IN almost all theistic religions, Eastern and Western, the intervention and action of Grace has been acknowledged to be the supreme force of effectuation in spiritual life. But this intervention is held to be mysterious and unpredictable. Grace blows like the wind, "where it listeth". No virtues can claim it, and no sin, however black, need despair of it. It visits the broken hearts of the fallen and the deluded, and heals them with its balm of love; while it passes by the arrogant great, and lets the unrepentant stew in their own juice. It comes like gentle dew a soft breath of zephyr on a sultry day, or a gleam of light in the midst of a forlorn darkness. It comes also sometimes like a cyclone or an earthquake, sweeping or upheaving the soul of man. Its frowns are as much a blessing as its irradiating smiles; and if it smites hard sometimes, it is only to rouse the slothful and the slumbering. But for the action of Grace, life would run in its normal grooves, and the souls of creatures rust in their obscure inertia.
The Upanishads suggest the action of Grace when they say "This understanding is not to be gained by reasoning nor by tapasya nor by much learning, but whom this Self chooses, to him it reveals its own body." The teaching of the Gita is soaked in the spirit and gospel of Grace. In the Vaishnavic tradition of Hinduism, Grace or bhagavatkṛpā is regarded as the sole agent of redemption and divine realisation. It is said to be ahaitukī actuated by no ostensible reason; and its action is irresistible and infallible. Ramanuja, Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya and Ramakrishna lay a preponderant stress on the divine Grace. Christianity can be called a religion of Grace, so much in its essence, it hinges upon it. "No man can come to Me unless the Father draw him" is remarkably identical in spirit with the Upanishadic saying quoted above. "Contemplation" says Ruysbroeck, "places us in a purity and a radiance which is far above our understanding... and none can attain to it b knowledge, by subtlety, or by any exercise whatsoever, but
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he whom God chooses to unite to Himself, and to illuminate by Himself, he and no other can contemplate God." Here again we find almost a paraphrase of the Upanishadic saying. The same mystic says again elsewhere: "...the union takes place in God through grace and our homeward turning love..." Richard Rolle, another great Western mystic, confirms Ruysbroeck's words when he says : "Contemplative sweetness not without full great labour is gotten, and with joy untold it is possessed. Forsooth, it is not man's merit but God's gift..." Hilton, another mystic rings the same note : "...first He chooseth him, and that is when He draweth a man to Him by comfort of devotion..." In his "Scale Of Perfection", Hilton dwells again and again on the subject of Grace and waxes inspiringly eloquent over it. "The soul of a man, whilst it is not touched with special grace, is blunt and boisterous to ghostly¹ work, and can nought therein. It may not thereof for weakness of itself; it is both cold and dry, undevout and unsavoury in itself. But then cometh the light of grace, and through touching maketh it sharp and subtle, ready and able to ghostly work, and giveth it a great freedom and whole readiness in will for to be buxom to all the stirrings of grace, ready for to work after that grace stirreth..." Baron Von Hugel calls Grace "the noblest root and flower of the Jewish-Christian religion and of European civilisation, the sense of givenness...." S. L. Frank, a famous Russian philosopher-mystic, clearly brings out the essential Christian attitude to Grace when he writes in his book, "God with us" : "All ethical religions except Christianity, are religions of Law... religions, that is, whose moral content is limited to definite moral rules and ways of living. In principle, i.e. leaving aside the question of human sinfulness, it is possible to realise consistently and to the end the conditions of life prescribed by the Jewish, the Mahomedan, the Confucian, and partly even by the Buddhist religion, for it is possible to carry out the rules of conduct enjoined by them. But it is impossible by human efforts alone to realise through definite forms of conduct and of social order the main Christian commandment to
¹ Ghostly—Spiritual.
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'be perfect, even as the Father in heaven is perfect' or, in other words, to become wholly like God. Christianity is the religion of grace and not of law. Man can and must by the moral effort of will and the spiritual intensity of prayer draw the gracious forces to himself, but it does not depend upon him in what measure they will flow to him, nor what their effect may be... .In revealing to man the ideal of absolute perfection for which he must strive, Christianity calls forth the whole of his spiritual energy. But it teaches him clearly to distinguish between two ways towards perfection. The first is the main Christian path of perfecting one's inner spiritual condition, of giving one's heart to God and striving for the divine likeness. In following that path man knows that his own powers are insufficient for attaining the end, and that the amount of grace bestowed upon him, being a free gift, depends upon God's will alone; it is inevitably a case of 'many being called, but few chosen'; there is however, no set limit either to man's spiritual energy, or to the flow of grace." According to Origen, freedom and grace are the two wings on which the human soul ascends to God.
We have assured ourselves of the traditional background of an almost universal faith in Grace among spiritual seekers. Let us now turn to the teachings of the Mother and try to understand what she says on the subject.
