=How to Receive Divine Grace?=
The supreme Power has descended into the most material consciousness but it has stood there behind the density of the physical veil demanding before manifestation, before its great open workings can begin, that the conditions of the supreme Grace shall be there, real and effective. And the first condition is that the Truth shall be accepted within you entirely and without reserve before it can be manifested in the material being and Nature.
A total surrender, an exclusive self-opening to the divine influence, a constant and integral choice of the Truth and rejection of the falsehood, these are the only conditions made. But these must be fulfilled entirely, without reserve, without any evasion or pretence, simply and sincerely down to the most physical consciousness and its workings. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/12/integral-yoga#p96,p97</ref>
Say―"I have received his Grace: I must be worthy of it", and then all will be well. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/the-divine-grace#p27</ref>
Let us offer our will to the Divine Grace; it is the Grace that accomplishes all. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p50</ref>
The Grace is always there, eternally present and active, but Sri Aurobindo says that it is extremely difficult for us to be in a condition to receive it, keep it and make use of what it gives us. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/16/17-october-1960-1#p3</ref>
In the final analysis everything really depends on the Divine Grace and we should look at the future with confidence and serenity, progressing at the same time as quickly as we can. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p43</ref>
==By Being Aware of the Workings of the Divine Grace==
It is not indispensable that the Grace should work in a way that the human mind can understand, it generally doesn't: it works in its own "mysterious" way. At first usually it works behind the veil, preparing things, not manifesting. Afterwards it may manifest, but the sadhak does not understand very well what is happening. Finally, when he is capable of it, he both feels and understands or at least begins to do so. Some feel and understand from the first or very early; but that is not the ordinary case. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-divine-grace-and-guidance#p8</ref>
People are not aware of the workings of Grace except when there has been some danger, that is, when there has been the beginning of an accident or the accident has taken place and they have escaped it. Then they become aware. But never are they aware that if, for instance, a journey or anything whatever, passes without any accident, it is an infinitely higher Grace. That is, the harmony is established in such a way that nothing can happen. But that seems to them quite natural. When people are ill and get well quickly, they are full of gratitude; but never do they think of being grateful when they are well; and yet that is a much greater miracle! <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/23-december-1953#p52</ref>
When you are in a particular set of circumstances and certain events take place, these events often oppose your desire or what seems best to you, and often you happen to regret this and say to yourself, "Ah! how good it would have been if it were otherwise, if it had been like this or like that", for little things and big things.... Then years pass by, events are unfolded; you progress, become more conscious, understand better, and when you look back, you notice―first with astonishment, then later with a smile―that those very circumstances which seemed to you quite disastrous or unfavourable, were exactly the best thing that could have happened to you to make you progress as you should have. And if you are the least bit wise you tell yourself, "Truly, the divine Grace is infinite."
So, when this sort of thing has happened to you a number of times, you begin to understand that in spite of the blindness of man and deceptive appearances, the Grace is at work everywhere, so that at every moment it is the best possible thing that happens in the state the world is in at that moment. It is because our vision is limited or even because we are blinded by our own preferences that we cannot discern that things are like this.
But when one begins to see it, one enters upon a state of wonder which nothing can describe. For behind the appearances one perceives this Grace―infinite, wonderful, all-powerful―which knows all, organises all, arranges all, and leads us, whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, towards the supreme goal, that is, union with the Divine, the awareness of the Godhead and union with Him.
Then one lives in the Action and Presence of the Grace a life full of joy, of wonder, with the feeling of a marvellous strength, and at the same time with a trust so calm, so complete, that
nothing can shake it any longer.
And when one is in this state of perfect receptivity and perfect adherence, one diminishes to that extent the resistance of the world to the divine Action; consequently, this is the best collaboration one can bring to the Action of the Divine. One understands what He wants
<ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/8-august-1956#p42,p43,p44,p45,p46</ref>
People believe that the Grace means making everything smooth for all your life. It is not true.
The Grace works for the realisation of your aspiration and everything is arranged to gain the most prompt, the quickest realisation. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/the-divine-grace-and-difficulties#p20-p21</ref>
==By Invoking==
''Does the intervention of the Grace come through a call?''
