Gratitude is one of the twelve attributes of the Mother’s symbol.
O Supreme Reality, O Supramental Truth, this body is totally vibrant with an intense gratitude. Thou hast given to it, one after another, all the experiences that can lead it most certainly towards Thee. It has come to the point where identification with Thee is not merely the one thing desirable, but the only thing possible and natural.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – III: CWM, Vol. 15, p. 282
Gratitude: It is you who open all the closed doors and let the Grace which saves penetrate deeply.
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Gratitude: A loving recognition of the Grace received from the Divine. A humble recognition of all that the Divine has done and is doing for you. The spontaneous feeling of obligation to the Divine, which makes you do your best to become less unworthy of what the Divine is doing for you.
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Detailed gratitude: the gratitude that awakens in us all the details of the Divine Grace.
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Integral gratitude: the whole being offers itself to the Lord in absolute trust.
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Mental gratitude: the gratefulness of the mind for what makes it progress.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – II: CWM, Vol. 14, p. 154
Ultimately, gratitude is only a very slightly colored hue of the essential Vibration of Love.
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 4, p. 427
The best way to express one’s gratitude to the Divine is to feel simply happy.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – II: CWM, Vol. 14, p. 154
Lord, Supreme Truth,
We aspire to know You and to serve You.
Help us to become Your worthy children.
And for this, make us conscious of Your constant blessings, so that gratitude may fill our hearts and govern our lives.
The Mother – More Answers from the Mother: CWM, Vol. 17, pp. 370 – 71
….to be grateful, never to forget this wonderful Grace of the Supreme who leads each one to his divine goal by the shortest ways, in spite of himself, his ignorance and misunderstanding, in spite of the ego, its protests and its revolts.
What’s written here is such a true experience! Never to forget this wonderful Grace of the Supreme who leads you straight to your true goal, in spite of all your revolt, all your misunderstanding—straight, imperturbably.
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 5, pp. 125 – 26
In the physical the joy of being is the best expression of gratitude towards the Divine.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – II: CWM, Vol. 14, p. 359
But there is another movement which should constantly accompany devotion…. That kind of sense of gratitude that the Divine exists; that feeling of a marvelling thankfulness which truly fills you with a sublime joy at the fact that the Divine exists, that there is something in the universe which is the Divine, that it is not just the monstrosity we see, that there is the Divine, the Divine exists. And each time that the least thing puts you either directly or indirectly in contact with this sublime Reality of divine existence, the heart is filled with so intense, so marvellous a joy, such a gratitude as of all things has the most delightful taste.
There is nothing which gives you a joy equal to that of gratitude. One hears a bird sing, sees a lovely flower, looks at a little child, observes an act of generosity, reads a beautiful sentence, looks at the setting sun, no matter what, suddenly this comes upon you, this kind of emotion—indeed so deep, so intense—that the world manifests the Divine, that there is something behind the world which is the Divine.
So I find that devotion without gratitude is quite incomplete, gratitude must come with devotion.
The Mother – Questions and Answers: CWM, Vol. 8, p. 40
I saw in a vision a basket full of the flower “Gratitude”. What does it symbolise?
It is the gratitude to the Divine that it indicates—which will come as the soul opens to the Light and Truth and gets the experience and the joy of union with the Mother.
Sri Aurobindo – The Mother with Letters on the Mother: CWSA, Vol. 32, p. 191
And yet, of all movements, the one that gives perhaps the most joy—an unalloyed joy, untainted by that egoism—is spontaneous gratitude.
It is something very special. It isn’t love, it isn’t self-offering…. It’s a very FULL joy. Very full.
It is a very special vibration unlike anything other than itself. It is something that widens you, that fills you—that is so fervent!
It is certainly, of all the movements within the reach of human consciousness, the one that draws you the most out of your ego.
And when it can be a gratitude without motive, that vibration (basically, the vibration of what exists towards the Cause of existence)… then a great many barriers vanish instantly.
When you can enter that vibration in its purity, you realize immediately that it has the same quality as the vibration of Love: it is directionless. It isn’t something going from one thing to another, it doesn’t go from here to there (gesture from low to high) or there to here… it is (round gesture) simultaneous and total.
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 4, p. 427
Periods of obscuration are frequent and common; generally, it is enough to keep quiet without worrying, knowing that these are spiritual nights which alternate with the full light of the days. But to be able to remain in peace you must keep in your heart gratitude towards the Divine for all the help He gives. If gratitude also is veiled, the obscure periods last much longer. There is, however, a swift and effective remedy: it is to keep always burning in your heart the flame of purification, the aspiration for progress, the intensity, the ardour of consecration. This flame is kindled in the heart of all who are sincere; you must not let ingratitude cover it up with its ashes.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – II: CWM, Vol. 14, pp. 246 – 47
One must have a great purity and a great intensity in one’s self-giving, and that absolute trust in the supreme wisdom of the divine Grace, that It knows better than we do what is good for us, and all that. Then if one offers one’s aspiration to It, truly gives it with enough intensity, the results are marvellous. But one must know how to see them, for when things are realised most people find it absolutely natural, they don’t even see why and how it has happened, and they tell themselves, “Yes, naturally it had to be like that.” So they lose the joy of… the joy of gratitude, because, in the last analysis, if one can be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the divine Grace, it puts the finishing touch, and at each step one comes to see that things are exactly what they had to be and the best that could be.
The Mother – Questions and Answers: CWM, Vol. 7, p. 239
It is only when the psychic consciousness is all-powerful in the being that compassion for all that needs help, in whatever domain, and gratitude for all that manifests the divine presence and grace, in whatever form, are expressed in all their original and luminous purity, without mixing compassion with any trace of condescension or gratitude with any sense of inferiority.
The Mother – Words of the Mother – III: CWM, Vol. 15, p. 277
Gratitude
It is you who open all the closed doors and allow the saving Grace to enter.
Ipomoea carnea
Large white to pale pink extremely sheer funnelform flower with a lavender pink throat; borne singly; flowers close rapidly towards mid- day. A straggling shrub that blooms profusely most of the year.
The Mother – Spiritual significance of flowers