What is Grace ?
Going to the very root of the matter, the Mother explains the genesis of Grace and its essential nature, and then she throws light upon the nature of its action, the conditions to be fulfilled for receiving it, its place in the Integral Yoga, etc. According to her. Grace is the Divine's Love which has descended here into the world of inconscience and ignorance to raise it towards the supreme Truth and its infinite Light of Consciousness. "The Supreme has sent His Grace into the world to save it.”¹ Before its advent, everything here was dark and dense and inert, in the death-grip of inanimate Matter. Love came down
¹ Words of the Mother.
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as Grace, and gave the first, perennial impetus to evolution. It awoke the Spirit that slept in Matter, and, little by little, leads it back to its own infinite and eternal superconscience. Grace is all-permeating, all-sustaining and all-transfiguring. It is everywhere, and supremely dynamic behind the tangled play of the apparent and occult world-forces.
"What you have to do is to give yourself up to the Grace of the Divine; for, it is under the form of Grace, of Love, that it has consented to uplift the universe after the first involution was established... . With the Divine Love is the supreme power of Transformation. It has this power because it is for the sake of Transformation that it has given itself to the world and manifested everywhere. Not only has it infused itself into man, but also into all the atoms of the most obscure Matter in order to bring the world back to the original Truth. It is this descent that is called the supreme sacrifice in the Indian scriptures.”¹
Grace, then, is Love pervading the whole universe and acting from behind a thick veil as the most potent force of redemption and transformation. The popular idea that Grace is something that comes all of a sudden one knows not from where, achieves a miraculous result, and retires to where it came from, is based on a partial truth; for it takes account of the sporadic outward result of the working of Grace, but not of its constant, active Presence in all that exists in the universe. Grace is present in all beings, things and happenings as an all-knowing and all- directing Love; and it is enough to open to it with faith and trust in order to benefit by its mighty action. "The Grace is equally for all. But each one receives it according to his sincerity. It does not depend on outward circumstances but on a sincere aspiration and openness.”²
Those who walk through life with their eyes unblinded by any materialist bias, their inner perception not quite blurred by personal preferences, and their hearts meekly receptive to
¹ Words of the Mother, 3rd Series,
² ibid.
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spiritual influences, may perceive something of the mysterious working of Grace. But those who follow the spiritual life, particularly the life of Yoga, can never fail to testify to the fact that from "behind the appearances...this infinite, wonderful, all- powerful Grace...knows everything, organises everything, arranges everything, and leads us, whether we want it or not, whether we know it or not, towards the supreme goal, the union with the Divine, the awareness of the Divine Consciousness and becoming one with it.”¹ How it makes us keep to the line of advance in spite of ourselves ! And how, when we stray and wander, when our inner vision is dimmed and the heart's fire flags, it keeps pointing us to the distant Light and whispering in our ears : "Aham twām sarvapāpebhyaḥ mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ” (I will deliver thee from all sin, do not grieve). When harried by some impetuous desire, or blinded by some passion or delusion, we revolt against the Will of the Divine, Grace smites us with disgrace and calamity, and makes us smart with sharp pain, so that the desire or delusion may be burnt out in the fire of suffering, and we may turn again towards the out- stretched arms of the Divine. If the pressure of Grace upon the crooked and the cowering parts of our being is sometimes heavy and painful, it is only to straighten them out and make them strong enough to bear the Divine's yoke ² for the yoke of the Divine upon the parts of our instrumental nature is the release of our soul into His unconditioned freedom.
Our valuation of things is superficial and ignorant. What we regard as good or bad, auspicious or inauspicious, happy or unhappy, helpful or harmful, is all grist to the mill of benign Providence, which uses them indifferently for the ultimate good of every evolutionary soul. It uses misfortune with as much clairvoyant grace as good fortune. It makes no bones of employing even disaster and death, if need be, to wrest a soul from the toils of ignorance. Once our eyes are fully opened to the truth of the constant presence and intervention of divine Grace, we learn not to complain of the circumstances of our lives, but see
¹ Advent, April, 1957.
² "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me."—Christ,
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in them all the hand of the All-Lover who is leading us infallibly to Himself, to His eternal harmony and happiness, which is the ultimate fulfilment of our destiny.
"If you are truly in a state of intense aspiration”, says the Mother, "there is no circumstance that will not serve to help you in the realisation of your aspiration. All will come to help you, as if it were the perfect and absolute Consciousness that organised all things around you. And you in your external ignorance may not recognise it, may at first protest against the circumstances as they come to you, may complain and try even to change them. But after a time you will have become wiser, with a little distance put in between you and the event, you will find out that that was just the thing necessary for you to make the required progress. It is a Will, a supreme Good Will that arranges everything around you.”¹ It is an all-seeing universal Love that orders and directs our life, and not a blind chance or an inscrutable conspiracy of accidents.
