KRIPA

Kripa in Vedanta is the concept of divine grace.  It is the central tenet of Bhakti, devotional Yoga and is akin to similar beliefs found in the mysticism of all traditions.

In Vedanta, divine grace can catapult a devotee into a period of intense personal transformation which in turn can lead to his moksha, liberation.

Bhakti literature is replete with references to kripa, seeing it as the ultimate key to self-realization.  In fact, some, like the ancient sage Vasistha, in his classical work Yoga Vasistha, considered it the only way to transcend the bondage of lifetimes of karma.

Vasistha states that divine grace is the sole way of moving beyond the effects of prarabdha karma, past karmas, that are carried by each person and which are ready to be experienced through the present body.

The Vedanta philosopher Madhvacharya believed that grace was not a gift from God but something that must be earned.

The Buddha, by contrast, did not speak of divine grace, but then neither did he speak of God.  What he taught, however, is not considered incompatible with the idea of divine grace.