When one calls? I think so. Anyway, not exclusively and solely. But certainly, yes, if one has faith in the Grace and an aspiration and if one does what a little child would when it runs to its mother and says: "Mamma, give me this", if one calls with that simplicity, if one turns to the Grace and says "Give me this", I believe it listens. Unless one asks for something that is not good for one, then it does not listen. If one asks from it something that does harm or is not favourable, it does not listen. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/18-november-1953#p38-p39</ref>
We must learn to rely only on the Divine Grace and to call for its help in all circumstances; then it will work out constant miracles. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p53</ref>
The Grace is always with you; concentrate in your heart with a silent mind and you are sure also to receive the guidance and the help you aspire for. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p6</ref>
''But, Mother, when one prays sincerely for the intervention of the Grace, doesn't one expect a particular result?''
Excuse me, that depends on the tenor of the prayer. If one simply invokes the Grace or the Divine, and puts oneself in His hands, one does not expect a particular result. To expect a particular result one must formulate one's prayer, must ask for something. If you have only a great aspiration for the divine Grace and evoke it, implore it, without asking it for anything precise, it is the Grace which will choose what it will do for you, not you. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/8-august-1956#p26,p27</ref>
==By Aspiration==
No one is fit—for all human beings are full of faults and incapacities—even the greatest sadhaks are not free. It is a question only of aspiration, of believing in the divine Grace and letting the Divine work in you, not making a refusal. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-call-and-the-capacity#p26</ref>
However a man may stumble, the Divine Grace will be there so long as he aspires for it and in the end lead him through. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/dealing-with-depression-and-despondency#p55</ref>
The Grace is equally for all. But each one receives it according to his sincerity. It does not depend on outward circumstances but on a sincere aspiration and openness. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/the-divine-grace#p29</ref>
It is not that [yoga relying on tapasya], but the soul's demand for a higher Truth or a higher life that is indispensable. Where that is, the Divine Grace whether believed in or not, will intervene. If you believe, that hastens and facilitates things; if you cannot yet believe, still the soul's aspiration will justify itself with whatever difficulty and struggle. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/bhakti-yoga-and-vaishnavism#p22</ref>
==By Opening==
And then, if you become aware that it is only the Grace which can do that, that the situation in which you find yourself, from there the Grace alone can pull you out, can give you the solution and the strength to come out of it, then, quite naturally an intense aspiration awakes in you, a consciousness which is translated into an opening. If you call, aspire, and if you hope to get an answer, you will quite naturally open yourself to the Grace. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/15-september-1954#p32</ref>
Do not allow these [of unfitness] ideas to gain on you or even to occupy your mind. It is not by their merit or their effort or the capacity they show that men advance in the spiritual path, but by their opening to the divine help and grace. For that you must have the confidence that whatever your own weakness, the grace will not fail you. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/imperfections-and-periods-of-arrest#p27</ref>
It is quite true that it [a great wave (or sea) of calm and the constant consciousness of a vast and luminous Reality] is a grace sent and the only return needed for such a grace is acceptance, gratitude and to allow the Power that has touched the consciousness to develop what has to be developed in the being—by keeping oneself open to it. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/30/experiences-of-the-self-the-one-and-the-infinite#p10</ref>
To practise Yoga implies the will to overcome all attachments and turn to the Divine alone. The principal thing in the Yoga is to trust in the Divine Grace at every step, to direct the thought continually to the Divine and to offer oneself till the being opens and the Mother's force can be felt working in the Adhara. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/32/the-mothers-grace#p9</ref>
==By Faith and Trust==
The Grace is always there ready to act but you must let it work and not resist its action. The one condition required is faith. <ref>https://incanateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p8</ref>
"At the very moment when everything seems to go from bad to worse, it is then that we must make a supreme act of faith and know that the Grace will never fail us." <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/15/comments-on-new-year-messages#p9</ref>
The Grace will never fail us―such is the faith we must keep constantly in our heart. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p15</ref>
...even if one has no knowledge at all but has trust in the divine Grace, if one has the faith that there is something in the world like the divine Grace, and that this something can answer a prayer, an aspiration, an invocation, then, after making one's mental formation, if one offers it to the Grace and puts one's trust in it, asks it to intervene and has the faith that it will intervene, then indeed one has a chance of success. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/08/8-august-1956#p24</ref>
Put your trust in the grace of the One and Divine which has already touched you and opened its door and rely on it for all that is to come.
<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/30/the-value-of-experiences#p7</ref>
Faith is certainly a gift given to us by the Divine Grace. It is like a door suddenly opening upon an eternal truth, through which we can see it, almost touch it.
