Be Grateful

The world is becoming more materialistic day by day. Every day in every walk of life, I can see people who are ungrateful and who want to get their things done at the cost of others. Unfortunately, I have met the maximum number of ungrateful people who took granted of my broadmindedness and the willingness to understand their problems.

My in-laws were the first set of ungrateful people who took everything for granted and cheated. Now they boast as if they have achieved the best in their lives and we were fools who deliberately gave in for their whims and fancies. Yet, I believe, our sacrifices will not go to waste. God will reward us in a better way.

The next incident happened when I was taking tuition at home. A young boy of eight years who was then studying in third standard came for his tuition. His father was working in Dubai and his mother was staying with her parents along with her children. He will come directly to my home from school. He will have his packed evening food at my home, and I will mix and give him the evening drink. He studied till he was in his 9th grade. The boy’s father came back from Dubai and took them back there.

The boy’s mother promised me that she would try to get a teaching position in a school over there. Without expecting anything from her, I helped her when she desperately needed help. She could not spare even five minutes to call and talk to me whenever she came to India.

But the boy showed how grateful he was. When my daughter lost her laptop in a theft, he recommended her for a job in his friend’s office and helped her to come out of the shock and take things in the right spirit. I always bless him from my heart. One more person to mention is my friend Nivya who stepped in at a time when I could not rely on anyone to help. She helped me to get a new laptop for my daughter and also pay the pending fees for my daughter. I bless her from my heart.

The world is becoming a place not fit for people like me. People, who desperately approach you for some help, never turn again once their work is done. What is this attitude? Is this because of the materialistic world or is this because of the way they were brought up? I could not decide.

I remember a story in Mahabharata. Karnan even after knowing that he was the eldest son of Kundi Devi and he was the eldest brother of Dharma and the others, did not go away from Dhuriyodhana. To show his gratitude to his friend Dhuriyodhana, he stayed with him till he died in the battle of Kurukshetra. It will be a wonder if I can meet such a person now in this world.

I think it will be apt to quote here the words of the famous Tamil Saint, Thiruvalluvar. Thiruvalluvar, in his universally acclaimed Tamil literary work ‘Thirukkural’ tells something about being ungrateful. He says that there might be some way to redeem people who are not thankful. But there is no way to redeem if the people are ungrateful. That will be the worst sin in the world, and no one can help them to get out of it.

The virtue-killer may be saved.
Not a benefit-killer who is damned. (Thirukkural – 110)

Kalai Selvi Arivalagan

Growing up in an environment enriched with colours of nature adorned with sounds of machines, I enjoyed life with all challenges. Nature is always a great teacher that teaches empathy to live and let live others. Though I am now living in an urban environment, the lesson that nature taught me motivates and allows me to keep on writing. I will always remember the cool afternoons in the shades of trees that made me write more on love.