Reading this was such a heart-touching experience. I’m now inspired to write down twenty-one things in my life that I am grateful for each day. This is one powerful practice that I feel I can easily do every night before I go to sleep. I am determined to follow this ritual starting tonight.
Gratitude has been my constant companion since I first started walking on the Siddha Yoga path. Waves of gratitude emerge when I remember my beloved Guru. I feel immense gratitude for all her love, blessings, protection, and teachings. After practicing the Siddha Yoga teachings and experiencing Gurumayi’s love for more than twenty-five years, I believe that I am a completely different person. I love my current version of myself—a strong person who is also confident and gentle, someone who loves myself yet cares for others’ feelings.
Pune, India
I was deeply moved and humbled by this extraordinary share. I realized that even constant gratitude is not enough to honor everything and every miracle the Guru has placed in my life. And I feel there is nothing sweet or hard that has happened that is not directed and filled by God’s love and the Guru’s grace.
Love and blessings to all.
Virginia, United States
I have been following the Siddha Yoga path since 1989. My heart, before my mind, was the first to feel the Guru’s grace and my own immediate gratitude. I have never had any doubt about following this wonderful path. It has been the only constant in my life for thirty-five years.
My heart will be forever grateful to Gurumayi. Practicing her teachings ensures that my love will endure and be renewed every single day.
Naples, Italy
My heart was deeply touched by this experience of gratitude. The deep longing in the heart of this Siddha Yogi to serve their Guru is so profound and sweet. It inspires me to cultivate continuous gratitude toward this magnificent path. May the bond of protection always flow between the Guru and disciple in the form of gratitude.
Rome, Italy
When Gurumayi visited Heidelberg, Germany, in 1989, we were asked some questions at the end of a satsang and invited to answer on the basis of scriptural knowledge. One of those questions was: “What is the best protection against all things?”
I was new to the Siddha Yoga path but I happened to know the scriptural answer. When the roving microphone reached me, I stood up, uttered the answer “Gratitude,” and sat back immediately. I had retained this amazing teaching from a Siddha Yoga course I’d taken a few months before and it had remained on my mind ever since—as if it had been written inside of me. The Swami asking the question remarked that this was the only possible answer as it came from the scriptures.
Since then, whenever I have to meet challenging times, I practice asking myself, “How can I experience gratitude in this situation? What could I learn from this trial? Could it be a blessing?” It is not always easy to do so, but over the years I have gained stability, courage, and hope from this practice. I also try to count my blessings and express my gratitude for everything I receive.
Marlanval, France
I was extremely moved by the writer’s gratitude and love for Gurumayi. What an amazing practice of offering gratitude every day for the Guru’s love and blessings. I silently offer my thanks daily but am now inspired to write it down and offer it at my
puja.
Hawaii, United States
This story has inspired me to start the practice of journaling my daily experiences of gratitude. It is the perfect time to do this, since recently two frustrating experiences had almost overpowered the other positive experiences of that day that I was truly grateful for. I believe that my new intention to notice and journal about experiences I am grateful for will lead me inward to the heart.
Florida, United States
I appreciate learning how different Siddha Yogis practice gratitude!
After reading this share last year, I decided to embrace for myself the practice of placing heart-shaped stones on my
puja in gratitude for Gurumayi’s grace.
Shortly after my decision, I unexpectedly found a collection of small, colored, heart-shaped stones in a little shop that I normally would not visit. I was delighted and amazed at how quickly my wish had manifested!
Now, every night before I go to sleep, I bow down in front of my
puja and recall my day, counting my many blessings. There are obvious blessings, and sometimes subtle ones, that I might not have noticed during the day. I then choose one of the heart-shaped stones and place it on the
padukas, thanking Gurumayi for every blessing. With a heart full of gratitude, I go to bed happy and content.
Burnaby, Canada
As I read this beautiful share, I am in a country far from home to support a loved one going through a challenging time. It has been difficult and sometimes lonely, but also filled with love and beauty. Recently I saw a box of gemstones in a jewelry shop and thought of giving one to my friend to keep in their pocket as a reminder of how much they are loved. I was drawn to the purple amethyst and thought it was curious that I was choosing my own birthstone for my friend. I placed the amethyst on a table in my hotel room, and as I come and go it greets me and reminds me to connect to the Self within.
When I read this beautiful share, tears of love and remembrance welled up. Awareness of the Guru’s presence in my life filled me with gratitude and comfort. At this point, I realized the amethyst was meant for me. I felt it was a gift from the Guru to lift me up during this challenging time.
Pennsylvania, United States
Many years ago, following a personal tragedy, I fervently sought a spiritual teacher. I read dozens of books, went to many open houses and programs, but nothing answered my quest.
One night, I went to yet another program, this one an introduction to the Siddha Yoga path. The moment I entered the lobby and saw Baba’s photo, I knew I had found my teacher, and I blurted out “that’s him!”
The program was very powerful for me, and afterwards I began attending
satsangs at the local meditation center. Four years later, I moved to Shree Muktananda Ashram. Now, many years later, many
sevas later, many extraordinary experiences later, I can clearly say: “I owe everything to my Guru and the Siddha Yoga lineage.”
Maine, United States
My own deepest experience of “my grateful heart” is from when I lived at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Liphook, UK. One month I was asked to give a talk about gratitude for a satsang. But due to a difficult issue in my life just then, I wasn’t experiencing any gratitude at all.
This put me in a dilemma. As the satsang drew closer, I finally shared the dilemma with Gurumayi. I remember saying quietly, “Gurumayi, I think I need some help with this one.” Almost immediately I felt a surge of gratitude for my mother, followed by another surge and then another. I became emotional, tears flooding through me.
