Thanksgiving 2013
Yogacharya David Hickenbottom
Thanksgiving is a marvelous holiday, a day set aside for prayer and gratitude to God. It was made a national holiday in America when Abraham Lincoln signed it into law in 1863, “to commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”
Sarah Josepha Hale, a prolific author (she wrote the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb) had campaigned for 36 years to make a national day of thanksgiving before the law came into being.
However, from the earliest days of Europeans coming to the continent a time of thanksgiving was part of tradition. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth they were ill prepared for survival. Fortunately for them a Pawtuxet tribe member named Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate corn, extract maple syrup from trees, catch fish and avoid poisonous plants. He also introduced them to the Wampanaoag tribe, an alliance that lasted more than 50 years.
Now, you must know that Squanto had been kidnapped and sold into slavery by an English sea captain and had spent years in captivity before managing to return to America. When he finally did return he found that his entire tribe had died of an unknown disease in his absence. It was this same man who gave himself so completely to keep these Englishmen alive.
After a successful corn harvest the Pilgrims organized a celebratory feast, inviting the Wampanaoag chief (and a surprise of 90 warriors besides!) for three days of games, eating and thanksgiving. Fortunately the warriors also brought a supply of venison, the menu would have been consistent with traditional Native American fare of the day.
Later, during the American Revolution there were one or more days a year when a day of prayer and thanksgiving or prayer and fasting was called upon for all citizens by either General George Washington or the Continental Congress. These days were either a celebration of victories or for increasing the spiritual strength of the colonies throughout the long and difficult struggle.
Today Thanksgiving is associated with travelling to family events, large feasts, football games, and Black Friday Sales. However, we should not lose focus for the intention of being thankful, and it should give more than a nod of the head when saying grace before diving into a large meal, least it be taken as a sign of ingratitude.
A natural result of a conscious connection with God is gratitude. It is reciprocal as well; a feeling of gratitude brings God closer. To make a day of thanksgiving truly meaningful, take time to remember the many blessings for which you are grateful. Even if life is rough for you right now, list those things in life for which you are truly grateful and deliver them at the feet of God; feel the connection with the Infinite grow in sacred heartfelt joy.
When your heart softens in gratitude, you feel close to God; in feeling close to God you feel peace, inner assurance and bliss! This is the finest gift you can give to yourself and to others; it will truly make the day special.
Items on my gratitude list are for Mother, Yoganandaji and the Masters: for putting God first and sacrificing much to bring us the truth; my deepest pronams to you. And I am thankful for you, as fellow aspirants in this journey of Self-realization. We have taken incarnation together to work, strive and thrill in the greatest adventure known to humanity, to realize God. Together we share this spiritual path, we have a common language of thanksgiving, and through our spiritual work we add Light to this world to help bring about harmony, peace, joy and love.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pronams, Yogacharya David