‘Gratitude and Ingratitude’

“In order for the seed to grow, it has to have soft and fertile ground. Gratitude makes our heart soft. Gratitude fertilizes our heart. Gratitude enables the seed of bhakti to grow. When we expect, when we think we deserve, when we want something very different than what we are getting, from Krishna, from Guru, from Vaishnavas, that is the symptom of being ungrateful.” – Radhanath Swami

Radhanath Swami speaks of the importance of the quality of gratitude for progress on the path of Bhakti.

Bhakti Yoga is the path of grace. Grace brings one on this path, grace pushes one ahead, and it’s grace alone that can enable one to attain perfection. But how to attract this all-powerful supreme grace?

Grace descends upon us when we cultivate the right attitude while endeavoring on the Bhakti path.

That’s the reason why Bhakti teachers since time immemorial have taught us what are  the conducive qualities for attracting grace.Gratitude is a quality which is considered very critical by all teachers.

Bhakti is compared to a creeper that’s in a dormant seed state in our hearts. This creeper grows in a healthy way when there is gratitude. Radhanath Swami explains this below. He also goes on to explain how we can detect the quality of ingratitude that might be lingering within our consciousness……