As in everything else in the ascent of humanity, there is the necessity—especially at the beginning—of personal effort. It is possible that in some exceptional circumstances, for reasons which completely elude our intelligence, faith may come almost accidentally, quite unexpectedly, almost without ever having been solicited, but most frequently it is an answer to a yearning, a need, an aspiration, something in the being that is seeking and longing, even though not in a very conscious and systematic way. But in any case, when faith has been granted, when one has had this sudden inner illumination, in order to preserve it constantly in the active consciousness individual effort is altogether indispensable. One must ''hold on'' to one's faith, ''will'' one's faith; one must seek it, cultivate it, protect it. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/9-july-1958#p4,p5</ref>
If one has within him faith in the divine grace, that the divine grace is watching over him, and that no matter what happens the divine grace is there, watching over him, one may keep this faith all one's life and always; and with this one can pass through all dangers, face all difficulties, and nothing stirs, for you have the faith and the divine grace is with you. It is an infinitely stronger, more conscious, more lasting force which does not depend upon the conditions of your physical build, does not depend upon anything except the divine grace alone, and hence it leans on the Truth and nothing can shake it. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/7-october-1953#p26</ref>
It is when all seems lost that all can be saved. When you have lost confidence in your personal power, then you should have faith in the Divine Grace. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p38</ref>
What is necessary is not to listen to what resists, not to believe what contradicts—to have trust, a real trust, a confidence which makes you give yourself fully without calculating, without bargaining. Trust! The trust that says, "Do this, do this for me, I leave it to You."
<ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/12-november-1958#p17</ref>
Have an absolute trust in the Grace, set aside your little personality and allow the Grace to act; it will make you do what is needed and everything will be all right. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/trust-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p27</ref>
It is in proportion to our trust in the Divine that the Divine Grace can act for us and help. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/trust-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p4</ref>
The Grace and the help are always there for all who aspire for them and their power is limitless when received with faith and confidence. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p7</ref>
It is only by remaining perfectly peaceful and calm with an unshakable confidence and faith in the Divine Grace that you will allow circumstances to be as good as they can be. ''The very best happens always'' to those who have put their entire trust in the Divine and in the Divine alone. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/the-divine-grace-and-difficulties#p1</ref>
For the Grace to have a perfect and total result of its action, the faith must be ''total and perfect.'' <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p10</ref>
==By Shedding the Ego==
The true spiritual or psychic vision is this, "Whatever I may be, my soul is a child of the Divine and must reach the Divine sooner or later. I am imperfect but seek after the perfection of the Divine in me and that not I but the Divine Grace will bring about; if I keep to that, the Divine Grace itself will do all." The "I" has to take its proper place here as a small portion and instrument of the Divine, something that is nothing without the Divine but with the Grace can be everything that the Divine wishes it to be. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/dealing-with-hostile-attacks#p55</ref>
How many blows are needed in life for one to know to the very depths that one is ''nothing'', that one can do ''nothing'' that one ''does not exist'', that one is ''nothing'', that there is no entity without the divine Consciousness and the Grace. From the moment one knows it, it is over; all the difficulties have gone. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/15-september-1954#p37</ref>
It's narrowness of consciousness, it's division. When you let things work on their own, there's... there's EVERYWHERE a Consciousness and a Grace that do EVERYTHING so that EVERYTHING may go smoothly, and that imbecility is what constantly upsets everything—oddly enough! Self-centered imbecility, that's right: what Sri Aurobindo called "the old man." <ref>https://incarnateword.in/agenda/10/november-19-1969#p98</ref>
The psychic does not demand or desire; it aspires; it does not make conditions for its surrender or withdraw if its aspiration is not immediately satisfied—for the psychic has complete trust in the Divine or in the guru and can wait for the right time or the hour of the divine grace.
