Datta maata 33: Personal efforts and God’s grace equally bestow success in any field

In this world, to achieve anything, there are important aspects – effort and grace of God. The grace of God is also called as good fortune. Many people, when questioned, say that the grace of God is most important amongst the two. Even though it is true, it is not completely true. Those who do not put in human efforts do not receive the grace of God in totality.

As soon as we talk of human attempts, we are reminded of Bhagiratha. Hence, children are often given blessings to succeed in their attempts like Bhagiratha. The elders tell them to possess strong willpower. The efforts of Bhagiratha were not at all ordinary. His resolve was nothing small. He wanted to bring the Ganga from heaven onto Earth. This desire is as big as reaching heaven with a ladder. He not only took such strong determination but also had put in efforts to reach the goal with the blessings of elders. His efforts are nothing ordinary. Severe penance is a form of his effort. In the Himalayas, Bhagiratha started to do penance and Vishnu appeared in front of him. He prayed the Lord to offer the holy waters from his feet. But, Lord Vishnu advised him to pray directly to please mother Ganga who has complete freedom. Bhagiratha did as the Lord said. She said that she wanted to seek the permission of Lord Shiva for her to come to earth. Thousands of years (as per the human calculations) passed by. But still, Bhagiratha went on with his penance. He prayed to Lord Shiva this time. Ganga is now locked in the hair of Shiva. Once again, he prayed Shiva and made Ganga descend to earth. This is the story that everybody knows. It is a very miraculous story. He also took Ganga to the patala loka (world below Earth) and thereby purified the ashes of the mortal bodies of his ancestors. They were all sanctified. Only after succeeding in his efforts, Bhagiratha relaxed. Our efforts must be like that of him. If we put in efforts in such a manner, the grace of God will automatically support us. We need to have such a strong determination. Hence, we must succeed in our tasks by knowing that human effort and grace of God are essential.

Many do not put in any efforts just because they have the power of God or boon of Guru. Guru says that you will get siddhi (enlightenment) with this mantra. You will simply do the mantra without following the conditions told by Guru. Hence, you will not get siddhi. Along with the mantra, he tells certain rules like leaving the desires, anger etc. Say, a doctor gives some medicine to our disease. He will also tell us what to eat and what not to. If he gives antibiotics, he will suggest us to drink more water. But, we do not drink water after consuming the pill and instead suffer from stomach-burn. Likewise, Guru gives mantra with certain rules and regulations to follow. We must have devotion along with the efforts we put in. Then, the grace of God will dawn upon us. That itself is Bhagiratha effort.

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!