Grace is the Creative Spark

ELIZABETH DENLEY reflects on grace, transmission, and creativity, revealing how grace lies at the heart of inspiration and insight.

Do you sometimes feel that life is blessed and things are unfolding effortlessly, without force or struggle? Some people say it is because of “grace” or “God’s grace.” There is a famous proverb, “There but for the grace of God go I,” attributed to John Bradford, who witnessed criminals being led to their death by execution in the 1500s. It expresses the humility and acceptance that we are not any more worthy, simply blessed by the grace of God.

Grace is more likely to be gifted when we are lost in whatever we are doing or in a condition of complete helplessness. This happens when we are no longer the doer, when we transcend ourselves and enter that “invisible somewhere” (to borrow a phrase from Daaji), and our most joyful, creative states emerge.

If you look around, you will find the word “grace” appearing often. While it may not be so fashionable these days due to its religious connotations, it has been part of our language for centuries. The Latin “gratus” meant pleasing or thankful; “gratia” in Old French meant favor, charm, or thanks; “grateful” appeared in Old English, and “grace” in Middle English. The words “pleasing,” “thankful,” “gracious,” and “grateful” are all connected to the concept of grace.

In Sanskrit, there are several words for grace, including “kripa,” also meaning mercy and blessing; “anugraha,” also meaning favor and blessing; and “prasada,” which refers to grace as a gift. The Hebrew word “hēn” conveys the idea that grace is not earned but given freely by God. A good analogy is that the sun shines on everything, yet we choose whether to expose ourselves to it or not. Similarly, grace is available everywhere, so how do we prepare ourselves to receive it? The way may not be what we think! 

The most beloved Christian hymn of all time is “Amazing Grace,” which has been recorded by legendary artists such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. It expresses the beauty of a sinner’s redemption and celebrates the transformative power of divine grace. The hymn’s writer, John Newton, was a slave trader leading an unscrupulous life. A dramatic turn occurred when he was rescued from a storm at sea and was transformed by the grace of God. He experienced a deep spiritual awakening and wrote the hymn to express his gratitude.

And then there’s the remarkable transformation of Saint Paul, who was struck by a blinding light on the road to Damascus, heard the voice of Jesus, and was transformed from a persecutor to a lover. He later wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” This statement hints at the importance of qualities like vulnerability and humility. It resonates with the Heartfulness tradition, where Lalaji once shared with Babuji: “The power earned through self-effort is not as potent as that obtained through divine grace. Full power is given only as a gift.”

Creative people resonate with this principle. We may practice an art form diligently to acquire the necessary techniques, yet both a beautiful piece of music and a magnificent painting emerge from beyond the craft. The creative spark is a gift. And this is true in all fields, not only the arts. Did Sir Issac Newton discover gravity through analytical thought? No, it started with the inspiration of watching an apple fall from a tree and asking why it fell down, not up or sideways. His ability to then relate this to the force that held the moon in orbit around the Earth led to the universal law of gravitation.

In the Heartfulness tradition, we speak of “divine grace” as flowing from the Base or Center as a gift. The living master readily attracts that flow; in fact, it regularly flows wherever he is and sometimes showers upon us during special, large gatherings where we gather with him to celebrate sacred events. He also utilizes the process of transmission, or pranahuti, which is not as subtle and potent as grace, yet remains a potent catalyst for human transformation initiated by the will of the Master. This ability to utilize transmission was the great rediscovery of Lalaji, which enabled the practices of Heartfulness to flourish from the early 20th century till today, when thousands of trainers around the world form a network that acts as a distribution system for the transmission.

In his latest book, The Heartfulness Way, Book 2, Daaji has written, “Babuji said that what we really need for our ultimate purpose is only divine grace, and this is where the role of the master becomes vital. As we discussed, he directs the flow into our hearts and doses it according to our needs and for our growth, through pranahuti.”

Babuji also said, “Everything, no doubt, depends upon the divine grace, but our job is to make room for it within ourselves. That is all the purport of our practice or abhyas, to which we should all try to remain alive at every moment.” In other words, our daily meditative practices are the tools that make room for it. By meditating on the heart with transmission, we invite divine grace into our lives every day.

Grace is more likely to be gifted when we are lost in
whatever we are doing or in a condition of complete
helplessness. This happens when we are no longer the
doer, when we transcend ourselves and enter that
“invisible somewhere” (to borrow a phrase from Daaji),
and our most joyful, creative states emerge. 

But there is more! Lalaji also told Babuji, “The condition of right action is created in someone only through God’s grace. This is to say that the origin of that rightness of action is God. Then where is the occasion for pride?” This was the experience of John Newton and Saint Paul, as well as my own and that of many others. Without the gift of God’s grace and the master’s transmission, life would have remained wanting, without true purpose and depth. Various dimensions would not have opened up, and my character could not have transformed. Self-effort is commendable, but it is not enough. Yielding to something higher is essential for transformation. This is the open secret to living in this world and to growing spiritually. And it is not enough to know it intellectually; the revelation has to come from lived experience.

Babuji once described an associate who initially visited him with an extremely complex and heavy condition, so Babuji removed the entanglements and heaviness. When the associate visited him a couple of years later, Babuji found him full again, but this time with a subtle form of heaviness, and it was much harder to correct. So he traced the cause to the fact that the associate relied on his own labors rather than on the grace of God.

Many artists share this understanding. For example, Julia Cameron, a contemporary teacher of the creative arts and author of over fifty books, most notably The Artist’s Way, describes creativity as a spiritual practice. The Baroque composer J.S. Bach relied on God for his inspiration, viewing his musical talent as a divine trust and dedicating every composition to God. The great Michelangelo said, “I work out of love for God, and put all my hope in Him,” and “Only God creates. The rest of us just copy.”

Sometimes we hit a creative wall and wait for divine inspiration to flow again. Regarding this, Heartfulness has been life-changing for me, because the master’s ability to direct pranahuti offers continuous presence and inspiration. Creative burnout is widely discussed, but the simple act of meditating with pranahuti can offer unexpected awareness and expanded consciousness, enabling a new perspective and awakening potential in mysterious ways. Although it is not the primary reason for meditating, as we sit with our eyes closed and dive into our hearts, we invite the divine grace, which is available to us all. It is the creative spark.