Sannyas from Osho, May 1980

Gratitude is in essence
The very foundation of all religion.
Gratitude is prayer.
It is through gratitude
That one becomes aware of the presence of God;
Not vice versa.
People think that when they become aware of God
They will feel very grateful towards him.
That’s nonsense! It can’t happen that way.
First you have to learn how to be grateful
Only then can you become aware
Of the presence of God.

Gratitude means that you have become
Aware of one thing:
That the existence has done so much for you
And you have not even thanked it.
On the contrary
You have been continuously complaining.
This is my experience here
Working with thousands of sannyasins:
You go on doing everything for them
But they don’t have any sense of gratitude.
And every day I receive letters of complaint
That this has not been done for them
That they are not being taken care of
That nobody is taking any note
That they are here.

But very rarely
Does somebody come to feel gratitude.
We have lost the very sense of gratefulness.
So whatsoever happens to us we accept it
As if we deserve it. We don’t deserve a thing!
But we start taking everything for granted.

I am always surprised
By the insensitivity of human beings.
For a few people I have done so much for years
But no sense of gratitude ever arises in them.
And there seems to be no possibility
That it will ever arise.
And if whatsoever has been done for them
Is dropped, if something is no more done
Then they are there immediately
To make a complaint.
They take it for granted
They think they have earned it:
It has to be given to them.

And man has not earned anything
We have not earned these trees
And these flowers and these birds
And these stars and these mountains.
This immensely beautiful existence
Has been given to us.
Start feeling grateful for it!

It is not a question of to whom,
That is not the point, it is irrelevant.
Just start feeling grateful
That you have been showered with so many gifts
From some unknown energy, x y x,
Whatsoever it is.

Call it God, or if that word annoys you
Then call it something else.
But some unknown force
Has been showering its love on you.

Start feeling grateful
And soon you will be connected with it
And soon you will be bridged
And more will start happening.

And you will be surprised
That one cannot feel grateful enough.
It is never enough because the existence
Goes on doing so much for you.
We cannot repay it
But at least we can be thankful.
That is prayer and that is sannyas.

– Osho

Thanks to Maneesha for the transcription.