30  Grace TC  "30  Grace" \l 1

Nothing happens without Grace . . . nothing, nothing, nothing. And having the mind, let us use the mind to invoke that Grace, and not reject the Grace by playing around in the whirlpool of the mind.

We all know that Grace is an abstract quality. Grace is synonymous with God. There is no difference between God and Grace.

To describe Grace, we can use various kinds of analogies. We can only talk about Grace . . . we can never explain it.

What is that co-ordinating factor that gives a plant life and sustains that life with all the elements in their proper proportions? That is Grace.

The whole secret is peace that passeth all understanding. The mind tries to understand, but peace is felt—peace is experienced. That is the purpose of the soul becoming relative. In its relativity, it tries to find where it has come from and where it is going. This is a valid search. For the mind, too, being part of the soul, can only know itself very limitedly by itself; it needs that force, the inner strength. It needs the help of Grace.

With effort and discipline, one can open oneself to the power of Grace. And then life becomes better and better.

Divine Grace is closer to us than we think—it is the very life force within us. Through our meditational practices, we feel the presence of that force in the stillness. We must be sincere and truly earnest on our journey, not just curiosity mongers, or wanting to find ready-made solutions overnight.

That presence is not to be gotten from elsewhere, it is there already; and the one who feels this is the unfolded man.

When the mind and heart are opened, it cannot remain empty. It becomes filled with Grace.

Gurushakti, or Grace, is a universal force that is existent everywhere and pervades everything in existence. How do we activate that universal force? There are sound waves floating around in every room, from thousands of broadcasting stations. The only reason that we cannot hear the broadcast is that we do not have a radio. When we have the apparatus, the radio, we can tune it into France, Germany, or anywhere that we would like.

Now, the purpose of a true guru is this: he is only the radio, the instrument. The transmitting station is something else. The guru acts as a radio and tunes in to the transmitting force so that you can enjoy the music. The guru is simply an instrument.

The guru is the radio, and the force that is being transmitted is the force that helps bring the integrating effect to the individual meditator, and that is Gurushakti.

When we focus our attention on any of the personages of the great religions—gurus, real masters, or spiritual teachers—we are unplugging our hearts. In the unplugging of the heart, the universal force that is there enters. A picture of the great master is used only as a focal point. This can bring those forces and Gurushakti into that togetherness where there is a direct flow. So, that picture acts as a lever.

Sometimes a problem is too difficult to solve. The problem is like a big boulder that cannot be pushed. Using the law of leverage, even the largest boulder can be pushed away if you have a rod that is long enough. Focusing on the object of your devotion or a chosen ideal acts as the lever, or as the switch on the radio. This is normally started with a mental conception, which lies deep within oneself. It touches the inner core of our being and we feel better immediately.

With this conception comes a recognition that, “I am not alone.” We realize that we have this body and mind, and are not strong enough to tackle the problem at hand, but “I am not alone, there is someone with me; and because of that double strength, I can tackle the problem.” It is the old story of the bundle of sticks—when the stick is alone, you can break it; but if you put a few sticks together and tie them in a bundle, that is hard to break.

This is how we prevent ourselves from breaking, with the realization: “I am not alone. There is a greater force, a universal force, that is directed to me through the channel of my guru or chosen ideal, whom I love so much.

To find that subjective love that is swirling within you, you need an object of love. You need to objectify; and through this process of objectifying, you awaken the subjectivity within yourself. By taking your attention to the object, you are automatically awakening the subject. When the subject and the object meet at an advanced level, then the two merge away. That is self-integration . . . self-realization . . . God-realization.

From the very beginning of the Guru-chela relationship, a seed is planted for the tree to grow. The strength of our work lies in Gurushakti, the universal force that flows automatically. The Guru is a channel to those that are initiated.

We come to realize that we are functioning from that source which is forever unfolded. Through our meditational practices and the power of Gurushakti, or Grace, we are pushing forth automatically. This is because we have opened the door—we have knocked and the door has opened. Because of that, Grace is permeating every action of ours, bringing joy to every action. And everything that seemed so full of effort becomes effortless.

The mission that we have on hand is to open people’s hearts and minds to divine Grace. By opening up people’s hearts and minds to divine Grace, two things happen: (1) When the heart opens, we start loving; (2) when the mind opens up, awareness expands, and then we can look at an object in its completeness.

I try to inspire humanity to realize and to reach within themselves to find the joy that some of us have found. That is the mission and purpose of life—where life is not lived for oneself only, but to share with the world. One benefits most from sharing.

You can only share if you have something—and in that sharing, an expansion takes place. The heart and mind expand in greater awareness, and everything around us assumes a form that we would never have dreamt of before. Everything becomes divine and beautiful. In this beauty, we melt away into another world or dimension. We then bring the power and the force of that dimension back with us into this dimension.

There is no question of any kind of worship. There is only One that you should worship, and that is God. In the guru-chela relationship there is devotion, an expression of love between chela and guru. It’s a mutual exchange and interaction. Devotion works both ways. As a matter of fact, I am more devoted to you than you are to me.

What I have been doing up to now is telling you about Gurushakti; but if you ask me what Gurushakti is, I cannot explain it. It is beyond the mind, beyond all words.

The only way to know of its existence is to experience it, and that is why we do feel some of its benefits. The only way to feel the benefits is to open ourselves to it. If you want fresh air to get into the room, you have to open a window. If you open it a little, a little air will come in; and if you open the window completely, all the air will come in. Those are the mechanics for receiving the power of Grace. And the power of Grace is always there.