“O best among the glorious ones, all of this has been achieved by me through the divine grace of You and Your brother. One who does not repay the favors offered to him certainly is considered a disgrace among men.” (Sugriva speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 38.26)

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तव देव प्रसादाच्च भ्रातुश्च जयतां वर
कृतं न प्रतिकुर्याद्यः पुरुषाणां स दूषकः

tava deva prasādācca bhrātuśca jayatāṃ vara
kṛtaṃ na pratikuryādyaḥ puruṣāṇāṃ sa dūṣakaḥ

1. Going out to eat

“Consider this for a moment. It was rare to eat food from outside during our childhood. I think it was once a week. If I remember correctly, it was every Saturday. Us kids looked forward to it. Our father worked long hours, otherwise. The whole family would go out together. It was so much fun. It was like this amazing treat, a kind of reward for being good during the week.”

2. Music

“Consider this for a moment. When I was a kid, if you liked a particular recording artist, it was rare to have heard all of their music. That is because the only way to access the music was through the published media. You needed to own the tapes, the records, the CDs, or copies made from the originals. This meant that any time we got our hands on new music, we really appreciated it. We felt like shareholders in a company. People had their own collections. Friends would compare and contrast what was in their respective collection. They would share their love of music.”

3. Television

“Consider this for a moment. The only time we could see certain television shows was when they aired. Perhaps a few years later, the same episodes would air in syndication. That was only if the show became popular enough. There were no VHS collections of every episode. This is prior to DVDs, as well. It was a big deal to watch something. These television programs were like regular viewing appointments that we had to keep.”

4. Toys

“Consider this for a moment. We received toys as gifts only once a year. On our birthday. This meant that we really took our time strolling the aisles at the local toy store. We did not want to waste the opportunity. We really appreciated everything we got. We hold on to the memories of the first time opening a video game, for instance, and playing it.”

5. Having my own room

“Consider this for a moment. For the longest time, I had to share a room as a kid. There was no tv in that room. There were only books or perhaps some handheld games. It was not until much later that we moved to a large house. It felt great having some privacy. We really appreciated where we lived.”

…

A parent today laments the situation. They are trying their best. It is not easy having to juggle so many extra responsibilities, ones that were nonexistent a generation or two ago. Previously, children were to be seen but not heard. They could spend hours outside on a given day, going to the homes of the neighbors. They might venture off here and there, but they would most often return home safe and sound. They never got in the way of the adults.

Today, a parent feels as if they have to intervene. At every step. At every turn. From morning until night. They only wish the child would play outside, on their own, for a few hours, on one day in a month. Instead, the only way is to force it, to get involved. There are endless arrangements for external interaction, for face-to-face contact, for avoiding the dreaded “infinite scroll” on the smartphone.

A parent today wonders how the children will learn to appreciate anything. The children get upset if the internet should happen to drop for a few minutes. If the toy ordered online will take a week to ship instead of a few days. If there is nothing but simple food to eat in the house. If there should happen to be a period of boredom.

A parent today wants their children to go grow up appreciating things, people, and institutions. Most importantly, they want their children to appreciate the source of everything, who makes both the day and the night, who is the source of both knowledge and forgetfulness. How will the children appreciate someone so great when everything comes so easy to them, without much effort?

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो
मत्तः स्मृतिर् ज्ञानम् अपोहनं च
वेदैश् च सर्वैर् अहम् एव वेद्यो
वेदान्त-कृद् वेद-विद् एव चाहम्

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

If Vedic culture could be described in one word, it would be appreciation. The landscape is always changing. What I appreciated during my childhood may not exist today. The conditions are not the same. There is no wonder or anticipation precisely because everything we previously wondered about is available almost instantly. In a matter of seconds. As fast as you can type the search terms into an online portal.

At the rudimentary level, there is appreciation for the heavens. The formal way of showing that appreciation is yajna. As Shri Krishna describes in Bhagavad-gita, this yajna is for the human population. It is the way to invite rain, which then nourishes the fields. Whether we are on the carnivore diet, the paleo diet, the vegetarian diet, or the I will eat anything and everything diet, it all begins with rain. Without rain, there is no food. Without food, there is no life.

अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि
पर्जन्याद् अन्न-सम्भवः
यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो
यज्ञः कर्म-समुद्भवः

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.14)

Yajna in this sense is a kind of show of appreciation, but the astute observer notices that those not inclined towards yajna still eat. The animal community finds what they need, more or less. They have no knowledge of yajna. They cannot appreciate the benefactors of the higher nature because they have no idea what a benefactor is.

Yajna is for the human population, and the benefits are for everyone to share in. Yajna invites rain, but yajna is more for the individual. Yajna is for understanding their generally helpless condition, where they are struggling with the material nature and the six senses, which include the mind.

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति

mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.7)

The Vanara leader named Sugriva once remarked that a person becomes a disgrace when they fail to repay favors. A parent today wants to elevate their children. They want their children to be distinguished, to be honorable, to be the exact opposite of a disgrace. How can the children rise in stature if they fail to show appreciation at the most basic level?

The answer is to follow the way of Sugriva. He may have lost his way for a brief period of time, but he eventually landed back on the right path. The same can be true for any given population, whether they are spoiled or whether they have to work hard for everything. They can show appreciation by following the sankirtana-yajna, which is the formula prescribed for our times. It is the best way to show appreciation for both nature and its overseer: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

On the strength and guidance of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, this yajna can be conducted at any time and at any place, and by any person. It does not matter the circumstances of their birth. It does matter their intention for appeal, for appreciating the rare opportunity they have to make yajna a way of life, which is the best way to live this life.

In Closing:

With everything so easy to get,
Into complacency set.

In the advanced times of now,
To appreciate anything how?

Yajna for human population meant,
Like for rains from higher plane sent.

Sankirtana sacred sound to hear,
For all obstacles to clear.

Categories: the five

Tags: appreciation, childhood, dailyprompt, life, poem, poems, poetry