Having gratitude for what has been given to us by God is an important aspect in the development of spiritual emotion. A few days ago, I witnessed one such example of gratitude.

Living in an āshram (hermitage) where SSRF has its research centre in Goa is not like living at home. It is a very spartan lifestyle and the frills and luxuries that are available to us at home are not available in the āshram. However seekers of God transcend their need for these luxuries as for them, the benefits of living in an āshram, far outweigh worldly luxuries with respect to the āshram providing a conducive environment for spiritual development. At a more advanced stage, seekers experience a deeper sense of gratitude for what they are getting from God and the Guru principle and for having the privilege of living in the āshram.

Yoya and Cyriaque, two former international models have been living at the SSRF research centre along with their daughter Anastasia for many months to serve the spread of the spiritual research. Both these seekers have experienced the high life of an international model with fancy hotels, airlines and travel and being pampered while on shoots. Yet when they were in the āshram they blended in completely with its way of life and strived to achieve what is expected out of a seeker.

When leaving they posted the following note on the āshram notice board.

Dear family of seekers, We pay gratitude to all as we have learnt how to develop love for others and we have learnt many things from seekers and we felt like family here. Let our souls stay connected with each other and keep faith in Parampujya* that He is always with us. The āshram is inside each seeker, the āshram is everywhere. –          Cyriaque, Yoya and Anastasia * Means His Holiness, a term that Cyriaque and Yoya respectfully and affectionately call His Holiness Dr. Athavale.

When His Holiness Dr. Athavale heard about the note, He asked to share it with our readers as there is much to be learnt from Cyriaque and Yoya’s yearning for spiritual growth and developing of spiritual closeness with other seekers.

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