Every year a strange event occurs at the White House around the Thanksgiving holiday. The President, arguably the most powerful person in the world, pardons two turkeys in what appears to be a comical ceremony usually marking the occasion with some inane remarks. I say comical but sparing a couple of the birds while millions of their kind are being slaughtered is a cruel joke and I find it distasteful. I cannot see a reason for it to be part of Thanksgiving celebrations.
Historically, Thanksgiving was observed as a day of prayers and church services in response to events considered as special blessings coming from God, such as victory in a war. The English settlers brought the tradition to America. The modern observance of Thanksgiving Day may be quasi-religious or even secular but in earlier times it was to express gratitude to the Almighty. This sentiment may be seen in the proclamations of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. From its religious origin, Thanksgiving has evolved into an annual affair, not tied to any particular event.
Whatever the origin, I guess Thanksgiving is a day to reflect upon and be grateful for what we have. But not everyone has something to be happy about. Some say that there is always someone who is suffering more and so one should be grateful that one is not worse off. At the conceptual level, this is good advice but hard to practice. When we start comparing, we inevitably direct our gaze to both sides of the spectrum. We end up feeling better or worse depending on with whom we compare ourselves. Also, it can be argued that to gain some satisfaction based on the fact that there are people worse off is in bad taste.
Being grateful for one's circumstances, I think, is acknowledging the role chance plays in our lives, whether one considers it divine providence or karma or just happenstance. But there are occasions when someone lends a helping hand and we are indebted to that person. It is not always possible to repay this debt because its value depends on the seriousness of the situation. Unless the same misfortune befalls the helper, we cannot in true measure repay the debt. It is perverse to hope that this occurs just so we can even the scales. This is perhaps why, in the Ramayana, Rama says to Hanuman that there was no way to repay the debt He owed Hanuman (Ram Charit Manas, 5-31-3). As you know, Hanuman had completed his heroic one man mission to Lanka and brought back news of Sita to Rama.
Reflecting upon our good fortunes should bring to our minds all those who have helped us along the way. We can look upon Thanksgiving as remembering with gratitude the people and circumstances that have benefited us then. We remain indebted to them.
Being grateful for what we have is one thing. Being content with what we have is a more difficult goal that many spiritual traditions stress but one I think is at odds with our consumerist economy. Lest we settle into the warm glow of satisfaction saying, 'What more could I want?', the retailers kick off the annual holiday shopping season right on the heels of Thanksgiving comprehensively answering that question. As we count our blessings, we are reminded of what more we could want. You have your Happy Thanksgiving but the sellers want their Happy New Year.
On that note, I hope we all have a Happy New Year!
