The world and our destiny have given us so many things that it is difficult to calculate them mathematically. If we do a deep study of this, we will find that there are only additions in our life. But the point is that we are unable to identify them. Once we realize this, we will always try to be thankful.

Once a retired wise man, sixty years of age, was having some vision problem. He was unable to see clearly even by wearing spectacles. So, he went to a renowned ophthalmologist to diagnose the problem. On observation, the doctor told him that he was having cataract in his eyes. The doctor suggested him to undergo a surgery which would cost him 10,000 rupees. While the doctor was saying this, tears rolled down the eyes of the wise man. The doctor felt sorry for the old man and said, “Don’t worry. I will give you a concession of Rs. 2000.” Still the man kept crying without uttering a word. Finally the doctor said, “I never compromise with my fees. But since you are a retired person and seem to be very worried, I will give you a special discount and will do your surgery in Rs.7000 only.” Even after getting such a big discount, the old man was unable to control his tears.

The doctor was very surprised and said, “As far as possible, I tried to help you. But still you are crying. I cannot help you more than this.” To this the old man replied, “I am not wasting my tears for the sake of money, but I feel sad that I never thanked that Almighty, who showed me this beautiful world so clearly and cleanly till today without taking a single penny.” The man further said, “In return, I have not given anything to him or I have done any such deed which would make him happy.” This thought made the old wise man so worried that he was unable to control his emotions.

The old man in the above story was suffering from a minor visionary defect, which could be cleared by spending some money. But the man was worried about the fact that, the part of the body, which served him for so many years without any complaint, now requires a minor repair and he has to spend some thousand rupees for it. This fact made him clear that, God has given him many such things free of cost and he is feeling sorry for not being thankful to him.

From the day we are born and till today, many people has done favor to us in some or the other way. The favor might be due to love, affection or goodwill. But what we have done in return?

1) Have we uttered some sweet and polite words to them?

2) Did we helped them in there bad time?

3) Have we served them by taking trouble?

Well, the answer is, “No”.

We should try to ponder on above points. Not only ponder, but we should try to accomplish something from this contemplation. We should try to find out,

1) Whether we have adopted a philanthropic attitude towards the people who helped us?

2) Is there any change in our behavior towards them?

3) Have we tried to share some knowledge or our positive traits with them?

Unless and until we will not do the above things, we will be in debt of those people.

Whenever we come across a blind or physically handicapped person and see the difficulties they have to face while doing simple day to day activities, our inner soul do gives us a witness. We unknowingly thank God for giving us a healthy body and sound mind. Every healthy individual has this invaluable gift. A physically disabled rich man will not be able to enjoy his richness due to his disability.

Sometimes when we are suffering from any disease, we have to be completely dependent on others. Even for doing the personal day to day activities, we have to ask for a nurse and have to pay them for that and the huge hospital bills shocks us.

If we have to spend such a huge amount just for staying a few days in the hospital then,

1) Have we ever thought about our parents, who have taken care of us right from our birth?

2) Have we ever tried to evaluate their service?

3) Have we ever felt the need of return their favor?

Many such questions shock us.

Sometimes, while working in office or Company, our boss or the management rejects our demands. It makes us feel very annoyed and we utter some bad words for the employer. But if we think peacefully, we will realize that, it is only due to the employer that I am having a good job and good status in the society. We should think that, haven’t I become selfish just because he rejected my one demand? Is it good?

Any person, who is the sole earner of the family, should never feel proud that he is serving his family. It is not possible for him to serve his family without the support of other family members. He will have an experience of this in absence of his wife. When a man has to do all the household chores from morning to night, he faces a lot of difficulties. The burns which he gets while cooking, the breaking of utensils, improper arrangement of things and many such activities gives him trouble.

This makes him feel the importance of the absence of his wife. Then he realizes that his wife not only does the household activities but also does many other sort of work like:

a) In any problematic situation or in any sad situation, it is the wife who stands with full support and determination.

b) She gives the courage and enthusiasm for doing a good deed.

c) In many situations she becomes the only source of inspiration.

A husband should think that,

a) Has he ever thanked his wife for her contribution?

b) Can he repay her sacrifice just by giving her a precious gift or gold ornaments?

Some people do us favor by some or other relation. If we look upon some situation, we will find that the person doing us a favor is not related to us by any means. He just gives you a suggestion as a part of his nature and it prevents your loss. For example: if you are driving a car and you are in a hurry to overtake a truck. But the truck driver is not giving you the side. You become annoyed and angry. After sometimes you get the side and then find that there was a herd of cattle due to which the truck driver was not giving the side. In other way, he was tried to prevent us from an accident. Actually, he has no interest in saving our life. Have we thanked him for his philanthropy? If we try to remember many such small incidence of our life, our mind will be filled with the feeling of gratitude and good wishes. The person who will realize the importance of gratefulness in life, he will be close to God because there will be a complete change in his thoughts.