मुख्यतस्तु महत्कृपयैव भगवत्कृपालेशाद्वा॥ ३॥
Mukhyatastu mahatkṛpayaiva bhagavatkṛpāleśādvā
Word-by-word breakdown:
- मुख्यतः तु (mukhyataḥ tu) = but primarily, mainly, chiefly
- महत्कृपया (mahatkṛpayā) = through the grace/compassion of the great ones (saints, enlightened beings)
- एव (eva) = indeed, certainly (emphasis particle)
- भगवत्कृपालेशात् (bhagavatkṛpāleśāt) = through even a particle/trace of God’s grace
- वा (vā) = or, alternatively
“But primarily, (bhakti arises) through the grace of great souls, or through even a trace of God’s grace.”
The sutra is addressing a fundamental question about bhakti itself: How does devotion actually begin? What causes it to arise in a person’s heart?
The previous sutras likely discussed what bhakti is and its importance. Now comes the practical question: How do we actually get it?
The Dual Path Presented
The sutra presents two primary ways that devotion awakens in a person:
1. Mahatkṛpā – Grace of the Great Ones Through contact with enlightened beings, saints, or realized souls
2. Bhagavatkṛpā – Grace of God Through even the smallest particle of divine grace
The word “vā” (or) suggests these aren’t mutually exclusive but complementary paths. Some people are awakened through saints, others through direct divine touch, and often both work together.
First Path: Mahatkṛpā – The Grace of Great Souls
Who Are the “Mahat”?
The term “mahat” refers to:
- Self-realized saints and sages
- Enlightened spiritual teachers (gurus)
- Those who have already attained divine love
- Beings established in constant God-consciousness
- Anyone who radiates genuine spiritual transformation
These aren’t necessarily famous spiritual leaders. A “mahat” could be:
- A recognized saint whose teachings inspire millions
- A simple village sadhu who has realized God
- Your own guru who awakens devotion in you
- Even a fellow devotee whose genuine love becomes contagious
How Does Their Grace Work?
Through Direct Contact: Simply being in the physical presence of someone deeply established in devotion can spark something in your heart. It’s like bringing an unlit candle near a burning one; the flame transfers.
Think of it this way: Have you ever been around someone whose joy was so genuine it made you happier just being near them? Or someone whose calm presence helped you feel peaceful? The grace of great souls works similarly, but at a spiritual level.
Through Their Teaching: Words spoken by someone who has actually experienced divine love carry a different power than mere intellectual instruction. The teaching comes from living reality, not just learned knowledge.
Imagine the difference between:
- A swimming instructor who has only read about swimming versus one who swims daily
- A music teacher who merely knows theory versus one who plays with passion
The “mahat” speaks from experience, and that experiential truth awakens something dormant in the listener.
Through Their Example: Sometimes you don’t even need words. Just seeing how a realized soul lives, their peace, their joy, their unconditional love, their complete surrender creates a longing in your own heart.
You think: “I want what they have. I want to experience what makes them so content, so radiant, so free.”
Real Examples of Mahatkṛpā
Historical Examples:
Valmiki and Narad: Valmiki ji was a robber who met the sage Narad. Through Narad’s grace and guidance, not only did Valmiki transform, but he became the author of the Ramayan itself. One meeting with a great soul completely changed his life’s direction.
Tulsidas and His Guru: Tulsidas ji received initiation and grace from his guru, Sant Narharidas. Through that grace, his heart opened to Shri Ram, and he became one of the greatest devotional poets in history.
Ramakrishna and Vivekanand: Vivekanand was an intellectual skeptic until he met Ramakrishna ji. The saint’s grace awakened a spiritual experience in him that transformed him into a spiritual giant who brought Vedanta to the world.
Kabir and Ramanand: Saint Kabir, born into a weaver’s family, sought the grace of the saint Ramananda. Through that connection, his heart burst open with divine love, and he became one of India’s greatest mystical poets.
Why Is This Path Called “Primary”?
The sutra uses the word “mukhyataḥ” (primarily/mainly). Why is the grace of saints emphasized as the primary path?
Practical Accessibility: For most people, meeting a living embodied saint is more accessible than directly receiving God’s grace. The saint is visible, approachable, can speak your language, understand your difficulties.
