Sri Ramakrishna Math : The Vedanta Kesari, Divine Law and Divine Grace

Swami Satprakashananda (1888-1979) started preaching at the Vedanta Society of Providence, U.S.A., in 1936. Later he established the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. He is the author of numerous books including Mind According to Vedanta, God and God-realization. This is an edited version of one his talks and is being published with the kind permission of Swami Chetanananda, the present Head of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis.

This universe of countless varieties and ceaseless changes is a complete system, a coherent whole in which all the parts are harmoniously rivetted. It is a cosmos. The cosmic processes go on, because they are all controlled by fundamental principles and by universal rules. Universal laws not backed by consciousness can serve only as blind forces. Laws themselves cannot maintain order. These laws are ordained by one Supreme Being, who is absolute consciousness. He is the sole ruler of the universe. He is Omnipotent. Omniscient in the midst of all varieties, He is the unit of existence. In the midst of all changes, He is the indisputable lord of all. He is ever the witness of all the cosmic processes, He never gets involved.

Of all the laws that control the universe, a very remarkable one is the law of causality, which has been recognized by all the philosophers of the world. A chain of cause and effect relationships covers the entire universe. Nothing comes out of nothing and nothing comes into being without a cause. As the cause is, so is the effect; the effect on its part, proves to be a cause. In this way, there is a chain of cause and effect relationships controlling the whole universe. This universal law of cause and effect functions in human life as the law of karma. As you sow, so you reap. There is difference between the Law of Cause functioning in the non-human nature and the Law of Cause functioning in human nature. On the human plane, this Law of Causality has become a moral law.

How does this law of karma function? What does karma mean? Karma means the result of action distinct from instinctive action which is involuntary. Man alone of all the living creatures known to us is capable of volitional action. Because man has the privilege of this volitional action, he has to pay for his actions very heavily. Volitional action is always attended with consciousness. Where there is no consciousness, there is no law of karma. Because man has distinct self-awareness, whatever is done volitionally, intentionally, leaves an impression on the mind. This is the effect of karma.

Now, as far as you can see it, the karma seems to be lost; its effect does not seem to last very long. But in reality, a permanent effect is created on the human mind. Anything you do with self-consciousness and volitionally, leaves an impression upon the mind. And these impressions are constantly getting stored up in you. Because of these impressions, you create your disposition, your faculty or power. These impressions become the source of your memory. If your action did not leave impressions on the mind, then you would not be able to develop your powers--power of music, power of literary writing, and so on. When you experience something, the impression is left behind, so you can remember it. These impressions create your disposition. They also dwell in you as retributive forces, as moral forces. If you have done something right and commendable from the moral and spiritual point of view, it creates a good impression in you, and you acquire merit, as it were. These merits will invariably fructify in this life, or in a future existence. In this way, our life is being controlled by our actions.

There are visible effects, as also invisible effects, which, in the form of impressions, are carried within us beyond death. We do not leave this body just like an empty vessel, but the soul, associated with the mind along with all its weaknesses and excellences, goes out. Just as in this present life, your own tendencies and desires determine your way of living, similarly after death, your impressions and desires will determine the course of future life. There is no other force guiding your life. You yourself, your own actions and the impressions produced and accumulated out of these actions determine your course of life, now and in future. These are the sole companions in your solitary journey after death. These impressions will be responsible for our future. This present life is due to our past existence. In our past existence we did certain deeds, and we acquired within us merits and demerits, which determined our present life. Just as the law of causality in the universe is ordained by God, so also this law of karma is ordained by God.

We do not always see that a man reaps all that he sows here. That means your life does not end here with death. After death, the seeds of karma will follow you and produce their results. God cannot be mocked or deceived. So, this law of karma is to be seen from the moral viewpoint. What good deeds you do will lead you to a favourable condition of life. As a result you will be happy. Whatever wrong deeds you do will lead you to unfavourable situations here and hereafter, as a result of which you will be unhappy.

This law of karma also works within us. We can give up misdeeds and we can perform right, good deeds, that is, we can create for ourselves favourable situations in life here and hereafter. Though human life is controlled by law, man has freedom. Every individual in this world has freedom. Law functions in a general way and also in a special way. There is law for the genus and law for the species. All human beings are controlled by certain universal laws. But within these universal laws, human beings have a certain freedom. There are laws for the universal and there are laws for the particular. The laws for the particular are subordinate to the universal laws, while retaining some autonomy. Just as under a federal government all the states function, and though they cannot disregard the laws of the central government, yet they have some autonomy; similarly, in this world, all material things are controlled by universal laws. Yet every variety of matter has its own law. Fire is controlled by the same general principle that controls all matter, water is also controlled by the same general principle that controls all matter. Yet fire has its own way of functioning and water also has its own way of functioning. Similarly, all living creatures are controlled by universal laws as well as specific ones. Human beings have their own way of functioning and the lower creatures have their own way of functioning.

