The Hindu : Role of God's grace

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Role of God's grace

CHENNAI, JAN.28 . The objective of human birth is to overcome bondage, which is responsible for rebirths in the world. Thus it becomes incumbent on those who are fortunate to be born as human beings to make all-out efforts to realise God, which will liberate one from bondage. But it is not as if self-effort by itself will bless one with success in spiritual life. Only by Divine grace is it possible for the spiritual aspirant to envision Him. One of the oft-quoted maxims of spiritual lore is that he who has chosen God has already been singled out for His grace and this points to the reciprocal nature of the operation of grace in human lives. This is only to emphasise that human effort will bear fruit only when it is coupled with God's grace.

In his discourse, Sri B. Sundar Kumar said Divine grace enabled man to overcome the Lord's Maya (veiling power), which was the cause of his ignorance about his spiritual nature. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna has pointed out, "This most wonderful Maya of Mine, consisting of the three modes of Nature (Guna), is extremely difficult to break through; those, however, who constantly adore Me alone are able to cross it." The Lord has taught that it can be overcome by surrendering to Him. Human effort is then the preparatory step in this direction.

The doubt that will naturally arise is whether divine grace operates arbitrarily as it is not possible to say with certainty whether one will receive it. It is necessary to take recourse to the scriptural texts in this matter and they are clear that one can proceed in spiritual life only with the known factors, which are within the purview of human effort and understanding— performance of duties according to scriptural injunctions and cultivating devotion to God.

A spiritual seeker can pursue these means according to the best of his ability but when he will be blessed with spiritual knowledge as a result of Divine grace is not in his hands. A devotee must be patient and await the descent of His grace with faith. In the Gita, the Lord has indicated the ideal way of spiritual pursuit, which emphasises eschewing extremes. Yoga, He says, is neither for one who eats too much nor for one who starves. God cannot be realised only by penance, austerities or the study of the scriptures. It is obvious that the above statement is only to highlight that all these are necessary inputs but success depends on an indefinable factor— Divine grace.

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Role of God's grace

dated January 28, 1954: Hard Work the Only Way to Greatness

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