The Bridge Function: Saints act as bridges between the human and the divine. They’ve walked the path themselves, know the obstacles, can guide specifically. God’s direct grace might be overwhelming or incomprehensible; the saint makes it digestible.
Gradual Awakening: Through the saint’s grace, devotion can grow gradually and steadily. The saint can give teachings appropriate to your level, correct your mistakes, encourage your progress.
Living Proof: A living saint provides tangible evidence that divine realization is actually possible, not just theoretical. Their very existence becomes inspiration.
Second Path: Bhagavatkṛpāleśa – Even a Trace of God’s Grace
The Power of Divine Grace
The word “leśa” means a particle, a trace, a tiny amount. This is significant; the sutra doesn’t say you need abundant divine grace, just even a trace is enough.
This reveals something profound about divine grace: It’s not about quantity but quality. Even the smallest touch of God’s grace can completely transform a heart.
How Does Direct Divine Grace Work?
Without Apparent Cause: Sometimes devotion awakens spontaneously, without any obvious trigger. You weren’t seeking, you weren’t in spiritual company, you weren’t doing practices. Suddenly, inexplicably, your heart opens.
A person might be:
- Walking in nature when suddenly everything feels sacred
- Reading something ordinary when a sentence pierces their heart
- Going through a crisis when grace breaks through
- Simply waking up one morning with an inexplicable longing for God
Through Life Circumstances: Sometimes what appears as tragedy or difficulty is actually divine grace in disguise. The loss that makes you question everything, the suffering that breaks your ego, the failure that turns you toward deeper meaning, these can be God’s grace working.
In Response to Sincere Seeking: When someone sincerely cries out to the Divine, even if they don’t know proper practices or haven’t met any saints, that cry itself can invoke grace.
Examples of Direct Divine Grace
Prahlada: Born to a demon king who forbade God-worship, Prahlada Maharaj had no saints to guide him. Yet devotion to Bhagwan Vishnu arose naturally in his heart from childhood (also Narad ji). This was pure divine grace, unexplained, unsought (by him), yet completely transformative.
Mirabai’s Childhood: As a child, Mirabai ji spontaneously developed an intense love for Bhagwan Krishna. She had no guru at that point, no specific teaching. Divine grace awakened devotion in her heart directly.
Sudden Conversions: Throughout history, people have experienced sudden spiritual awakening:
- Walking on a road when everything suddenly reveals its sacred nature
- Hearing a temple bell and being overcome with devotion
- Seeing an image and feeling instant recognition and love
- Experiencing a near-death moment that opens spiritual vision
Why “Even a Trace” Is Enough
This phrase is tremendously encouraging. It means:
You Don’t Need to Qualify: You don’t need to have accumulated vast spiritual merit or completed difficult practices. Even a tiny particle of grace suffices.
Grace Is Powerful: Divine grace isn’t like material substances where you need a large quantity to see effect. A single drop can transform an entire life.
It’s Already Available: The phrase suggests grace is constantly flowing. Even a trace reaching you is enough. You don’t have to create or earn it, just allow it.
Think of it like sunlight: The sun doesn’t shine more brightly on some gardens than others. It shines equally everywhere. If one plant receives “even a trace” of sunlight while another remains in complete darkness, the trace-receiving plant will grow. The issue isn’t the quantity of sunlight but whether any reaches the plant at all.
The Relationship Between the Two Paths
Are They Really Separate?
The sutra uses “vā” (or), but this shouldn’t be understood as complete separation. More often, these two sources of grace work together:
Saints as Instruments of Divine Grace: When a saint awakens devotion in you, is it really the saint’s grace or God’s grace working through the saint? The distinction becomes blurry.
The saint themselves would say: “I am merely an instrument. The grace is God’s alone, flowing through me.”
Divine Grace Leading to Saints: Sometimes God’s grace manifests by bringing a seeker into contact with a genuine spiritual teacher. The “chance” meeting that changes your life, was it chance, or was it divine grace arranging the encounter?
Simultaneous Operation: Many devotees experience both: They meet a saint (mahatkṛpā) and through that connection, their hearts open to direct divine experience (bhagavatkṛpā).
