The attitude of gratitude
March 2008
By Anil Bhatnagar
I have come to perceive life as a learning session in which all events (which are unreal) offer me an opportunity to respond to them in ways that are in harmony with the ‘oneness’ principles that keep the wholesome fabric of this universe together. Even the smallest mundane daily chore has become an opportunity to connect with God through my ‘oneness’ responses. I constantly express gratitude for every small or big piece of learning and guidance the universe provides to me. I see each life situation as an opportunity to move beyond the veil of my self-imposed delusion of separateness while marvelling and enjoying the beauty of life and universe.Needless to say, I am fallible and I have moments when I find my responses not pleasing. At such times, I accept myself as I have been, forgive myself, see what I can learn from it, and move forward with that learning in my life. If I am successful next time, I thank myself and celebrate that learning. If I fail, I tend to review and find reasons for failure and pray for further guidance. Life is ‘sukha’ for me when I succeed in implementing my learning points in my onward spiritual journey or ‘seekh’ if I fail to do so but take care to learn from it. I regularly practice reiki, sudarshan kriya and meditation. I remind myself of my life’s purpose every morning. Every night, I review my day in terms of how spiritual my responses have been. At home I wear light and comfortable simple clothing, otherwise I wear clothes as per the occasion. I love nice, serene, and beautifully decorated surroundings that exude space. I love plants and flowers everywhere. I see any relationship as an opportunity to serve, and I see my role as that of a servant even if, from th worldly point of view, I am the boss, father, or husband. Religion had come into my life through an exposure to the Hare Krishna philosophy. I had always been vegetarian, but gave up eggs, tea and coffee too. Partly due to reading Jiddu Krishnamurti’s work, I began to see the difference between religion and spirituality. My focus shifted to becoming more self-aware, and I would tend to bring my attention to my thoughts, speech, actions and motives every now and then. Reiki came into my life and propelled me further into spiritual growth. My creativity flowered with painting and writing. The inspiration to do something I would love the most and what I was born for gradually gained momentum deep within me, and exploded in a decision to quit my job. Today, I am an established and busy corporate trainer to over 40 leading private, multinational, and public sector companies. Having found my purpose in life, I see what the poet Robert Frost meant when he said, “My object in living is to unite my avocation and my vocation, as my two eyes make one in sight.”
Anil Bhatnagar, an IITian, is a well known corporate trainer, award-winning author, newspaper columnist, motivational speaker, personal growth coach, and reiki teacherContact:thrive.ab@anilbhatnagar.com