Question: How can I have more gratitude?

Sri Chinmoy: Gratitude comes from devotion. Without devotion, there is no gratitude. Choose one of my pictures — it need not be my Transcendental Picture — and meditate on it. That will give you more devotion.

In India we have our tulsi leaf. The spiritual significance of that leaf is devotion. One of my Indian ‘mothers’ used to worry that I did not have any devotion. Her name was Mridu-di. Every day she used to run after me only to place that leaf inside my mouth.

For gratitude, devotion is absolutely necessary. When devotion-magnet goes away, one cannot maintain gratitude. If you are devoted to someone, then you can show him gratitude, you can show him love, you can show him concern, you can show him sympathy. But if devotion-magnet is missing, what are you going to do?

Devotion is the sweetest thing in our lives. It is the magnet that draws all the divine qualities. But false devotion is useless. Do not destroy the muscle-power of your palms by sitting with folded hands if there is no devotion inside your heart!

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy answers, part 32, Agni Press, 2002
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sca_32