A Complementary Process
Think of it like learning music:
The Teacher’s Grace (Mahatkṛpā):
- Shows you how to hold the instrument
- Teaches you techniques and scales
- Corrects your mistakes
- Guides your practice
- Inspires you with their own playing
The Music’s Own Grace (Bhagavatkṛpā):
- The moment when suddenly you feel the music, not just play notes
- When something beyond technique flows through you
- When the music itself seems to play you
Both are needed. The teacher makes music accessible and guides development. But the music itself has to reveal its deeper nature to you.
Why Grace Is Necessary at All
Can’t We Do It Ourselves?
This sutra implies something fundamental: Devotion is not something we can manufacture through willpower or effort alone. It requires grace.
Why?
1. The Nature of Love: Can you force yourself to fall in love? Can you decide intellectually, “I will now love this person,” and have it happen? Love, including divine love, arises spontaneously when conditions are right. Grace creates those conditions.
2. The Gap Between Finite and Infinite: We are finite beings trying to connect with the Infinite. Our limited efforts cannot bridge this gap. Grace is the Infinite reaching across to the finite, making connection possible.
3. The Ego’s Limitation: The very ego that tries to achieve devotion is the obstacle to devotion. Devotion requires surrender, softening, and opening, things the ego cannot accomplish through its own effort. Grace works beyond the ego’s control.
4. The Mystery of Readiness: Why does the same teaching awaken devotion in one person and not another? Why does one person meet a saint and transform while another remains unchanged? Something beyond personal effort is clearly operating, and that something is grace.
Our Role Then?
If grace is necessary, does that mean we’re passive?
Not exactly. Consider these aspects:
Receptivity: We can make ourselves receptive to grace through:
- Sincere seeking
- Spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, study)
- Keeping company of spiritual people
- Service and ethical living
- Developing humility and openness
Recognition: Grace may be constantly flowing, but we need to recognize it when it comes. Practices help us become sensitive to grace’s subtle touch.
Response: When grace touches us, we must respond, not resist, not intellectualize, but open and receive.
Think of it like rain: You cannot make it rain through force of will. But you can:
- Keep your vessel clean and ready
- Place it where rain can reach it
- Recognize when rain is falling
- Receive the water rather than covering your vessel
Practical Implications
For Seekers
1. Seek Satsang (Company of Saints): Since mahatkṛpā is emphasized as the primary path, actively seek the company of genuinely spiritual people. This doesn’t mean you need to find world-famous saints; even genuine devotees can transmit grace.
2. Be Open to Grace: Recognize that grace can come in unexpected forms:
- Through a stranger’s kind word
- In a moment of natural beauty
- During times of difficulty
- Through books or teachings that touch your heart
3. Don’t Depend on Your Own Effort Alone: This is simultaneously humbling and liberating. You can’t force devotion through sheer willpower, but you don’t have to; grace is available.
4. Cultivate Humility: Grace flows more easily to a humble heart. The ego’s pride blocks grace; humility opens the channel.
5. Practice Patience: Grace operates on its own timing, not according to our schedule. Continue your practices while remaining open, knowing grace will come when the time is right.
For Those Who Feel Devotion Hasn’t Arisen
You’re Not Alone: Many sincere seekers wonder why devotion hasn’t awakened despite their efforts. This sutra reassures: devotion arises through grace, not just personal effort.
Keep Seeking: Continue placing yourself in the way of grace:
- Read about saints and their lives
- Visit places where spiritual energy is strong
- Practice whatever devotional exercises you can, even if they feel mechanical
- Pray for grace itself
Even a Trace Is Enough: You don’t need a massive spiritual experience. Even the smallest genuine stirring of devotion, the tiniest authentic longing – that’s the trace of grace beginning its work.
The Very Seeking Is Grace: Here’s a profound truth: The fact that you’re seeking at all is itself a sign that grace is already working in you. The desire for God is itself planted by God.
The Question of Free Will
This sutra raises interesting questions about human agency:
If devotion requires grace, where does human choice fit?
The teaching suggests a both/and rather than either/or:
- Human effort creates receptivity but cannot force the result
- Grace provides the essential catalyst but respects human response
- The two work together in mysterious cooperation
Traditional Understanding: The Bhagavad Gita presents a similar view: human effort (abhyasa) combined with divine grace (prasada) produces realization. Neither alone suffices; both together work perfectly.
