Duty is More Powerful than Grace
By Karmayogi
Grace is God choosing to act on
his own, for his own reasons, unknowable by human reason. Man too is God in his
depths. Sri Aurobindo says that Jivatma is Paramatma, against the traditional
belief that Jivatma has no innate reality and has to dissolve in Paramatma. God,
in his infinite wisdom, knows MAN is Himself and fully honours the freedom of
choice of the Individual who chooses to act on his own. Often we ask why God
did not save me, why did he let me down. It is so because in our depths we are
GOD with the fullest freedom of Brahman. The Upanishads say Sarvam Brahman.
Hence that extraordinary story of this exact TRUTH. Shiva, like an obliging
husband, threw a gold bar on the path of a poor man prompted by Parvati and the
MAN exercised his prerogative of freedom by closing his eyes till he had walked
passed the golden bar!
Very few people realise the full spiritual value of completely discharging
their duties. Man acts freely as long as he is not checked by social pressure. If
you are spiritually perceptive, take a list of every one of your works that
stalls, stalls for week or years. Exercise your memory painstakingly. You will
come upon the exact act you have done to someone. Almost all the details will
tally. Now regret having done it. At once the present block will be removed.
Hundreds of devotees have this experience. Only that they do not like it even
after getting the result. Acts have life. Wilful acts have virulent life. Mind,
if it is understanding or good, has the capacity to reverse the old movement.
A family was ruined. They had a few hundred creditors. Imagine the daily
harassment. Eight years ago they came to Mother. New comforts arise, but old
tortures remain. It took them time to realise this rule of the effective past
life. They understood, but were incapable of fully reversing in their minds the
old acts. Vast opportunities arose on the horizon. But they stand outside the door.
Much of their gruesome suffering is relieved. But creditors, their calls, their
visits, their harassment are a nightmare. Mother has reduced the hundred events
to ten. Even one is enough to shatter a man. Many good things happened in the
family, but the little tortures remain unremoved. The boy got a job on a good
salary. The family needs every rupee urgently. But from his first salary, he
voluntarily sent the bank an instalment of his educational loan. It is
spiritual wisdom.