Surrender

Hislop: What does surrender to the Lord mean in such common things as shaving, going to the market, walking, and so on?

Sai: Surrendering to the Lord is surrendering all thoughts and actions, not wishing for the fruits of the action, not doing action to gain its fruit but doing the action because it is one’s duty. The act is dedicated to the Lord and the results, therefore, are borne by the Lord. Actions done thus—fruits abandoned at the time of the action—are free of karma. Since the ego, in this way, is not fed and cultivated it disappears before long. For example, if one shaves, which is an uninspired mundane task, the attitude is that one is preparing the body for the Lord in his heart, and one is improving his appearance to honor the Lord and not for personal vanity. Also, in walking, offer the action to the Lord to maintain a fit body for the Lord to live in. this should be the attitude for every single act of the day. Sweeping the house is dedicated to the Lord so that He may have a clean dwelling. Cooking is dedicated to Him so that the body may be strong and vigorous for the Lord. It is a folly to seek the fruit of action. When one dies the only items taken along are one’s good and bad deeds. None of the power, the money, the position, the prestige, the vigorous beauty of the body, the culture of the personality—these things are all gone, and therefore a folly to work for them. Man is life with desire; life without desire is God. Mind is desire; when mind disappears, desire disappears.

Hislop: How does one surrender to God and to life?

Sai: Surrender to God and to life means the absence of duality and being of the same nature as God. But such a state is beyond man’s will. Surrender is when doer, deed, and object are all God. It cannot be forced. It comes naturally to a heart filled with love for God. God is as a spring of fresh and sweet water in the heart. The best tool to dig a well to that inexhaustible source and savor its sweetness is japa, the repetition of the name of the Lord. Dedicate every action to the Lord and there will be no place for ego. That is the quickest way for the ego to subside.

Hislop: One hears about various paths to self-realization. What does this mean?

Sai: There are three paths. There is that of devotion; the guru guides and all is left to the guru to perform. Then, there is the perception that God is omnipresent; the future comes up to the present and the past falls away from the present. God is omnipresent; so the present is God; this is knowledge. Then there is surrender to God. But surrender does not mean just doing all actions in His name. Surrender to God is when the entire universe is known as His body. Surrender is when doer, deed, and object are all God. It cannot be forced. It comes naturally. Faith is the foundation; surrender is the peak.

Source: Conversations with Bhagavan

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