Surrender and Survive
Blessed indeed are those who endeavor to realize God, even in the midst of the manifold difficulties and obstacles that surround them in this world. Many people do not even believe in the existence of God; and further, out of those who do recognize His existence, a large majority do not aspire to attain Him, since their intellect is clouded by the thick veil of ignorance, which is the chief characteristic of the tamas [slothful] element. Some attempt it, but do not pursue it and only a rare few attain the goal. One man in a thousand strives for perfection, and one among all the blessed ones striving thus, knows Him in reality.
Notwithstanding all this, every individual in this world has a natural craving for God, for everyone longs for unalloyed, perfect, and ever lasting happiness. Thus the various individual souls are continuously approaching God, the home of ever-lasting bliss, through various paths and with their faces turned in different directions. And so long as it does not reach its destination, the Godward march will never cease. For, they know that if not today, the goal must be reached anyhow, some day or another.
So why not now? Kabir said that if you want to worship God, do it today and do it now. While Shankara said, “samprapthe sannihithe kale nahi nahi rakshathi dukkrun karane.” When death is near, no one can help.
In this Kali Yuga [Iron age], the best and only possible sadhana [spiritual effort] is namasmarana [recitation of the Lord’s name]. It is also the most beneficial. Kuchela [Krishna’s devotee] won the grace of the Lord through the same method. Fill the name with your love. Whenever you repeat it, saturate it with devotion. That is the easiest path for all and will surely bring success. This namasmarana must be sincere, continuous, and constant, so that it may be embedded in the mind and heart, even when the end nears.
In these attempts, one’s own experience is the best guarantee of truth. One should not be affected by what others say about their experiences, as nothing can be as genuine as one’s own.
However, it is also true that in these attempts one should not get puffed up with pride and joy when one succeeds. One must examine oneself every now and then. If your think of God constantly then you may even see Him in your dreams.
Appiah Dikshith, the great scholar, philosopher, and writer, once doubted the stability in his devotion to God. He argued with himself that in his sane moments he acts good and thinks of God and sings His glory in ecstasy; but is his devotion constant during the insane moments, too? He wanted to experiment on this issue. He collected all his disciples and informed them that he was going to administer himself an herb that causes insanity and also told them the antidote for curing the insanity. He directed them to note down whatever he uttered when he was out of his mind. The disciples did as directed and it was found that during his insanity he composed the best devotional song known as “Atmarpana Stuti” otherwise called “Unmatta Stuti” and also called “Unmatta Pancha Sati.” This shows that if your devotion to God is sincere and constant you will remember Him at all times, irrespective of circumstances.
Our subsequent births are also dependent on our way of present life. Hence, if we want to survive, let us surrender unto Him unconditionally in the present life itself and that, too, immediately.
In the beginning of the Gita, we see that Arjuna is very confident of his prowess as a warrior. He is impatient to see the warriors who were ranged against him. He therefore asks the Lord to place his chariot between the two armies. But the Lord wants him to cast off his ego. So instead of placing the chariot in front of Karna and Duryodhana, he purposely stations it before revered elders like Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa. Now we see the first change in Arjuna. He is deluded by his ego. He refuses to fight.
The Lord is not satisfied. He wants Arjuna to surrender unconditionally and Arjuna does so, saying, “I am Thy disciple. Instruct me who has taken refuge in Thee.” Then the compassionate Lord starts imparting the Gita. The soil of the mind of Arjuna has been properly tilled for sowing the seed. The enlightened Arjuna finally declares to the Lord, “Destroyed is my delusion and I have gained my memory through Thy grace. I am firm now. My doubts are gone. I will do Thy will.” This is the result of sharanagati [surrender to God].
Self-surrender does not mean inactivity. In the act of self-surrender it is the Self and with it, the mind, the ego, the intellect, and the body, all are surrendered to the Lord. This being done, the aspirant distinctly begins to feel that it is the Lord who is functioning through his body, mind, and speech. Prior to this, he believed that it was he himself who did everything, whereas now he feels that it is the Lord doing everything, on his behalf. The consciousness that he is the doer merges in the cosmic consciousness, for the mind and intellect have been surrendered to the Lord and they cease to function independently at this stage. The Divine will is his will now, the Divine thought is his thought now and similarly the Divine activity is his activity now.
Bhagavan Baba says, “Do not call yourself the children of sin. There is no worse sin than that. You are amirtaputra [immortal]. You have the Lord presiding in your heart. He is the antaryamin [in-dweller] of everything in creation. How then can you be a child of sin? Take refuge in the depths of your mind in silence and in loneliness.”
If the Lord has no ideation, notation, and connotation, the devotee, too, must have none of these. The inner sense (antahkarana), consisting of the mind and intellect that is needed for these, has become the Lord’s property.
Let us, therefore, be confident that we will be liberated. Let us not pine over the chunks of time we have already wasted. Let us seize the present moment that has come within our grasp. Bhagavan says, “Come one step forward, I shall take ten steps toward you. Shed just one tear, I shall wipe hundreds from your eyes. I bless only thus.” Hence why hesitate? Let us surrender unto Him and survive.
~K. V. Ramachandran
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, April 1967
