In this video, Mahatma Das shares a profound reflection on appreciation, drawn from a recent health crisis he faced. After undergoing a major surgery, which he likens to a severe trauma or car accident, he struggled with basic bodily functions like breathing, eating, and moving. These tasks, which people typically take for granted, required immense energy and assistance for him during recovery.<\/p>\n
He explains how simple acts such as breathing, eating, speaking, and walking became monumental challenges, and he encourages viewers to appreciate these small but essential functions. His experience brought a new level of awareness about how much we unconsciously rely on our body\u2019s abilities. Through his ordeal, he emphasizes the importance of gratitude for the smallest things in life, especially those that often go unnoticed.<\/p>\n
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\nIt’s not always that easy for me to talk. Part of the healing is the lungs regaining their normal function because they were compromised. But I wanted to talk about something\u2014appreciation\u2014from what I went through because everybody talks about appreciation, but perhaps I have a slightly unique vision.<\/p>\n
This operation was, looking back, kind of like a major car accident where the body is completely traumatized, or like something heavy that happens to the body, as I could imagine in the military. When you go through a situation like this, and you come out of it, you can’t really do anything on your own.<\/p>\n
Sometimes I couldn’t get the spoon in my mouth; it was just difficult. I’d have to have a devotee help me with eating. I would even be out of breath while eating because I had so little energy. The things we don’t think take energy\u2014I realized they do.<\/p>\n
After maybe the third day, I thought, “Let me try to chant Gaitri.” Of course, you’re not pronouncing the mantra; you’re just saying it in your mind. But that took so much energy. It took me over 40 minutes to complete something that normally takes me 3 minutes and 40 seconds. It was very difficult to breathe.<\/p>\n
In the evening, when you’d sleep, they’d put this mask on you to help you breathe, even if you can’t do it on your own. That was the most hellish experience I’ve ever had in my life\u2014being forced to breathe when I couldn’t on my own.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t even get up to go to the bathroom. I was thinking, “I bet all of you don\u2019t appreciate the fact that you can breathe on your own.” For more than two weeks, I was on oxygen with the little tubes up my nose, and everywhere I went, I had to take it with me.<\/p>\n
We take it for granted that we can breathe\u2014we\u2019re not conscious of it. I was thinking, everyone should appreciate that they can breathe. If you can eat on your own without getting tired or needing help, you should appreciate that.<\/p>\n
At that point, I could barely talk, just a very low whisper. I thought, if you can talk so people can hear you, you should appreciate that. I couldn\u2019t get out of bed to go to the toilet because standing up was really hard. I thought, if you can get up and walk to a toilet, you should appreciate that.<\/p>\n
In other words, all these functions we take for granted were taken away from me. I was meditating on this: how we take so many things for granted. If you can just function on your own without help, if your mind works, if you see clearly, if you can take care of yourself\u2014that’s huge. Because I couldn\u2019t do any of that.<\/p>\n