GRATITUDE The Scottish philosopher David Hume stated that "ingratitude is the greatest worst of sins." perhaps there is a worse sin, or another sin that is equally bad, but certainly ingratitude reveals something disturbing about the ungrateful person. those who feels no sense of thanksgiving, no urge of respond in kind when they knowingly receive the gift with no strings attached, are devoid of that feeling that helps turn individuals into a community. they lack a social dimension and can not participate fully in human society. at the end of his book A Common Faith, John Dewey states
We who now live are parts of a humanity that extends into the remote past, a humanity that has interested with nature. The things in civilization we most prize are not of ourselves. They exist by grace of the doings and sufferings of the continuous human community in which we are a link. Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying and expanding the heritage of values we have received that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.
There are two aspects to healthy gratitude, both of which are reflected in Dewey's statement. the one aspect is thankful awareness of the undeserved benefits we have received from others; the other aspect is a desire to reciprocate that generosity. Our reciprocation need not be directly to those who have benefited us; indeed, that is often impossible because our benefactors are dead or unknown. But we can commit ourselves to the proposition that those who have labored in ways that benefit us will not have done so in vain because we, too, will promote the values for which they labored and form which we have benefited.
We know the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-37) "Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever you spend." According to his word, the Good Samaritan visits the wounded person and for the Good Samaritans' surprise, asked how much he owed him. The Good Samaritan told him he didn't want money, that he'd just like him to pass the favor on to someone else. The fellow assured he would, thanked him and they parted. They have never met before, would probably never meet again, and wouldn't recognize one another if they did! The Good Samaritan's explanation for what he did was that he had been in equally dire straits more than once and received friendly help without charge, so he was just passing on one of the favors he had received from others. That kind of grateful reciprocity, I think, helps enhance the quality of life in a society.
We should never be resentful toward those who criticize us. We should be grateful to them. After all, those who present alternatives to our current action may be presenting us with the possibility of replacing our current action with better ones – and surely we would present better ones if they are available. Furthermore, if their alternatives do not in our best judgment prove better than what we currently act, then we have lost nothing significant, and we have gained a richer sense of our own position and how it compares to alternatives.
For example, last week we had a celebration so to wish them I gave a rose with full of thrown. So he criticized me resentfully by saying "you should not bring the roses with thrown it is also a way of formation." So it alternates my current action and I started to act in the alternate way (to give roses without thrown). So they appreciated me. Therefore by accepting the criticize with gratitude I gained a rich sense of my own position.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------With Love & Prayerful wishes
Bro.Jose Kaithavalappil(MA Phil)
Dharamaram college,
Dharamaram college po.,
Banglore - 29
ph:- 080 4111 6181
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