A man has some freedom, and is capable of volitional work. But he has to pay the penalty for the results of his work. Man can give up wrong deeds if he tries and can turn to right deeds. He has that capacity. When he turns to right deeds, he naturally derives benefit out of right deeds. He becomes more happy and enjoys more favourable situations in life. But still he is within the relative order. In this realm of birth and growth, decay and death, we cannot go beyond this relativity through karma, because karma itself functions within this realm of relativity. You can have a beautiful face, you can have a nice home, you can have wealth and good friends; yet your internal aspiration after complete freedom cannot be satisfied.

Every situation, however favourable you may consider it from the human viewpoint, is a bondage. It is a world of dependence. Just through duty you cannot have unmixed blessings; just through wealth you cannot have unmixed blessings. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, we find that when Yajnavalkya was about to retire from worldly life in order to lead the life of contemplation and meditation, he wanted to give all his wealth to his two wives. One of them, Maitreyi, asked, 'Will this wealth make me immortal?' Yajnavalkya replied, 'Wealth cannot make you immortal. It will make you as happy as the wealthy persons are in this world. But there is no chance of becoming immortal through wealth, or by good deeds.' You can have all that the world can give, the kind of peace, the kind of pleasure, the kind of greatness and glory, that this world can give; but that cannot satisfy your innermost longing for perfection and absolute peace.

When a person is awakened to this situation, the inherent limitations of this elegiac system, he cannot wait any further. He has given up misdeeds and has turned to right deeds and is still not getting the fulfilment of his deepest longing for perfection, absolute freedom and unmixed bliss. What is the way out? There is only one in this world who is perfect, there is only one in this world who is absolute, free and good in the absolute sense and that one is the Supreme Being, God. In this relative order, there is no such word as absolute peace or freedom or blessings, till the aspirant turns to God. Instead of getting the most out of this world, he thinks that he must get out of this world, not by ignoring it, but by rightly using the present situation. If you want to go beyond water, you have to swim through water and go to the shore. So, you have to go to God beyond this world and in order to reach God, you have to go through this world.

The great teachers say that there is something in you which binds you. It is the ego, the 'I'. It says, 'I can unmake and make things, I can unmake and make in this world.' This ego is associated with your karma, and because of this ego, you claim the karma to be your own and hence must taste the fruits of your work. This ego-consciousness ties you down. You can give up your ego--it is simply apparent. You belong, just like everything else, to God, and by surrendering yourself you arrive at the goal.

There is no other master in this world than God. A few children, a home, a position--this is all we are entrusted with, and we think that we are the Lord of everything! Any time when it pleases the Lord, He will take us away. So, this should be remembered: do not claim anything to be your own. Just think that you are the caretaker of what you are entrusted with. In this spirit of work, karma cannot bind. Karma creates impressions which fructify, that is, they react on you, because you want them to. The moment you forego the result, the ego as a caretaker shall try to please the Lord. It is upto Him what He will do to you. The best sermon is to retire, to satisfy the Master. In this spirit of self-surrender, work in this world. Then whatever you do will not create new impressions, but eliminate the impressions that you have already gathered. If you continue to work in the world in this spirit, gradually your mind will be purified and you will perceive the spiritual light. Then the grace of God will dawn upon you.

Apparently, divine law and grace are incompatible. Law is administered through justice; God is the judge, impartial to all. He is the highest ruler of the universe and the guardian of law. He is also the destroyer. You gain mercy only when you surrender. Mercy cannot stand defiance. Mercy is too tender to face defiance. If you defy, law is for you, but if you surrender, mercy will dawn upon you. Do you see the difference? When a person convicted of some crime tries to defend himself, by hook or by crook, law takes care of him and he is condemned. Then he surrenders and implores the mercy of the highest authority, then mercy takes care of him. Even in this world these two things are contradictory--law and mercy. Both function under the same government. So do they function under the divine government, and have two different dimensions. As long as defiance to God is there in your life, law will take care of you, but when you give up this defiant spirit and surrender to God and recognise Him as the supreme authority, then naturally God's grace would descend on you.

God's grace is ever ready to dawn upon you, but there is defiance. It finds no access within you. Someone is struggling to enter your room, but you keep all the windows shut. No air, no sunlight can come into your room. Similarly, within you there is a way by which mercy wants to function. God's grace is ever there. The breeze is blowing. If you want to take advantage of it, you have to unfurl your sail; but if you do not take the trouble of unfurling the sail, you cannot take advantage of the breeze, however favourable it may be. In life also the breeze of God's grace is always blowing; but you do not take advantage of that. It you do not pray to Him for mercy, do not surrender yourself to Him, how can you get His grace? Thus there is no partiality on the part of God to bestow mercy on one person and administer justice on another person. The domain of law and the domain of mercy are different.

