God's grace is need to achieve Moksha

God's grace can only be obtained by reading the scriptures like Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, etc. And when God bestows his grace upon us. We don't instantly attain moksha. First what happens is all the tamasic Guna (ignorance) get converted to the rajasic Guna (passion). And then as we keep praying to him and remain devoted to him. Those rajasic guna also get converted to sattvic guna (Goodness). Sattvic guna is necessary to attain moksha. You will never find anyone who attained moksha when he was in the mode of passion or ignorance.

It is necessary to be completely filled with goodness. And when we attain that goodness then our penance to attain the Lord begins. Then a lot of obstacles come in our way to keep us away from liberation. These obstacles are put by the goddess Maya. She is in charge of deluding all the souls so that they will be trapped in this world. And when the soul transcends above this Maya. Then he becomes one with the lord. And gets Moksha. So you see the law of Karma is always in action. It cannot be stopped. No one can remain free from it. Only the Lord can help us.

It is Bhagavan's causeless mercy that makes us eligible for moksha and nothing else because we are not capable of making it happen by our own efforts. Getting free from the bondage to karma=moksha. Punya and paapa are the two results achieved through karmas. Again, both papa and punya are bondage. One should perform his/her duties, perform nitya, naimittika karmas as service to bhagavan (since bhagavan himself commanded to perform them) without expecting anything other than the pleasure of bhagavan. Doing so, punya will not be deposited into our account. (Please see Shrimad Bhagwat 1.2.28–28, 2.5.15–16 and 2.1.6).

Bhagavan Geetaacharya in Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta 18.66 assures us that if we simply surrender to his feet by giving up our self efforts, he will get us rid of all the paapas. So, by the grace of Bhagavan, if no punya and paapa remains in our account, we achieve moksha. God’s grace is required to achieve Moksha. It is not contradictory to Karma, it is complementary to it. If we understand the entire philosophy, then we will realize that it is the same power that has created the Law of Cause and Effect and Moksha - the Creator whom we call God.

Therefore, love for God, gratitude to God and building a connection or Yoga with God is critical, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for us to do good Karma till we realize that we are not the doer, just the observer. So all these together complement each other. Moksha is not a very simple subject. Liberation from the cycle of birth and death, liberation from misery and sorrow needs grace as much as our efforts. Both are complementary. Moksha is of two types: Kaivalya moksha and Vaikuntha prapti. To attain kaivalya moksha, one does not need God’s grace. This is achieved by practicing gyana yoga for long, understanding the nature of the self and dwelling upon the self. Thus practicing gyana yoga, the yogi gets kaivalya prapti at the end of a life when his karma evens out.

Vaikntha prapti is possible only with the grace of the god. If The Lord decides to give moksha to someone it does not matter if there is karma left out, things get auto balanced and the person reaches the parama padam at the end of the current life. Kaivalyam is like having bread, butter and Jam. Vaikuntha moksham is life having a grand fulfilling meal.

"nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā ?rutena |

yamevai?a v??ute tena labhya? tasyai?a ātmā viv??ute tanū? svām" || KaU 2.23 ||

"This (Supreme) self is not attainable either through thinking or by meditation or by much hearing. He (Supreme Self) is attainable by him (individual self) whom He (Supreme) chooses. To him this (Supreme) self reveals His form." (Katha Upani?ad 2.23) [translated by N.S. Anantha Rangacharya]

te?ā? satata-yuktānā? bhajatā? prīti-pūrvakam |

dadāmi buddhi-yoga? ta? yena mām upayānti te || gītā 10.10 ||

"To those, who are ceaselessly united with Me and who worship Me with immense love, I lovingly grant that mental disposition (Buddhi-yoga) by which they come to Me." (Bhagavad-gītā 10.10) [translated by Swami Adidevananda]

tvatto j?āna? hi jīvānā? pramo?as te 'tra ?aktita? |

tvam eva hy ātma-māyāyā gati? vettha na cāpara? || Bhā. 11.22.28 ||

"It is through Your grace that the individual Souls (jīvas) receive enlightenment. It is due to Your power (called Avidyā or Nescience) that knowledge of the Jīvas is obscured. You alone and nobody else knows the course and working of Your own Māyā." (Srīmad Bhāgavata Purā?a 11.22.28)

It doesn’t contradict theory of karma at all because karma only explains why you are enjoying or suffering. When the Lord takes charge of your well-being, after you surrender to Him, all of your karma vanishes except for the karma that is in the process of fructifying. At the end of the Rig Vedic period the Hindu sages realized that the Rig Vedic sages realized that the verses of Rig Veda are like pieces of a Jigsaw puzzle, which when solved would reveal and install Brahman. Thus, Brahman is not like any other god. Brahman has no idol, rituals, beliefs or mythologies. Brahman is not associated with Heaven or Hell. The only way to understand and worship Brahman is through isometric exercises called Vedic Meditation. Thus, god’s grace or Karma plays no role in becoming enlightened and attain Moksha. Om Namah Shivay