अनुग्रह
Anugraha
anugraha
In simple words
Anugraha means grace: help that comes from God, not something you earn. Many traditions say that liberation finally depends on grace, though they differ on how grace and human effort fit together.
What is it?
Anugraha (also prasada, kripa) is grace, the favour by which the divine reveals itself or frees the soul. In Shaiva traditions it is one of the five acts of Shiva, alongside creation, maintenance, dissolution and concealment. In Vaishnava theology grace is the Lord's response to devotion and surrender. The Gita speaks of attaining the eternal state and overcoming obstacles by the Lord's grace, and Arjuna says at the end that his delusion is gone through Krishna's grace. Traditions differ on whether grace is conditional on effort or wholly free.
Scholar’s note
The five acts (panchakritya) are common to Shaiva Siddhanta and Kashmir Shaivism; Kashmir Shaivism correlates them with states of consciousness (Pratyabhijna Hridayam). Shaktipata, the 'descent of power', is the technical term for grace in Shaiva and Shakta initiation, graded by intensity. In Sri Vaishnavism, the relation of grace to effort divides the Vadakalai and Tenkalai lineages. Madhva's theology gives God's grace the decisive role in liberation. Sikh thought uses nadar or kirpa for divine grace.How its meaning differs
Grace is Shiva's act that, when the soul's bonds are ripe for removal, descends through the guru and initiation and frees the soul from its fetters.
Grace is the fifth of Shiva's acts, by which consciousness reveals itself; shaktipata awakens recognition of one's identity with Shiva.
In Ramanuja's tradition, grace is the Lord's compassionate response to the soul's surrender; lineages differ on how much the soul contributes.
Madhva holds that liberation depends on God's grace, which is granted in response to knowledge and devotion.
The Guru Granth Sahib repeatedly presents liberation and remembrance of the Name as gifts of divine grace (nadar).
Advaita speaks of the grace of God and guru as helping the seeker toward knowledge, while holding that liberation is the knowledge itself.
Where it appears in the Gita
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं
उन भक्तोंपर कृपा करनेके लिये ही उनके स्वरूप-(होनेपन-)में मैं (उनके) अज्ञानजन्य अन्धकारको देदीप्यमान ज्ञानरूप दीपकके द्वारा नष्ट कर देता हूँ।
18.56सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रय:।
मेरा आश्रय लेनेवाला भक्त सदा सब कर्म करता हुआ भी मेरी कृपासे शाश्वत अविनाशी पदको प्राप्त हो जाता है।
18.58मच्चित्त: सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि।
मुझमें चित्तवाला होकर (तू) मेरी कृपासे सम्पूर्ण विघ्नोंको तर जायगा और यदि तू अहंकारके कारण (मेरी बात) नहीं सुनेगा (तो) तेरा पतन हो जायगा।
18.62Take refuge in Him with your whole being
सर्वभावसे उसीकी शरणमें जा
तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत।
Go to Him alone for refuge with your whole being; by His grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
सर्वभावसे उस ईश्वरकी ही शरणमें जा; उसकी कृपासे परम शान्ति और अविनाशी परमपदको प्राप्त हो जायगा।
18.73My delusion is gone; I will do as You say
मोह नष्ट हो गया, आपकी आज्ञाका पालन करूँगा
नष्टो मोह: स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत।
By Your grace, Achyuta, my delusion is destroyed and I have regained memory; free of doubt, I stand ready to do as You say.
हे अच्युत! आपकी कृपासे मेरा मोह नष्ट हो गया और स्मृति प्राप्त हो गयी; मैं सन्देहरहित होकर आपकी आज्ञाका पालन करूँगा।
Where else it appears
Follow this idea
Trace the idea from one source to the next.
- 1Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.56By the Lord's grace the devotee reaches the eternal state.
- 2Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.58With the mind fixed on the Lord, by grace one crosses all obstacles.
- 3Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.73Arjuna's delusion is destroyed through grace.
- 4Traditionविशिष्टाद्वैतVishishtadvaita VedantaGrace and surrender in Sri Vaishnavism.
- 5Traditionशैव सिद्धान्तShaiva SiddhantaGrace as one of Shiva's five acts, freeing the bound soul.
- 6Textप्रत्यभिज्ञाहृदयम्Pratyabhijna HridayamKashmir Shaivism's account of the five acts and recognition.
- 7TraditionगुरमतSikh philosophy (Gurmat)Grace (nadar) in Sikh thought.
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