Law is for the bound. If one wants to go beyond bondage to the realm of freedom, one has to seek divine grace by self-surrender. Then only can a person work in this world with detachment. Self-surrender also requires a great deal of effort. Unless one's mind is purified to a certain extent, one cannot maintain the attitude of self-surrender. Those who do good deeds get their minds purified to a great extent and then develop this sense, as also the longing for complete freedom. The spirit of surrender cannot develop without a certain measure of inner growth. If a person maintains an attitude of self-surrender and at the same time worships God, and prays to Him, then he becomes more capable of receiving God's grace.

God's grace should not be counted only in terms of material well-being, which is after all, very transitory. God's grace has to be counted in terms of devotion to God, divine light, divine peace, divine joy, divine love, that develop within the heart. These are the eternal treasures. Nobody can rob one of these. These can never rust, these are the treasures that remain with you always. Time cannot deprive you of them. Death cannot deprive you of them. Burglars cannot rob you of them. These treasures come through the grace of God.

This grace of God usually comes through the grace of persons who are the spiritual leaders of the world and have already received the grace. People acquire spiritual treasures usually through the grace of these devotees of the Lord. Very few get God's grace directly. It is not that the votaries of God do not get God's grace directly; they do. But in this world, generally speaking, God's grace comes through the channels of those persons who have already gained God's grace. It is said in a devotional scripture, 'I consider them my best devotees who are the devotees of my devotees.'

We find in the lives of great teachers how God's grace comes through unforeseen channels. A courtesan, Ambapali received Buddha's grace. Then many other righteous people got God's grace through her. The point is this: we may judge a person by his or her weaknesses, but along with the weaknesses, many excellences are also hidden in human nature. This human nature is very complex. The great spiritual teachers had the insight to see if there is any real gold mixed with the dross. We judge a person only by his or her apparent excellences and weaknesses; but the Lord judges a person according to his deep-seated tendencies. So, Ambapalli was a fallen woman only in appearance. But Buddha found a little golden devotion in her. Just an ounce of gold will outweigh tons of rusty iron. You may acquire many things in this world, external and internal. Yet, if your life is devoid of any spiritual treasure, it does not mean much. With all her weaknesses, she felt that inside her there was gold and Buddha found it.

So also in the life of Jesus Christ Mary Magdalene received his grace. How was it possible? Spiritual leaders have the insight to see an individual's real worth. So, Mary Magdalene was saved. There are so many rich persons, who are very virtuous. But spiritual treasures are to be judged in a different way. A small minded person judges others by weaknesses and a large minded person judges others by excellences.

In Sri Ramakrishna's life again there was Girish Chandra Ghosh. He was a great actor and also a playwright. He was the manager of a theatre, and did not even believe in religion. Apparently he was a great sinner. This person was completely transformed through Sri Ramakrishna's grace. These are illustrations of God's grace being received by persons who from the usual standpoint do not deserve His grace, we may say. Sri Krishna comments on this in the Bhagavad Gita. A person may be very wicked--'very wicked' does not mean that there is no good in him--yet if he turns to me and worships me and seeks my grace, his life is transformed in no time. He becomes a holy man, a pious man. He has rightly resolved. Know for certain, a person devoted to me, devoted to the Lord, can never perish. Sri Krishna in many other places too has referred to this bestowal of mercy on the seeker.

Sri Krishna says that a person who surrenders himself easily crosses the ocean of mortality. He who accepts God as the sole ideal, surrenders his deeds to Him and performs his deeds with faithfulness, is rescued from this world of dualities, where birth and death, youth and old age, pain and pleasure, rise and fall, go on eternally. If persons, whose character is apparently questionable, can receive God's grace, then what to speak of those who devotedly worship Him! God's grace is always upon those whose sole delight lies in hearing about Him, talking about Him, meditating on Him and thinking of Him. Dwelling in their hearts, He lights the lamp of knowledge by which they see Him through that intuitive vision which seers develop. That intuitive vision is opened up through His grace. He removes all their inner darkness. These persons realise their unity with Him. Sri Krishna also says that even a person who does not understand too much, does not discriminate much between right and wrong, if He seeks grace and surrenders Himself, God rescues him. God saves even those who do not have the sharp intellect to discriminate, if they take refuge in Him.

Both divine law and divine grace are functioning in this human life. The two are not incompatible. As long as you want God to take care of you, why not tender yourself to

God's divine grace! You will obtain spiritual treasures, and will be saved from the ocean of mortality.