<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/31/desire#p40</ref>
==By Not Insisting on the Grace==
After all, one has not a ''right'' to call on the Divine to manifest himself; it can come only as a response to a spiritual or psychic state of consciousness or to a long course of sadhana rightly done; or, if it comes before that or without any apparent reason, it is a grace; but one cannot demand or compel grace; grace is something spontaneous which wells out from the Divine Consciousness as a free flower of its being. The bhakta looks for it, but he is ready to wait in perfect reliance, even if need be all his life, knowing that it will come, never varying in his love and surrender because it does not come now or soon. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/bhakti-yoga-and-vaishnavism#p24</ref>
Your thesis was, "Once I want God, God must manifest to me, come to me, at least give glimpses of himself to me, the real solid concrete experiences, not mere vague things which I can't understand or value. God's Grace must answer my call for it, whether I yet deserve it or not—or else there is no Grace." God's Grace may indeed do that in certain cases, but where does the "must" come in? If God must do it, it is no longer God's Grace, but God's duty or an obligation or a contract or a treaty. The Divine looks into the heart and removes the veil at the moment which he knows to be the right moment to do it. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/bhakti-yoga-and-vaishnavism#p12</ref>
Grace may sometimes bring undeserved or apparently undeserved fruits, but one can't demand Grace as a right and privilege—for then it would not be Grace. As you have seen one can't claim that one has only to shout and the answer must come. Besides I have always seen that there has been really a long unobserved preparation before the Grace intervenes and, also, after it has intervened one has still to put in a good deal of work to keep and develop what one has got—as it is in all other things—until there is the complete siddhi. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-divine-grace-and-guidance#p18</ref>
"But whatever you ask for or whatever your effort, you must feel, even while trying your best, using knowledge or putting forth power that the result depends upon the Divine Grace." <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/04/5-april-1951#p12</ref>
==By Being Grateful==
Gratitude: it is you who open all the closed doors and let the Grace which saves penetrate deeply. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p1</ref>
Gratitude A loving recognition of the Grace received from the Divine. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/gratitude#p2-p3</ref>
...to be grateful, never to forget this wonderful Grace of the Supreme who leads each one to his divine goal by the shortest ways, in spite of himself, his ignorance and misunderstanding, in spite of the ego, its protests and its revolts. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/agenda/05/july-15-1964#p1</ref>
The best possible way is to allow the Divine Grace to work in you, never to oppose it, never to be ungrateful and turn against it—but to follow it always to the goal of Light and Peace and unity and Ananda. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/the-divine-grace-and-guidance#p24</ref>
And later—you must pay great attention to this (''Mother puts her finger on her lips'')—the Grace will answer you, the Grace will pull you out of the trouble, the Grace will give you the solution to your problem or will help you to get out of your difficulty. But once you are free from trouble and have come out of your difficulty, don't forget that it is the Grace which pulled you out, and don't think it is yourself. For this, indeed, is the important point. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/06/15-september-1954#p33</ref>
One must have a great purity and a great intensity in one’s self-giving, and that absolute trust in the supreme wisdom of the divine Grace, that It knows better than we do what is good for
us, and all that. Then if one offers one’s aspiration to It, truly gives it with enough intensity, the results are marvellous. But one must know how to see them, for when things are realised most
people find it absolutely natural, they don’t even see why and how it has happened, and they tell themselves, “Yes, naturally it had to be like that.” So they lose the joy of... the joy of gratitude,
because, in the last analysis, if one can be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the divine Grace, it puts the finishing touch, and at each step one comes to see that things are exactly what they had to be and the best that could be. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/07/13-july-1955#p44</ref>
All discoveries are always graces—wonderful graces. When you discover that you can't do anything, when you discover that you are a fool, when you discover that you have no capacity, when you discover that you are so petty and mean and stupid, well... "Oh, Lord, I thank You so much, how good You are to show me all this!" And then, it's over. Because the minute you discover it, you say, "Now this is up to You. You will do what has to be done for all this to change." And the best part of it is that it does change! It does change. When you do like this (''gesture of offering to the Heights''), sincerely: "Oh, take it, take it, take it, rid me of it, let me be... only You"... It's wonderful. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/agenda/07/january-31-1966#p48-p49</ref>
Right use of the granted Grace: no deformation, no diminution, no exaggeration―a clear sincerity. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/the-divine-grace#p30</ref>
''What is the way to accept the Grace with gratitude?''
Ah! First of all you must feel the need for it.
This is the most important point. It is to have a certain inner humility which makes you aware of your helplessness without the Grace, that truly, without it you are incomplete and powerless.
An absolute faith and trust in the Grace is, in the last analysis, the Supreme Wisdom. <ref>https://incarnateword.in/cwm/14/faith-in-the-divine-grace-and-help#p31</ref>
=How to Walk the Path of Sadhana?=