Everything in life is a combination of divine grace and self-effort. Today, we know that the divine grace is all powerful. It surrounds us all the time. It is ready to make things happen for us. It is present in the form of potential energy. Yet, we are struggling to accomplish simple tasks! We fail even to consistently sit for meditation. We cannot do it on a daily basis. We do sadhana on some days and we miss it on a few days. There is no set pattern in our effort.
The enlightened beings say that for a sadhak, dedicated, sincere and honest effort is necessary in order to tap the divine grace. This helps in totality. For example, when we hold a box of matches in our hands, we have the Fire God at our call. As soon as we strike a match stick, it lights up. That is how grace works in our lives.
We must immediately shield the flame with our hands and use it to light a stove, lamp or candle. This is self-effort. When we simply hold the burning matchstick and do not use it in any way, the flame flickers and goes out, or travels down the stick to burn our hand and makes us drop the matchstick in a hurry.
Likewise, a sadhak or seeker may prostrate at the feet of his Guru seeking his blessings before an exam. However, after this, he must study diligently and prepare well. When he does, the grace of his Guru ensures that he scores far beyond his natural capacity in the exams. If he does not study and fails, he has not put in the effort necessary to use this grace.
It is the same on the spiritual path. The spiritual sadhana that the Guru imparts to us is packed with grace. We must practise intense sadhana with honesty, sincerity and integrity. Then we will attain enlightenment. Just like when there is a power failure, we light a candle. We will continue to light one candle after another until the power is restored.
Likewise, we must go on practising the sadhana prescribed by our Guru under his divine guidance till we achieve the goal of our life. The divine powers get close to us when we follow our conscience and be true to ourselves in our effort. Merely sitting on the aasan with a mala in hand and chanting the divine name, focusing on counts and not divinity, will not bring us anywhere close to God.
When we are true to our conscience, we emote, feel the divine presence of God and divine powers in and around us. Then, our Guru works towards making our life better and better. At this point, each and every step we take, we start experiencing mystical experiences because we operate in a divine plane where karma, fate and destiny don’t influence our life anymore. From being a student of spirituality, we evolve to becoming a mystic—mumukshu.
ashram-india@shrinimishamba.org