Thank You

Dear John,

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day, perhaps my favorite national holiday. While other holidays celebrate a person or an event, Thanksgiving celebrates an attitude.

This year at Ananda Village the COVID virus is forcing us to be separated from others. In normal times we would have had a big, joyous Thanksgiving gathering and feast—but not this year. Instead, we shared meals together via Zoom. Afterward, we talked about those things for which we are thankful. It ended up being much deeper and more intimate than the usual chitchat of social gatherings.

I’ve been thinking about the things in my life that I’m most grateful for. The list is far too long to print in a blog, but here are a few highlights:

1) I’m grateful for my mother and father. They were loving, supportive parents who helped bring out my better qualities. My father was deeply dharmic and focused, and my mother was a bundle of energy. I hope that a little of both rubbed off on me.

2) I’m grateful to have been born in circumstances that allowed me to thrive. So many in this world start out with such severe disadvantages that they have little chance of success. I know that these things are driven by karma, but nonetheless I’m thankful.

3) I’m grateful for Paramhansa Yogananda and the spiritual path he brought to the world. I don’t know what would have become of me if I hadn’t found Autobiography of a Yogi.

4) I’m thankful for Swami Kriyananda and his guidance and love. It is no exaggeration to say that he shaped my entire life.

5) I’m grateful to my wife and lifelong partner. When Swami Kriyananda gave her the name Devi, he said, “It means ‘Divine Mother,’ and you had better live up to it.” She has, for me and for countless others.

6) I am thankful for the many tests and trials in my life. Each one has made me stronger and freer.

7) I’m thankful for the teachings I’ve received. One of the most precious gifts is knowing that I can choose whether to be happy or not.

Let me give you a little example of this. The other day, as I was walking, an old spiritual bubbled up out of the dim recesses of my mind. The words are:

“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.
A long way from home, a long way from home.”

This poignancy of longing for home and mother is a normal human emotion—even Yogananda felt it deeply after the loss of his mother. He wrote: “Early every morning I made a pathetic memorial-pilgrimage to a large sheoli tree which shaded the smooth, green-gold lawn before our bungalow. In poetical moments, I thought that the white sheoli flowers were strewing themselves with a willing devotion over the grassy altar.”

This pathos and longing is natural, even helpful, while grieving. But, I wasn’t grieving, just mindlessly repeating some long-gone lyrics. I noticed that the emotional cloud they evoked began to make my heart feel a little down, my pace a little slower. Fortunately, I remembered that we can choose our thoughts, so, I changed my internal song to the Sanskrit chant, “Twameva mata, chapita twameva.” The English translation is:

“Thou art my mother, my father Thou art.
Thou are my brother, my friend Thou art.
Thou art my wisdom, my wealth Thou art.
Thou art my all. Light of lights art Thou.”

The first song affirms how far away mother, home, and comfort are. The second not only brings them close, but makes them ever present. With that little shift of songs, both my mood and pace picked up.

8) Finally, I am deeply grateful for my many friends and gurubhais. They have helped make this life a magical, light-filled adventure.

You, too, might take a moment to give thanks for the many gifts in your life. Perhaps you would like to inspire others by sharing one thought in the comments field below.

In gratitude,

Nayaswami Jyotish