WHAT IS, IS GRACE
Bhagavan, writing about the grace of Arunachala, declares, “It draws one to itself and making him like itself, it swallows him alive.” Similarly, a seeker who has been drawn to Bhagavan is like a bird that is caught up in the tiger’s mouth. It is said that the tiger is the only wild animal from which its prey can never escape. Bhagavan is the fiercest tiger in the spiritual woods.
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Bhagavan used to quote a most ordinary, everyday happening. “Having swallowed the food, what else do you do? Isn’t it god, as fire in the stomach, who does the actual act of digesting in the form of perfectly created digestive organs?” Even when our physical system can successfully operate only through His grace, is it difficult for our brains to accept that only God can accomplish the most intricate, complicated and incomprehensible act of perfecting us spiritually? Bhagavan has repeatedly said, “God, guru and Self are synonymous.” So, having fallen into his net of grace, we should trust Bhagavan to complete the job of perfecting us spiritually.
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The common belief is that grace is obtained only after strenuous effort, that it has to come from somewhere above and beyond, that one has to deserve it, that it has to choose one, and so on. But Bhagavan asserts, “Grace is within every human being, It is the state of true being, true awareness, devoid of otherness. It is the Self. Your very desire for grace is due to grace that is already within you. Grace is that which always exists”.
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That which eternally is, is the ‘I AM’. It is our innermost nature and is available to us at all times. This pure ‘I AM’ in each one of us is grace. Bhagavan identifies grace with the guru. Grace as our inner guru pulls us inwards, while grace as our outer guru pushes us into the Self. The transformation of the seeker into an adept is done by this operation of grace.
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But grace seems hidden to the common man. Why? According to Bhagavan, grace is not manifest because of ignorance. With perseverance, it becomes manifest.
As Bhagavan clearly explains, “Grace is necessary for the removal of ignorance. But grace is there all along. Grace is the Self. It is not something to be acquired. All that is necessary, is to know its existence. For example, the sun is brightness only. It does not see darkness. Only others speak of darkness fleeing away on the sun approaching. Similarly, ignorance also is a phantom and not real. Because of its unreality, once its unreal nature is found it is removed. Again, the sun is there and also bright. You are surrounded by sunlight. Still, if you would know the sun, you must turn your eyes in its direction and look at it. So also, grace is found by practice alone although it is here and now”.
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Seekers who feel that they strive, but without success, only have to remember Bhagavan’s reassurance. “God, guru and grace are really one and identical. He that has earned the grace of the guru shall undoubtedly be saved and never be forsaken, just as the prey that has fallen into the jaws of a tiger will never be allowed to escape. Nevertheless, the disciple, for his part must unswervingly follow the path shown by the master”.
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So, let us joyfully dive within and merge the mind in the Heart. Let us surrender to the holy feet of the guru who ever throbs as ‘I, I’, in the Heart! Let us, in stillness and silence, BE the Self!
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