Sri Chinmoy has many times said that gratitude is the most essential of all divine qualities in our spiritual life, and gratitude itself embodies and brings forward all the divine qualities we need such as simplicity, sincerity, purity, humility, wisdom, love, eagerness, devotion and joy.
But to attain any of these divine qualities, we first need to develop our receptivity, otherwise we are like a jug made of wire mesh – all the water that is poured in, just flows right through; nothing is retained.
Sri Chinmoy was once asked: how can we increase our receptivity in our inner life? He answered:
“You can increase your receptivity to your inner life just by becoming more grateful to the Inner Pilot. The Inner Pilot will give you the inspiration and aspiration to become spiritual and He will be able to give you more receptivity if He sees that every day you are increasing your gratitude-capacity. The more you can offer your gratitude to the Supreme Pilot within you, the more and the sooner you will increase your receptivity. Gratitude means self-offering to one’s highest self. This gratitude is not going to somebody else; it is going to your own highest self. Gratitude helps us identify and feel our oneness with our own highest reality.
“Many of your near and dear ones are not following the spiritual life, but you have accepted the spiritual life. How is it possible? It is possible because the Supreme inside you has given you the aspiration, whereas there are many, many people who are still not aspiring. You should feel that He has selected you, accepted you to be spiritual; therefore, you should always be grateful to the Inner Pilot, the Supreme. And when you are grateful, your receptivity automatically increases.”
– Sri Chinmoy