give it up for Grace

If Grace is the “flow from the essence of ones’ being”,

then I ask myself, is there a blueprint or a path to follow that leads one to the State of Grace?”.  The next question that comes up is how does Grace manifest or show up?

I look at the yogic lineage to answer both the questions.  

The path of the Yamas and Niyamas as mentioned and the Sutras of Patanjali shed the light on what behaviours and actions can one live by.  

The Yamas are ones code of behavior with the outer world, the others.  The Niyamas are the personal way of living that support the Yamas.  

Yamas

  • Non-harming - ahimsa

  • Truthfulness - satya

  • Non-stealing - asteya

  • Moderation of the senses - brahmacharya

  • Non-possessiveness - aparigraha

Niyamas

  • Purity - saucha

  • Contentment - santosha

  • Determined self-effort - tapas

  • Self-study - svadhyaya

  • Trustful surrender to the Infinite - ishwar pranidhana

The five Niyamas: Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya, and Ishvar Pranidhana, can be roughly translated as Purification of thoughts, contentment, self discipline, self study, and the surrender to a cause or a deity.  Each of the above Niyamas, require reflection and contemplation.  It is the facing of the honest truth about oneself without labels and judgement.  It is how we think and behave when no-one is watching,  Our intrinsic values.  Once we begin to live with the awareness of the Niyamas, we begin to affect our outer behaviour and actions.  

Grace to me is the essence of Ishvar Prandihana, the surrender of the self to the higher.  

Reinhold Niebuhr sums the surrender to Grace in his Serenity Prayer “ God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.”

When that inner conflict and tension subsides, in that moment we are filled with Grace.  The life we lead, the thoughts, our emotions, the mental fatigue, create some sort of tension and an imbalance.  The moment we release their grip on us, we are filled with Grace.  

Is it an intentional or an outcome? 

Maybe if we live with the Yamas, even  living with any one out of the five, will lead to those moments when the heart smiles and reminds us to “give it up for grace”.