Grace Working

Once in relating a story about the workings of Grace to a visiting devotee, Ramana Maharshi asked the devotee whether Grace was measured in terms of the success of desires. He said:

'Do you mean to say that if everything goes according to your desires, only then it is possible to say that the grace of a saint has worked?'

Bhagavan then went on to explain the actual workings of Grace:

"The blessings of a saint perform the purficatory work of life. These blessings cannot increase impurity. One whose understanding is limited will ask for blessings so that he can fulfil certain desires, but if the desires are such that their fulfilment will make the seeker more impure rather than purer, the saint’s blessings will not enable him to fulfil the desires. In this way the seeker is saved from further impurities. In that case are not the saint’s blessings a fit of compassion?"