"And those moments when one feels a joy, a smile, are the moments to rejoice.

"But one should not start choosing. Both are equally acceptable, both are equally inevitable. You need to understand this equality of both moments – dark and negative; light and positive. And you are not asking for only the joyous moments. You are not asking for anything at all. You are simply rejoicing, whatever existence gives to you. Whatever the gift – maybe a dark night or a joyous morning, tears or smiles – it does not matter. Your gratefulness remains the same.

"Only such a seeker, whose gratefulness never wavers, whatever happens, is equally rejoiced. He is equally thankful for it.

"It is a little difficult…When things are going well, it is easy to be thankful. But real thankfulness is when things are not going well – then is the fire-test of your gratitude. And only through such moments does your gratitude become more and more solid, concentrated, centered. You start growing roots. It is very easy, when everything is good, to feel thankful to God, to feel thankful to existence.

"You are saying to me that you are thankful because I am with you. Your thankfulness should remain the same when I will not be with you. Only then is your thankfulness not situation-oriented, but centered in your being; not dependent on the outside, but springing from your inner being.

"It is yours only when no outer change can change it. And for that you have to learn the art of choicelessness. You are saying that I am running within you like silent water, merging you slowly into an inner smile. It is beautiful, but these are the moments for you to be reminded of the moments when the smile may not be there, when you may not hear the sound of the running water that is bringing the smile to you.

"There are dark nights of the soul and your real test, whether you are an authentic seeker or just a superficial curiosity-monger, is not the beautiful moment. The real test is the moment when everything seems to be lost, when everything seems to be against…And if you can still smile and be thankful to existence, then things will start changing for you."