Our sense of ego and need of appreciation, create so many obstacles and problems in our lives. We will often do or give something only in the expectation or at least in the hope, of being appreciated and admired. And if we do not receive the appreciation and admiration we secretly hope for, we feel miserable or that our action, offering or performance was worthless. Our happiness, satisfaction and sense of self-worth are dependent on the appreciation we receive from the outer world.
Sri Chinmoy was once asked, if there is a question we can ask ourselves to see if we are keeping our motives pure, so that when we are doing something, we are doing it for the right purpose and not for the ego?
“Whenever we do something, we look around to see if others are watching. If we are successful, we look to see if they are appreciating us. And if we have failed badly, we look to see if anyone has seen it. Even if it is for God that we are doing something, a kind of pride may come in. But whenever you are doing something, if you have tremendous gratitude inside your heart, sincere gratitude inside your heart, then that gratitude will bring purity into the entire being. Then there can be no problem.
“You have to feel that God gave you the capacity to start, God gave you the capacity to continue, and God gave you the capacity to complete whatever you are doing. Therefore you are so grateful. At every moment, from the beginning to the end, if you can feel the presence of gratitude inside your heart, then the ego does not come into the picture. The ego and gratitude do not go together.”
– Sri Chinmoy