We often assume that Divine grace shows up as luxuries, fame, power, and a life free of problems or hardship. We imagine grace means everything goes smoothly and nothing truly challenges us, and yes, all our wishes are fulfilled!
But this is only a partial understanding.
Luxuries, fame, and power arise from past-life good karma or punya. They are not signs of closeness to God or purity of the heart. Haven’t we all seen crooked people or people with poor character enjoying a good life! This is not grace acting in the present; it is karma ripening. As a contrast, many pure souls have had difficult personal lives, and still continue to live inspiring and grace-filled lives.
What they fail to realise is that this store of good karma eventually gets exhausted. When it does, the good fortune also fades. Because they do not use their current blessings to create new good karma or grow in worthiness, they slowly lose their access to Divine grace.
History has demonstrated this repeatedly. No empire and no tyrant, however mighty, has lasted when not anchored in goodness and dharma. Every tyrant believed their golden age would last forever. But it did end, just as night, no matter how long, always ends.
So, my friend, when you look around, do not be bedazzled by mere appearances and worldly success. Instead, look up to the ones who clearly carry divine grace.
How do you recognise them?
Such people live with an active inner life, which is quiet and practically invisible. Like a calm-looking swan that is constantly paddling beneath the surface, they are constantly reflecting on their reactions and choices. This steady introspection brings them face to face with their own falsehoods and shadows—the dark layers that block us from the light within.
Over time, this faithful inner work reshapes them into seekers of truth—not only personal truth, but eternal truth.
Gradually, they cultivate qualities like gratitude, calmness, fortitude, forgiveness, grace, surrender, and generosity. And through these very qualities, they are drawn ever closer to God.
The Sudden Enlightenment
For most people, the inner journey does not begin in comfort. It begins in chaos, tragedy, betrayal, or profound misfortune. This deep disillusionment can open a space where the inner light can finally shine. Or, if we are not careful, it can pull us down into darkness, numbness, or resignation.
If we can stay still in the midst of turmoil, that stillness creates a healthy detachment from outer circumstances and turns us towards the search for inner peace. In this way, hardships become a turning point in our spiritual life.
So when you find yourself face to face with suffering, do not conclude that the Gods are angry with you. Consider instead that they may be gently nudging you inward—towards your own inner life, towards the light within, which you may have been chasing in the external world. In that moment of surrender, divine grace quickly flows in. And that is the moment of transformation.
Without Divine grace, make no mistake, we cannot move an inch closer to God. You need to be ready to receive the benediction of grace, and that is what truly turns us inward. When God wants you close, He plants the seed of Bhakti, of devotion, in you. On its own, the desire to seek truth, to know oneself, or to move toward God does not arise. We would continue to stay busy in accumulation and consumption, like most people.
Yet once the journey begins, know in your heart: God is already leading you home. Like a tiny river setting out on its journey home to merge with the mighty Ocean.
Every step, even the most difficult, is part of that return. Trust, and let go and let God handle it. That’s how you flow. Even when it feels uncertain, something deeper within you is being quietly reshaped, transformed by a master potter! So my advice? Stay malleable like soft clay, so that God can create a masterpiece of your life.
In the end, you come to realise that life offers no greater luxury than the presence of God —of grace, of Kripa.
Inner Journeys 