In our spiritual life it is not unoften that we observe with a growing wonder and gratitude how experiences come into us, how veil after veil is lifted from our consciousness, truth after truth is revealed to our vision, and frozen masses of darkness are dispelled in a trice, as if by a miracle ! What we could not achieve by intense personal efforts, by discipline and prayer, : comes suddenly sailing into us as a mere gift. We know not how a certain luminous hint is thrown in, a certain necessary poise is established, a new solution is suggested to an obstinate problem, a besetting obstacle is cast out of our way, and the bewitching, beckoning glory of a new horizon is disclosed to our view! When we feel lost and forlorn, and do not know how to proceed, a ray of light is shot into our being and a nameless force carries us out of the wood. There can be no moment, no circumstance, no happening in which we need feel depressed or despair. Thanks to Grace, "each beat of the wing of sorrow can be a soar towards glory.”² There is an eye that is sleepless in its loving vigil, and a hand that is tireless in rendering help
¹ Advent, February 1957.
² The Supreme Discovery by the Mother,
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and healing. To feel lost is to deny God and repel His Grace.
"Who is worthy or unworthy in front of the Divine Grace ?
All are children of the same Mother.
Her love is equally spread over all of them.
But to each one She gives according to his nature and receptivity”¹
Conditions of Grace
"But there are conditions to fulfil: a great purity must be there and a great intensity in the self-giving, and that absolute trust in the supreme Wisdom of the Divine Grace which knows better than us what is truly good for ourselves. If the aspiration is offered to That and the offering is made truly and with enough intensity, the result will be marvellous.”²
Purity, unstinted self-giving and implicit faith and trust are the three main conditions for an unimpeded working of the divine Grace. Not to have faith is to keep the doors of one's being shut against Grace. "The Grace is always there ready to act but you must let it work and not resist its action. The one condition required is faith.”³ Not to give oneself is to remain helplessly imprisoned in egoistic and separative ignorance. Faith and self-giving make for purity, and purity ensures a smooth working of Grace. "Let us give ourselves without reserve to the Divine so best shall we receive the Divine Grace.”4
Grace and Universal Justice
"Justice is the strict logical determinism of the movements of universal Nature.”5 An inexorable law of causality, an inflexible system of cause and consequence governs the operations of all
² Advent, February, 1957.
³ Words of the Mother, 4th Series.
.4 Words of the Mother.
5 ibid.
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universal forces. There is in it no exceptions, no loop-holes, as the Buddha declared. As one sows so one has to reap. There is no escape from the natural and inevitable consequences of one's karma. But "the divine Force alone”, as the Mother assures us, "has the power to intervene and change the course of Universal Justice.”¹ Grace possesses this freedom to override the determinism of universal nature, because it is from beyond the circle of nature that it acts—its sovereignty lies in its all-comprehending transcendence. Its freedom is not the licence of an arbitrary caprice, but the sovereign liberty of the all-knowing Wisdom of Love of which universal Justice itself is a derivative, mechanical action in temporal manifestation. The following example, once given by the Mother, may illustrate the action of Grace : Suppose that a man is going down a staircase, a loose dislodged tile of whose roof is on the point of falling right upon his head. According to the law of gravitation, the tile would fall and break his head, but lo, suddenly a hand stretches forth from behind and catches the tile. The man is saved. This interception by a person from behind him is an intervention of Grace, which nullifies the rigid determinism of Nature. "It is the great work of the Avatāras”, says the Mother, "to manifest the Divine Grace upon earth. To be a disciple of the Avatāra is to become an instrument of the Divine Grace. The Mother is the great dispensatrix—through identity—of the absolute mechanism of Universal Justice. And through her mediation each movement of sincere and confident aspiration towards the Divine calls down in response the intervention of the Grace.”²
"Without the ceaseless intervention of Thy Grace, who would not oftentimes have come under the merciless blade of the Law of Universal Justice ?”³
"It is the Divine Grace that must be prayed for—if justice were
³ ibid.
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to manifest, very few would be those who could stand in front of It.”¹
The Right Attitude
Once we have given ourselves over to Grace, we must abide by whatever it decides, and try to perceive its will in all that happens to us, good or bad, favourable or unfavourable, whatever it is, according to our mental standards. "The same thing, the same circumstance, identically the same, if taken as a gift from God, as a Divine Grace, as the effect of a total harmony, helps us to become more conscious, more strong and more true.”² This is the right attitude. If we keep it, we profit by all that befalls us, because our faith and trust in Grace makes it easy for it to act freely in and upon us, and by its mysterious alchemy turn defeat into victory and misfortune into a supreme good fortune. This is a universal experience of spiritual seekers all the world over.³ But, on the other hand, if the same thing, the same circumstance is taken as "a blow given by Fate, as a bad force that seeks to hurt us", it will serve only "to diminish us, make us dull and heavy, it will take away our consciousness, our force and the harmony.”4 The classical example of Prahlad is an apt case in point. Because his dependence on Grace was absolute. Grace carried him unscathed through all ordeals. Doubt or misgiving is an obstacle put in the way of the action of Grace. A simple, unquestioning faith and confidence is the best safeguard against all difficulties. "The Grace and help are always there for all who aspire for them, and their power is limitless when received with faith and confidence.”5 If the response of Grace does not come immediately, one should wait with confident patience
¹ Words of the Mother, 4th Series.