Why Would Grace Be Selective?
A difficult question: If God’s grace is available, why doesn’t everyone receive it equally?
Traditional Responses:
1. Grace Is Universal, Reception Is Individual: Like sunlight shining equally but some houses having windows open while others have them shuttered. Grace flows constantly; receptivity varies.
2. Karmic Readiness: Some teachings suggest that accumulated spiritual merit (sukṛta) from past lives creates readiness for grace in this life. But the sutra’s phrase “even a trace” suggests grace can override even karmic obstacles.
3. The Mystery Factor: Ultimately, why grace touches one person at one moment and another person at another moment remains mysterious. This mystery itself is part of the teaching; we cannot fully comprehend divine action with our limited minds.
4. Divine Timing: What appears as absence of grace might simply be divine timing. Grace comes when the conditions are perfectly right for that individual soul, even if we cannot see those conditions.
Across traditions, a common recognition emerges: The human heart cannot fully open to divine reality through its own effort alone. Something beyond the individual must participate.
Different traditions name this differently: grace, blessing, transmission, empowerment, but the core insight remains consistent.
“Practice Diligently” vs. “Grace Does Everything”
Spiritual teachings sometimes seem contradictory:
- “Work hard at your practice” vs. “Only grace can awaken devotion”
- “You must strive” vs. “You cannot achieve this yourself”
The Resolution:
Both are true, operating at different levels:
Relative Level (Our Experience): From our perspective, we must practice, seek, study, meditate. This effort is real and necessary. It creates the conditions for grace.
Absolute Level (Ultimate Reality): From the perspective of ultimate reality, any genuine spiritual opening is grace. Even our effort to practice is itself empowered by grace.
Think of learning to ride a bicycle:
- You must pedal (your effort)
- But something beyond just pedaling balance, momentum, and intuition has to click (grace)
- Without pedaling, you won’t move
- But pedaling alone doesn’t guarantee that everything will suddenly work
- When it works, there’s a mysterious “getting it” that transcends mere effort
“Mahatkṛpā” vs. “Bhagavatkṛpā” – Which Is Really Primary?
The sutra says “primarily through mahatkṛpā” but also includes “bhagavatkṛpā.” Which is truly more important?
The Teaching’s Emphasis:
By saying “primarily (mukhyataḥ) through the grace of great souls,” the sutra gives practical guidance: For most people, the accessible path is through saints and spiritual teachers.
But the inclusion of “even a trace of God’s grace” acknowledges:
- Direct divine grace is also possible
- Sometimes divine grace comes without intermediaries
- Ultimately, even the saint’s grace is really God’s grace flowing through them
The Practical Wisdom:
It’s more practical to tell seekers, “Seek out enlightened beings, keep spiritual company” than to say, “Just wait for direct divine grace to strike you randomly.”
Yet the teaching doesn’t want to limit God’s action, so it adds: “Or through even a particle of divine grace directly” – acknowledging that God is free to act however and whenever.
Core Message
Devotion is a gift, not an achievement.
You cannot manufacture bhakti through willpower, intellectual understanding, or mechanical practice. It awakens when grace touches your heart, either:
- Through contact with realized souls (mahatkṛpā) – the primary, most accessible path for most seekers
- Through direct divine grace (bhagavatkṛpā) – sometimes requiring only the smallest trace to transform a life
The Encouragement Within
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect: Since devotion comes through grace, not personal achievement, you don’t need to qualify yourself through perfect practice.
Help Is Available: Through saints and teachers, grace becomes accessible. You’re not alone trying to figure everything out.
Even a Little Is Enough: “Even a trace” means you don’t need some massive spiritual experience. The smallest genuine opening is sufficient for grace to enter and work.
The Seeking Itself Matters: By sincerely seeking, keeping spiritual company, and remaining open, you place yourself in the way of grace. Then trust grace to do its work.
This sutra beautifully balances:
- Human effort (seek saints, remain open)
- Divine action (grace awakens what we cannot force)
- Practical guidance (satsang is primary)
- Ultimate mystery (grace operates beyond our control or understanding)
