Where does grace come from? It is a common
belief that Grace is a flow of light from a God sitting some where in this
universe or outside of it (Heaven?). But a matured mind which is backed-up
by the intellect this fanciful idea will not be accepted. The Vedic
tradition does not believe in God sitting elsewhere other than the "Self".
If God is everywhere, then the closest distance of God should be your own
Self. Therefore Grace also must come from within. We understand that pure
awareness is the very source of Grace too.
The immediate
question that arises is that , if grace is within, then why is that every
one does not grace all the time. Some one who thinks about God or any
super natural power resides outside our reach, this Vedic concept is hard
to appreciate in the beginning. But through Self experience one can
understand that grace comes from once's own pure Awareness state.
Spiritual masters answer
the above question with very good illustrations. Saint Mata Amritananada
Mayi Devi, also called Ammachi or hugging saint, puts it with a beautiful
example. She says "Grace" is always present round the clock for all of us,
but is untapped because of the impurity of the Ego mind. Like a
lantern, grace is the light that cannot reach out if the glass
(mind) of the lantern is covered with dark black soot (Ego). Just by
cleaning even a small area of the glass can bring out light from inside.
Similarly, only if the mind is purified, grace will be received.
