Effort and Grace

All three things are essential – effort, waiting and grace. We will have to make efforts; we’ll have to wait. And when the waiting will also drop, the grace is showered. His grace showers. That for which we have been waiting – happens. In the beginning we have to be associated very actively. We have to work very hard, practice the meditation technique regularly. Gradually the active phase slows down. Even in waiting, a sort of subtle activeness is still present; we are waiting for something to happen. True, that we are not doing anything from our side but still we are waiting for something, a subtle activity is still going on. This will also disappear gradually.

I’ve heard an incident about Chandulal’s wife who woke up her husband at midnight that she was worried about her son whom she had sent to the market at 8.0’clock. It was already midnight and he had not yet returned home. She said, she was quite worried and was also getting tired of waiting and had started feeling sleepy also. Now what to do? Chandulal asked – what did you want him to buy? The wife replied – I had sent him to the chemist shop to buy some tranquilizers as I was not feeling sleepy. Now just imagine what she’s saying – she’s saying that she has got tired of waiting and has started feeling sleepy now, what to do?

So, first of all – make some efforts, send your son to buy tranquilizers and then wait for him to come back. But he will not come back. Your waiting will not make him come back. But meanwhile you would start feeling sleep that is sure. So keep on waiting and then go to sleep. The supreme happening that has to happen will happen itself. Your efforts are also essential and the waiting is also important. Although, your efforts and your waiting, as such, are of no use. But after reading this statement of mine, if you would not do anything, then also, nothing would happen.

So, dear friends, your efforts are important because they will tire you. So do it with totality so that you get tired fast. When I say to put in all your energy, it is just to exhaust you so that you get tired fast; that’s all. If you will do slowly, half-heartedly, it might take years and years and you will never get tired. And then the ultimate moment of grace will never arrive. When we are totally effortless – the grace is showered. And that is the moment when we realize that the grace was always showering. We were missing it because of our efforts, because of our waiting. We were not able to realize IT because of our own misconceptions.