In your journey through life, gratitude is the first auspicious quality you have to recognise within yourself. Krutajnyata कृतज्ञता is the Sanskrit word loosely meaning gratefulness, gratitude. Krutajnya कृतज्ञ is ‘to be grateful’. Gratitude is the fundamental way in which you change yourself. If you cannot feel grateful then you are always going to be unhappy, your spiritual progress will be blocked and auspicious things will not come your way. Feeling gratitude in some way opens up every positive quality within you.

कृतज्ञ is a compound word composed of kruta कृत and ज्ञ jnya. Being grateful कृतज्ञ means you understand that positive work that has been done for you. You recognise that some auspicious activity has been performed for you. You acknowledge that you have been given some help. Something good has been made available to you and you know it. You realise that you have gained a prize by some blessings. You are aware that some vital action has been accomplished for you. You know that  you have received something precious. You experience this magic of receiving and this elevates your soul. This is being कृतज्ञ. If you cannot experience this uplifting emotion then nothing will go right for you and if you are in trouble you will remain there. Gratitude is the basic energy which helps you from the inside out. It is your choice to feel grateful कृतज्ञ, so choose to recognise this emotion.

I am still getting so many comments with personal details. I have already written about the sure-shot remedy to all your material problems in this post here. If you cannot do even this much for 5mins daily then here is a even tinier 30sec daily practice. Do this much at least. You are doing this for your own self. If you do not do it, no one but you yourself are going to suffer. Do this for 21days and it will become a lifetime habit.

When you wake up in the morning, go to your window, look at the skies. If your window faces the east, you will see the golden disc of the Sun blazing in the sky otherwise you will see his sun-rays lighting up the world. Look at him, his sun-rays and his light with your open eyes. Fold your hands in a Namaskar. Feel his golden power entering your body, mind and soul. Thank him for being there in the sky, giving so freely of his energy. He is so utterly beautiful, pure shimmery gold. Feel his beauty, his strength, his warmth on your face. If you know any Sanskrit mantra you can recite it mentally or express your gratitude in any language you are comfortable in or just keep your mind blank, be in the moment. Relax in the pure energy he is showering over you and the world before you. Do this very simple thing as you wake up and you will change yourself from the inside out. Just for 30 seconds, daily.

There are so many deities you can pray to, use as a focus for your intention, then why the Sun? The Sun is special, he is different. He is the consciousness you can actually see with your own eyes. You cannot see Brahmadev, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Ganapati, etc with your open eyes. The other deities are worshipped in their derived forms, eg in form of Vigraha or Moorti.  They are visualised in the Sa-gun forms. Eg Shankar is visualised with attributes like a beautiful man, brilliant skin color, blue colored throat, Trishul, sitting in Kailas etc. You offer kumkum, turmeric, flowers, Akshata, coconut etc to this Moorti and thus do your daily puja. This is the simple way of worshiping the Parabrahma in the Sa-gun form. More difficult is Sadhana of the Nir-gun form of the Parameshwar. When you do your Soham mantra, you are doing the most subtle Sadhana of the Nir-gun Advaita itself. You are focussing on the pure conscious energy directly. But all this might not make sense to those people who are still struggling on the spiritual route.

So the easiest Sadhana for everyone, irrespective of anything, is to focus on the Sun. Surya is the only ‘pratyaksha devata’. He is the only symbol of the radiant consciousness which is actually visible to everyone always. You just focus on the visible golden sphere of the visible Sun. (later as you go deeper within, he will show you more subtle aspects of himself. Nature of the Sun post here)

• प्रत्यक्ष pratyaksha – manifested, explicit, visible, direct, can be sensed, can be perceived, self-evident, real, actual, immediate, clear, etc.
• देवता Devata – image of the Parameshwar, moorti, divinity, radiance etc.

There are atheists or people who do not follow Sanatan Dharma or ‘modern’ people who do not believe in the Non-dual Consciousness. But even these people have to believe in the Sun visibly shining in the blue skies. If not in the spiritual sense then at least in the material sense? He is responsible for Life on Earth. His power maintains the planet Earth and us on it. All the processes on the Earth from the water cycle, plant life, animal life, everything depends on the Sun. If there were no Sun, there would be no Life.

We understand the concept of Time, Kaal with reference to the Sun. Colors, light, warmth, all concepts that we know are in relation to the Sun. Everything that we understand or do has the Sun as the reference point, either subtly or visibly. Without the Sun in the skies, we are nothing.

Sun, the Surya, is the original Jyotirlinga. He is auspicious, pure, the brightest light that we all see always.

• Jyoti ज्योतिः is brightness, fire, eye, celestial realms, dawn/Sandhya, lightning, life etc.
• Linga लिङ्ग is image, token, power of generation, power to cause change, spot, sign, reason, proof, a invariable mark which proves the existence of something, evidence, conclusion, mark, movement etc.

We all believe in the power of the Sun in some way or the other. It is only irrational and illogical people who perhaps don’t. Sun is the visible source of energy in every way possible. So acknowledge this strength, be grateful to him and give him this 30 sec of your undivided attention daily.

I have written a lot on the Sun. He is always available in front of you and his worship is the easiest, ie you offer him Arghya, plain regular water. It takes just 1 min to offer him Arghya. What could be more simpler? But if you feel this to be random superstition, then at least accept that his warmth keeps the Earth and you alive. You are here on the earth and you can see the Sun in the skies. Be grateful for this fact. Acknowledging it is just 30sec of your time daily. This is the beginning of gratitude, कृतज्ञता, your first step towards real understanding.

The tiniest things done with positive intention have tremendous cascading results. In Sanatan Dharma, practice is given prime importance. And no spiritual practice is small or big, all are valid paths. Choose something simple and do it daily. Keep reminding yourself of your pure connection to the Divine. Practice so that you Experience. Experience so that you can Transcend. And know that you are the Advaita yourself.

Today is a special day for me so thought of sharing this simple practice.