Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
9th April 2017
Life Gives
“Gratitude”
Life gives us life, meaning life manifests life for us and it is not us who can either give or manifest life. What could be gratitude towards life for us is the question to be pondered?
What could be the best for us in life is very obvious. Firstly, it is life itself which is the best for us. Secondly, that which life is made up of would certainly be the best for us.
What is needed for life to be itself is the question? The answer to this is again very obvious. A moment is certainly needed for life to be itself, because life is present in every moment.
So who or what gives this moment for life to be itself? It certainly cannot be either a man or a woman, because they both would require a moment to be alive within it.
It is life that gives itself a moment to be itself. This implies that a moment gives life and life gives a moment. This is obvious because life and moment are together and cannot be separated. A moment and life would not exist if they were actually separate.
Therefore, whatever makes up the moment in life would be the best for us - and there is no doubt about this - because if it were not present we could not be alive within a moment. So what is it that is present in a moment or in life, is the question?
Air, water, fire, earth, space and time are present together and not separately in every moment of life, because anything that exists in a moment, including ourselves, is made up of air, water, fire and elements of earth in space and time. Air, water, fire and elements of earth were present in the moment even before man was present in the moment. Primordial time is proof that a moment and life were present before man.
How air, water, fire and elements of earth are together in a moment is a mystery which cannot be answered. Colour, which is present in this mystery in the moment, is also the best for us because, without colour, we would neither be able to recognise our surroundings nor ourselves.
Therefore, it is the precious moment with life in it that keeps us alive for which we should be grateful. When man or woman realises that life gives us the present moment with whatever is in it, without us even asking for it, he or she becomes grateful for every moment in life, no matter what the moment may or may not contain within it.
The realisation that life gives us every moment, a precious moment, is self-realisation or enlightenment.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2017
Editor’s Note:
This article is a celebration of life. Every moment is a celebration of life. Until the understanding of the wise that this is so becomes the understanding of man and woman, man and woman will continue to swing between gratitude and ingratitude for what he or she derives or fails to derive in life, albeit illusory. Man and woman has already derived the greatest gift from life – life itself.
Gratitude towards life is the realisation that this is so.
Julian Capper, U.K
German Translator’s Note:
Life gives everything to us – we just don’t realise that what is given is always the best. This deep insight helps man and woman alike to accept what is given by life as a gift. Wonderful article!
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.