² Advent, February 1957.
³ "If the ordeal and fault have flung you down, if you have sunk into an abyss of suffering, do not at all be grieved, for it is there that the Divine affection, the supreme benediction will reach you !"—The Supreme Discovery by the Mother.
4 Advent, February, 1957.
5 Words of the Mother.
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—infinite patience, if need be—without allowing the mind to entertain the least doubt or the vital to lose its quiet. "With patience and perseverance all prayers are fulfilled.”¹ "Continue to have full faith in the Divine's Grace, Will and Action and all will be all right.”² Even a moment's slip from this right attitude may deflect or retard the action of Grace.
Grace and Illness
The Mother says that "90 p.c. of illnesses are the result of the subconscient fear in the body. In the ordinary consciousness of the body there is a more or less hidden anxiety about the consequences of the slightest physical disturbance. It can be translated by these words of doubt about the future : 'And what will happen ?’ It is this anxiety that must be checked. Indeed, this anxiety is a lack of confidence in the Divine Grace, the unmistakable sign that the consecration is not complete and perfect.”
As a remedial measure against this kind of pernicious anxiety, the Mother suggests the following method : "As a practical means of overcoming this subconscient fear, each time that something of it comes as the surface, the more enlightened part of the being must impress on the body the necessity of an entire trust in the Divine's Grace, the certitude that the Grace is always working for the best in ourself as well as in all, and the determination to submit entirely and unreservedly to the Divine’s Will.”³ A complete and unwavering trust in Grace is the most effective antidote against all fear.
Grace and the Integral Yoga
It can be said that as the Mother regards Grace to be the sole motive power behind the evolutionary ascent of man in general, so too she considers it to be the only means of progress in the Integral Yoga. According to Sri Aurobindo, "the principal thing
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in the Yoga is to trust in the Divine Grace at every step, to direct the thought continually to the Divine and to offer oneself till the being opens and the Mother's force can be felt working in the ādhāra.”¹ Nobody, however powerful ² he may be, can do the Integral Yoga and reach its great goal of supramental trans- formation by his own strength and effort. It is a complete reliance on the divine Grace from the very beginning of the Yoga to the end that is indispensable—in the beginning for kindling the flame of aspiration and directing and fortifying our intense endeavour for self-offering, and in the end for the conquest of the supreme Truth and its manifestation in material life. "Let us offer our will to the Divine Grace, it is the Grace that accomplishes all.”³ The Integral Yoga, as it proceeds, cleaves through many a rocky tract and virgin forest. There are temptations below and temptations above—temptations in the domains of darkness to which we are so very prone, and temptations, almost irresistible temptations, in the regions of light. No human soul can overcome them by its unaided strength. "We must learn to rely only on the Divine Grace and to call for its help in all circumstances, then it will work out miracles.”4
The bedrock truth secretly sustaining and fortifying our faith in Grace is that the Divine is infinitely more solicitous about our liberation and perfection than we can ever be, for it is He who is evolving in us here—our soul is His soul, our mind is His mind, our life is His life, and our body nothing but His material vesture. There is an inscrutable but unfailing Wisdom with its own impeccable rhythm behind His progressive self- revelation in every creature and thing. That Wisdom is the all-achieving Force of Love, and that is Grace. When once we realise this truth, 5 we cannot but fling ourselves headlong
¹The Bases of Yoga by Sri Aurobindo.
²"However long the journey may be and however great the traveler, at the end is always found exclusive reliance on the Divine Grace."—The Words of the Mother.
³ Words of the Mother.
4 ibid.
5 It is a spontaneous Knowledge in our soul.
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into the arms of Grace and let it carry us wherever and howsoever it chooses. Grace, then, becomes at once the sole pilot and refuge of our entire existence. Cradled on illimitable bosom, we journey through storm and sunshine towards God's everlasting day of Love and Bliss, an ineffable joy and gratitude overflowing our hearts. A serene and joyous gratitude is the most helpful response our hearts can give to the action of Grace. "If one can be full of gratefulness and gratitude for the Divine Grace, then that is the last thing; you begin to see that at every step things are exactly what they should be and the very best that can be. It is then that Saccidānanda begins to gather Himself and refashion His Unity.”¹
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