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You are here : home > Values > Gratitude > The Might of Gratitude

The Might of Gratitude

NaradaorNaradMuniisreferredtoasatravellingGod-Sage,storytellerandmessengerofGodinIndianscriptures.Narada’sstoriesofwisdomareverypopularandareusedtoimbibegoodmoralsandIndianvalues.FindoneofthestoriesbasedonNarada’swisdomwhichteachesustheimportanceofpractisinggratitudeinourlife.WeallareawareoftheHindumythologicalcharacterNaradawhowasasageandagreatdevoteeofLordVishnu.HeusedtotravelwithVeenasingingsongsandtellingenlighteningstories.HewasalsoknownasthemessengerofGod.Oncewhilepassingbyaforesthemetanoldsage.SinceNaradawasknowntovisitGodregularly,thesageaskedhimtoquestionGodonhisbehalf.Hesaidthatforthreeliveshehasmadealotofeffortforattainingliberationbutallhiseffortwentinvain.HeaskedNaradatoquestionGodaboutwhenhewouldfinallyattainliberation.NaradapromisedtoputforwardhisquestionbeforeGodandhecontinuedwithhispassage. WhilemovingaheadintheforesthecameacrossayoungmandancingunderthetreewithhisEktara.SinceNaradawasgoingtoputforwardthequestionoftheoldsagebeforeGod,hethoughtofaskingtheyoungmanaswellaboutthequestionthathehasforGod.So,heaskedtheyoungman,whatishisquestionforGod?TheyoungmandidnotpayattentiontowhatNaradasaidandhecontinueddancingwithhisEktara.Afterafewdays,Naradareturnedwithananswertotheoldsage’squestion.HesaidtotheoldmanthatGodhasaskedhimtolivethreemorelivestoattainliberation.Hearingthistheoldsagegotveryfrustrated.Inarage,hethrewallthescripturesandthebeadswithwhichhewasdoingJapa.HestartedcursingGodforbeingunjust.Naradathenwenttotheyoungman.HewasstilldancingblissfullyunderthetreewithhisEktara.Althoughtheyoungmanwasengrossedinhisworld,NaradathoughtoftellinghimwhatGodhadsaidabouthim.Butduetothefiercereactionoftheoldman,Naradawasscaredtotalktohim.Gatheringsomeguts,Naradatoldtheyoungmanthathehastotakeasmanylivesasthereareleavesonthetreesunderwhichhedancedmerrilyforsolong.AfterhearingNaradaswords,theyoungmanstarteddancingwithevenmorejoy.HehappilysaidtoNaradathatGodhasbeensokindtohimthathedecidedtogranthimliberationverysoon.Hejusthastotakeasfewlivesasthereareleavesononlyonetreeandnotonthenumberoftreesthatareacrosstheglobe.DuetohiswordsofgratitudetowardsGod,hegotliberatedatthatverymoment.Suchisthemightofgratitude! Moral:IfwearegratefulforwhatwehaveandhavefaithinGod,wecanalwaysliveahappyandsatisfiedlife.Ontheotherhand,ifwedonotvaluewhatwehave,wecannotlivehappilyevenifGodbestowsallthewealthandluxuriesoflifeonus.

We all are aware of the Hindu mythological character Narada who was a sage and a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. He used to travel with Veena singing songs and telling enlightening stories. He was also known as the messenger of God.

Once while passing by a forest he met an old sage. Since Narada was known to visit God regularly, the sage asked him to question God on his behalf. He said that for three lives he has made a lot of effort for attaining liberation but all his effort went in vain. He asked Narada to question God about when he would finally attain liberation.

Narada promised to put forward his question before God and he continued with his passage.

While moving ahead in the forest he came across a young man dancing under the tree with his Ektara. Since Narada was going to put forward the question of the old sage before God, he thought of asking the young man as well about the question that he has for God. So, he asked the young man, what is his question for God? The young man did not pay attention to what Narada said and he continued dancing with his Ektara.

After a few days, Narada returned with an answer to the old sage’s question. He said to the old man that God has asked him to live three more lives to attain liberation. Hearing this the old sage got very frustrated. In a rage, he threw all the scriptures and the beads with which he was doing Japa. He started cursing God for being unjust.

Narada then went to the young man. He was still dancing blissfully under the tree with his Ektara. Although the young man was engrossed in his world, Narada thought of telling him what God had said about him. But due to the fierce reaction of the old man, Narada was scared to talk to him. Gathering some guts, Narada told the young man that he has to take as many lives as there are leaves on the trees under which he danced merrily for so long. After hearing Narada's words, the young man started dancing with even more joy. He happily said to Narada that God has been so kind to him that he decided to grant him liberation very soon. He just has to take as few lives as there are leaves on only one tree and not on the number of trees that are across the globe. Due to his words of gratitude towards God, he got liberated at that very moment. Such is the might of gratitude!

Moral: If we are grateful for what we have and have faith in God, we can always live a happy and satisfied life. On the other hand, if we do not value what we have, we cannot live happily even if God bestows all the wealth and luxuries of life on us.