To have ability is a gift: If we have some ability, it helps us not only to survive in a competitive world, but also to thrive and contribute tangibly. This gives us a healthy sense of self-worth in a world whose hugeness and temporariness often makes our very existence seem worthless.

To realize that we have ability is a greater gift: We may not know that we have ability or we may undervalue that ability – just as a person who inherits a property may not know about a concealed treasure or may undervalue an antique.

We may realize our ability when we introspect and notice something that we feel strongly inspired about or when a well-wisher appreciates how good we are at something. To thus realize that we have ability is a precious gift, for it saves us from the tragedy of a life of unnoticed or unused talent.

To realize that our ability is a gift is the greatest gift: If our ability were solely ours, it would never desert us. However, even the most talented batsman periodically goes out of form and plays mediocrely, even pathetically. During such moments when our ability lets us down, we can either get frustrated or get illuminated: we can realize that our ability is a gift from Krishna (Bhagavad-gita (07.08).

When we realize this truth, we feel grateful to Krishna and humbly use that ability in a mood of service to him. By such devotional utilization, we become purified and increasingly devoted to him. Thereafter, even when the gift of our ability goes away with age or death, we still retain another gift: absorption in Krishna, absorption that is eternally enduring and supremely fulfilling.

Think it over:

  • How is having ability a gift?
  • Why is realizing that we have ability a precious gift?
  • Why is realizing that our ability is a gift the greatest gift?

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