayer services, of course, evoke a greater feeling of upliftment. The feeling that the Holy Spirit is among those praying is extremely exciting and touching. But sometimes a prayer of gratitude at home, which is said with tears, sincerely, on the knees, from the heart, is even more comforting and encouraging. At such moments, many were able to feel the invisible presence of Heavenly forces, who added their voices to such prayer.
But it often happens differently. It seems that you want to thank the Lord for his good deed, but no blissful state arises either in church or at home. There is a feeling of gratitude, we take a prayer book and persistently and diligently read the words of thanksgiving prayers. But there is no warmth and heart in them, they cannot tune in to the right mood. Or there is no such practice yet, there has never been a response. But we read with patience, with difficulty we bring the matter to the end. And this is also correct. Patience and work are what will lead to the desired result. It's easy to sin. But the Kingdom of God requires work, first of all, prayer.
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Impact on humans
As a result of regular gratitude meditations, a person can change dramatically:
- become healthier, more energetic, more attractive, happier;
- develop intelligence and expand knowledge;
- gain faith in life and increase your own self-esteem;
- feel spiritually and materially rich (and then come to real prosperity);
- attract the love of others, easily get along with people, be capable of deep reciprocal feelings;
- learn to ignore the negativity and aggression of strangers, easily relieve stress, avoid unpleasant situations;
- clearly identify the most important tasks and goals, find ways to achieve them;
- gain the ability to achieve harmony of one’s self with the Universe.
For what purpose should one read gratitude mantras?
When considering the concept of cosmic energy Shakti, ideologists of Eastern religious movements necessarily emphasize its karmic predetermination.
Everything that a person broadcasts into the world always comes back to him. The spread of negative energy leads to sudden losses, illnesses, failures, while sincere positivity is accompanied by success, enlightenment, physical and mental health.
Mantras of gratitude to the Universe, opening and cleansing the heart chakra, accumulate the energy of good addressed to the deities. Their execution fills the adept with the strength to overcome any difficulties and helps to become a useful part of the cycle of life.
This makes him persistent and protected at all levels of existence (physical, psycho-emotional, astral). Such conscious and felt prayer practice transforms consciousness, allows a person to purify himself and contributes to his spiritual growth.
Rules for reading mantras
One of the basic rules of prayer practice is its regularity. Daily appeal to the forces of the cosmos, embodied in the deities of the Indian pantheon, guarantees the establishment of strong connections with higher powers and the continuous feeding of a person with positive energy.
For reading, it is recommended to choose either the evening before sunset or the early morning just after sunrise.
In addition, you should pay close attention to the following details:
- choosing a place - preferably secluded, in nature, away from people and bustle;
- correct posture - each mantra corresponds to the asanas established by the teachers (if a person does not have experience, then it is enough to chant the spell while sitting, legs crossed and back straight);
- breathing - when reading, it should be even, calm, words are pronounced as you exhale, air is drawn in through the nose;
- comfort - loose clothing that does not restrict movement should be selected;
- cleanliness - before starting prayer, you must wash your face and body, put on everything clean.
Each reading of the mantra is a signal sent to the Universe about readiness to accept divine protection. Awareness of the importance of this contributes to its speedy response, which is expressed in changes occurring around and within a person.
We read mantras in complete unity with nature and the universe.
Who to contact
Most often, mantras are a personalized appeal to one or more gods. To determine your prayer, you need to rely on intuition and internal sensations after practice. The choice is correct if, at the end of meditation, a person experiences states of love, joy and liberation.
