The same word Gladius is the root for gladiator, a fighter who fights against wild beasts with the help of his sword. A sword by itself wields no strength, unless the hand that holds it has immense courage. While the gladiator has the courage to receive the wild beasts knowing he can fight against them with total strength and surrender, a man who is on a spiritual quest does the same and is no less than a gladiator.
In addition to exploring Gratitude in a variety of hues, the issue also features pieces on the inner significance of Navaratri, the festival of Devi, and the cultural significance of Ramayana. Other highlights include a reflection on patriotism and leadership in the light of recent events in Afghanistan, and ‘The Real Gandhi’, an insightful essay approved by Sri Aurobindo.
In these passages from the Mother’s works, we find a rich variety of the various hues of the soul-quality that is gratitude. Gratitude that helps us connect with the Divine, that is a humble recognition of all that the Divine has done and is doing for us, that helps us cure our egoism, the movement that can bring us unalloyed joy.
In these passages, the Mother guides us that in order to accept the Grace with a pure feeling of gratitude, one must have a certain inner humility which makes one recognise one’s helplessness without the Divine Grace. She also points out that for most people blows in life are needed to know to the very depths that there is no entity without the Divine Consciousness and the Grace.
We begin with a prayer of the Mother, dated October 23, 1937. This is followed by a beautiful audio-visual offering on Gratitude created by the Art Studio-12 Qualities. This meditative experience takes one to a deep and quietly joyful place within where gratitude for the Divine is a spontaneous vibration of one’s inmost being.
In our flower-meditation series, Sheeba Naaz reflects on her own experience and a few other gratitude stories she has heard and witnessed around her. She reminds us that it is not really the happiness which makes us feel grateful but on the contrary it is gratefulness that makes us happy. The Mother’s ‘handkerchief’ story also finds a special place of honour in this beautiful piece.
Renaissance with its focus on Indian Culture and Integral Yoga features inspiring content in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s vision for India and her role in the future of humanity. It aims to highlight that the eternal spirit and creative genius of India must express itself in new forms in various domains – spiritual, artistic, literary, philosophic, scientific, aesthetic.
All photographs, writings, audio clippings of Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and/or the Ashram are copyright of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust and have been reproduced with their kind permission.
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