Grace Is Always There – Are You Receiving It?

by YOUxTalks | Jun 20, 2025 | Lifestyle

If life is about our choices, then what is Grace?

Acharya Ji explains: Grace is free. It’s not something you work for or earn through effort. Grace is available, just like a cup of water already placed in your hands. But there’s a catch — between the cup and the lip, many slips can happen. You might have the cup, but whether you drink from it is still your choice.

That’s the key. Even Grace does not force itself upon you. It respects your freedom. It stands there, quietly, waiting for you to accept it.

So is right action itself a form of Grace?

Acharya Ji brings in a beautiful analogy — imagine your car breaks down. To fix it, you need to take it to the mechanic. Let’s say your problem is with decision-making itself. Still, to fix this, you’ll need to make the decision to go to someone who can help you. See the paradox? Even the willingness to correct your indecision must arise from your decision.

Grace may come knocking, but it won’t drag you along. You must decide to open the door. Grace is present, but your response is what completes it.

But aren’t there real-life incidents where grace just transforms someone?

We often say things like — it was grace that the Buddha saw the old man, the sick man, and the dying man when he was about to attend a youth festival. And yes, it was grace. But was Buddha the only one who saw them?

No. Everyone else on that street saw the same people. They just looked and walked on. Grace was present for all — but only Buddha stopped. Only he said, “This is it. I must act.”

Grace doesn’t hide. It’s around all of us. But are you taking it in? That’s the real question. Are you receiving it? That is your decision. Your responsibility.

You can’t blame anyone else. If you didn’t get it, it means you didn’t ask for it. Period.

What about Angulimala? Wasn’t his life changed by Buddha’s presence?

Yes. Angulimala was transformed. But remember, Buddha met thousands of people. If five were transformed, five hundred remained unchanged. The Buddha was equally available to all. But not all accepted him.

Do you blame the Buddha for that?

Grace was there. But only a few caught it.

And that’s what it comes down to — Catches win matches. Grace is like a high ball coming your way. Are you catching it?

We often complain: “God is unfair! He’s not sending enough grace. He doesn’t love me. He’s stingy.” But Acharya Ji raises a mirror: Are you even catching what’s being sent to you?

Can we motivate someone to start their inner journey?

Acharya Ji says — show him the mirror. Let him see how messy or rotten his life has become. If he feels something inside and wants to change, he’ll act.

But if his time hasn’t come, you can’t do much. Don’t force it. Don’t push too hard. When someone is ready, even a small nudge is enough. But until then, shouting and dragging won’t help.

And yes — when you paint those t-shirts, someone should write this loud and clear:

Catches Win Matches.

And perhaps in your catching, there’s some matchmaking going on too.

Can a person live rightly without talking about spirituality?

Yes, they can begin that way. Maybe they just feel love, or honesty, or clarity rising within them. They may not use spiritual terms. But if the path is true, sooner or later, they will come to the scriptures.

Why? Because they’ll recognize the same voice. The Upanishads, Kabir, Nanak — these are not books. They are echoes of the same inner truth.

You may start anywhere. But if your heart is honest, you will fall in love with the scriptures.

But what if someone behaves rightly but doesn’t know anything about scriptures?

Acharya Ji says — in many such cases, the behavior is just external. Society teaches us to smile, be non-violent, follow laws. So yes, many people appear to be doing the right things, but that’s often just conditioning.

Scratch the surface — and something else may come out.

Still, he doesn’t generalize. Exceptions exist. Some rare ones may be genuinely aligned from within, even if they’ve never read a spiritual text.

But mostly, right behavior without deep inner work is just a performance. It doesn’t last under pressure.

So eventually, are scriptures necessary?

Absolutely. Acharya Ji says — lovers of Truth always find each other. If you love God, you will love Kabir Sahab. And if you love Kabir, you’ll find yourself drawn to Ashtavakra, to Meera, to the Upanishads. These are not separate streams — they are one river, flowing through different names.

The bonding among those who love God is something unique. And that’s why, even if someone starts on their own, eventually, the heart pulls them towards these ancient voices.

They speak the same language you have always known.