Why is it so difficult to accept that the good things that happen to us come to us as grace from a higher Power?
Part of the problem is that we live in an age of great technological development. The inventions and innovations in the past century have been so enormous that in almost every field of life, human beings have been able to create machines and equipment to conquer the challenges of nature and the natural world. We can conquer many diseases. We can catapult out of the earth’s gravity to soar into space. We can increase the speed of mathematical calculations using computers. We can transcend the limits of space so that people at great distances can talk to each other on cell phones or see each other in real time over the Internet. We can fly in the air, sail the seven seas, and penetrate deep down into the earth’s crust. There is hardly anything left in this physical world to conquer.
With all this development comes a down side. We as human beings feel that since we have invented, created, and developed so many spectacular machines, gadgets, equipment, systems, and processes, that we are all-powerful. We have developed a sense of self-sufficiency in which we think we are the master of our universe and captain of our destiny. Our egos have become so bloated that we think we are the creators of all that is. We have forgotten that a Power exists that brought us into being. We have forgotten that anything good that comes out of us is inspired by that divine Power within.
In this connection there is a true anecdote about a young man who had a desire to cross the English Channel from England to France. He did not want to swim across. He wanted to fly across, not in a regular airplane but in a pedal-powered airplane. This vehicle required him to pedal as if on a bicycle to turn a mechanism to make the airplane fly. It was in the year 1979, and the journey had never been done before.
As the pilot took off in the pedal-powered plane from England, he pedaled for three hours but could not fly higher than fifteen feet above the water. He pedaled the plane for a distance of 23 miles. Finally, exhausted, he landed in France, completing his long journey. When he landed, he was so tired that he realized he could not have made it much further and that his plane would have gone down into the water. He realized something that each person needs to recognize at some point in life. He came to the conclusion that his own power could have only taken him so far. To go further, he needed an extra push from something greater than his own abilities.
We have proven how many natural laws we can conquer by using our efforts, our mind, and our talents. We have done a tremendous amount with our mind. However, the one remaining peak to climb requires humility.
We insist on being the doers. It is similar to the condition of those who, while driving become lost and refuse to ask for directions. They would rather drive in circles for hours than admit they need help.
In the realm of divinity the saints and spiritual Masters can give us a boost in our meditations. They can helpus contact the inner Light and Sound within ourselves. When our inner eye and inner ear are opened with their help, we can focus our attention on this life-stream and begin our journey on the path back to God. We can soar on the stream of divine Light and Sound through the higher realms until we reunite with God. However, we cannot reach these spiritual realms on our own. We need the extra push of grace from a true spiritual Master so that we can transcend the physical world and rise into spiritual realms within.
If we feel that on our journey back to God we are capable of getting the results by ourselves, then we should try on our own. However, if after trying on our own volition to pedal back to God we findthat we are not making any headway, then we may go to a spiritual Master and humbly ask for an extra push of grace.
The spiritual Masters want to share their grace. All that is required is that we open ourselves to learning something new and to receiving help. We will then recognize that all these gadgets, inventions, and innovations that we thought we created are really gifts of the Lord that came to us as divine inspiration. We will then be able to understand who is the real Doer and real Creator and offer our gratitude to the Divine. We will realize that if we wish to conquer the final frontier beyond death and achieve immortality, we need the extra push from God to free us from the limitations of this physical world and carry us into the Beyond to our true Home.