And then the feelings of gratitude were followed by feeling grateful for the feelings of gratitude! I was beginning to feel overwhelmed and made another plea to Gurumayi: “Thanks, I think you can stop now.”
I'll never forget that experience and can reconnect with those feelings as I type this now. Needless to say, I was able to give the requested talk at the satsang.
Birmingham, United Kingdom
As I read this heart-touching experience shared by a staff member in Shree Muktananda Ashram, my heart and eyes became moist in gratitude for Shri Guru’s love as I have experienced it during the course of my life and daily Siddha Yoga sadhana.
I read this share three times for contemplation. The line that particularly caught my attention was this: “It has been my experience that by practicing gratitude consciously, the way I look at things has changed.” I resolved to “practice gratitude consciously,” which I sometimes forget to do. When I did it for one whole day, I found that there was no place to hold a grudge against any thing, person, or circumstance. The only thing which remained was my love for Shri Guru and gratitude for the blessings she bestows on us always.
Udaipur, India
As I was contemplating my own “grateful heart” today, I found that there is absolutely nothing that my heart is not grateful for. I experienced it like a domino effect of events cascading down that have landed me in this most wonderful spot in my life. Had any event changed or not occurred, my life wouldn’t be where it is today. And so there is nothing that my heart doesn’t bow down to in gratitude. Of course, it is my Guru’s grace that awakens me to this magic of gratitude.
Porto, Portugal
This share, “A Grateful Heart,” provided such great detail for what “a seemingly so-so day” can feel like when we look at it through the lens of gratitude. As I read about the writer seeing Gurumayi in the Lower Lobby and having the memory marked by things like noticing the hues and movement of Gurumayi’s robes, I too was taken to my own grateful heart, full of precious memories I hold of being with Gurumayi. These memories may be of moments with Gurumayi in person or when she touched me through her teachings and grace.
My experience of gratitude—connected with Gurumayi and the teachings of the Siddhas—centers and anchors me in the cave of my heart, where I feel safe, I stop following thoughts, and I can get still enough to really notice what a gift being alive is!
South Melbourne, Australia
While reading this share, I felt tremendous love and gratitude toward my Guru. I even felt that I have received this gift from Gurumayi herself. This share deepens my understanding and refreshes my heart. In so doing, it also leads me to offer my heartful gratitude toward my Guru, who always protects me and blesses me every second of my life.
“My Grateful Heart” reminded me of the practice which I followed for several months of focusing on the sadgunas, the virtues. Love, respect, enthusiasm, equipoise, serenity, surrender, and gratitude have formed my “sadguna saptah” for this practice. Now I would like to refresh this practice once again to connect with and cherish the sweetness of gratitude.
Hyderabad, India
I read this beautiful share with great admiration. I am so grateful that there are such loving and big-hearted people in this world who openly and lovingly share such tender and precious experiences with the whole world.
I am now inspired to contemplate deeply Gurumayi’s teaching, “Wherever you place your heart, that is where you end up,” so that I can decide where I want to place
my heart and where
I want to end up.
Unterlangenegg, Switzerland
I’m feeling great amazement after reading this inspiring sharing. It taught me not only a great way to be grateful but also how to refresh my connection with Gurumayi. That pink, perfumed heart is now in my heart too. I am grateful with all my heart for this precious gift.
Milan, Italy
Ahhhh... gratitude! I feel such gratitude for this enchanting story as a vehicle for the Guru's grace. It has reminded me in subtle and distinct ways how, through synchronicity, my Guru calls me back to my heart again and again, letting me know that I am always guided and have so much to be grateful for.
Today as I was reciting Shri Guru Gita, verse 149 jumped out at me, and particularly one word in that verse: chintamanish. When I read the translation, I saw it meant “the wish-fulfilling gem.” And then here—in this beautiful story I read on the same day—the writer mentions the heart-shaped crystal stone now lovingly named Chintamani. When I read that, my heart swelled with gratitude and a sense of mystery for knowing that, in every moment, I am guided home to my heart where gratitude resides by the grace of Shri Gurumayi and the Siddhas.
Gratitude itself is the wish-fulfilling gem!
Texas, United States
I am deeply touched by “My Grateful Heart,” which is so beautifully expressed. What a moment that must have been, when eternal love and gratitude merged in that sudden, unexpected darshan of our beloved Gurumayi! I am grateful for the way this story took me along with the writer in gratitude and awe.
Starnberg, Germany
This is an extraordinary experience! I am very grateful that it was shared. It immediately connected me directly to Gurumayi in my heart, as though it had been I who had received the gift. And of course, we all have received the gift of love from Gurumayi’s heart many times over.
California, United States
I am amazed and inspired by the studentship of this Siddha Yogi. My heart melts to see how someone so graciously and respectfully embraced Gurumayi’s teachings and put them into practice.
Thane West, India
I was so truly moved by this story of a grateful heart. It shows me again that our small daily practices from the heart, which we make our own and offer with love and gratitude, create ripples of love that extend out in all directions and are heard for sure. I love Gurumayi, and am deeply grateful for this cherished story of “My Grateful Heart.”
Florida, United States
I am grateful to have read this experience of Gurumayi’s
darshan and love. After my yoga practice this morning, I looked at Gurumayi’s photo on my
puja and felt drawn into the surroundings behind her as if I were with her in Shree Muktananda Ashram. When I woke up this morning, I had been feeling some pressure due to stress in my life, but that sensation of being in the Ashram and reading this story have helped me shift my focus.
Hørsholm, Denmark