Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS. From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: “Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease?”
To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over 5 Crore children start playing tennis, 50 Lakh learn to play tennis, 5 Lakh learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD “Why me?” And today in pain I should not be asking GOD “Why me?”
This is so true in our real life situations! Arthur Ashe had the courage to use his intelligence and arrive at the right conclusion but how many of us have the courage to discount blaming God in the face of adversity, rather thank him for every happening in our lives? If we develop an appreciative attitude in life, we can clearly see blessings in every situation of our life, however grave they may externally seem.
In this context, Radhanath Swami says that every situation is an appropriate opportunity to celebrate the glory and mercy of God. Without stopping at that, he further states that gratitude doesn’t means simply saying thank you. Real gratitude means reciprocation. If we are actually grateful to someone, we will reciprocate even if it means great sacrifice. So, in our own life situations we must try to see beyond what the external situation poses but rather develop the divine quality of real gratitude and reciprocate in such gratitude.
