Saranagati (Surrender)

Divine Life Society Publication: Self-Knowledge by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda

Self-sacrifice and renunciation will lead you to nobler and higher spiritual pursuits and take to the pinnacle of spiritual glory and fame.

The doctrine of Prapatti or absolute-surrender to God is also spoken as Saranagati. God is the devotee’s sole refuge and only saviour. Six items are recognised in Prapatti: (1) Acquisition of virtues which would make one a fit offering to God; (2) Avoidance of conduct not acceptable to God; (3) Faith that the Lord will protect him; (4) Appeal to the Lord for protection and mercy; (5) A feeling of one’s own littleness; (6) Total surrender. The first five items are means to the attainment of absolute self-surrender.

Sadhana when done in the right spirit and with right Bhava cannot entertain the ego subtly. It is meant for the annihilation of Ahankara. Even in the path of devotion the aspirant has to do the self-surrender himself. God will not do this for you. The flute-bearer says: “Come unto Me for shelter with all thy being. Surrender yourself to Me. Then alone you will obtain My Grace. Then alone I will liberate thee.”

Every individual can work out his own salvation by dedicating himself to the Lord. The surrender must be sincere, complete and unreserved. This is the secret of success in the path of devotion. Personal contact with a developed saint till the aspirant is established in devotion is necessary. Then alone worldly nature can be changed and old vicious Samskaras can be overhauled thoroughly.

A mob of 10,000 persons came out to stone Mary Magdalene, the Roman prostitute. Lord Jesus addressed the mob with these words: “He that is not without a sin amongst you, let him cast a stone at her.” The mob was silenced at the utterance of Lord Jesus. Mary Magdalene became next moment a saint through the grace of Lord Jesus. It is extremely difficult to say when, on whom and how the Grace of God will descend. Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “They who take refuge with Me, O Partha, though of the womb of sin, women, Vaishyas, even Sudras, they also tread the highest path.” Dear friends, what reason, then, is there for despair? Nil desperandum. Be up and doing. Struggle. Exert. Practise. Plod on. March courageously. Do sincere Sadhana. The all-merciful Lord will surely crown your efforts with success. Even the vilest of us can attain salvation. Lord Krishna has given us the word of assurance.

The Lord knows what is good for you infinitely better than you do. To resign absolutely to His will is even a higher form of worship than visiting his temples and shaking the bell, etc., and doing all sorts of ritualistic ceremonies.

He is standing with out-stretched hands in your heart to embrace you with His sweet love and mercy. Lift up your face. Approach Him with child-like simplicity, innocence and frankness (Arjava.) Speak out your heart to Him. Do unconditional total self-surrender (Atma Samarpana) or Saranagati.

If you do willing, unconditioned, unreserved absolute surrender, then all your duties and responsibilities are over. God will take care of you in all respect. You need not make any effort in Sadhana. God will do everything for you.

Unconditional surrender to His Grace in every act of your life seems to be the only hope. But when it comes to action (Anubhava), your egoism predominates. Self-assertion comes in. Try to overcome this.

Here are some Mantras or formulae for effecting ungrudging and total surrender. Repeat them mentally several times daily With Bhava: “O Lord, I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy will be done. Thou art everything. Thou doest everything.” This practice will remove egoism and mineness and the idea of agency also.

The devotee says unto the Lord: “O Lord, I am Thine. Thou art everything. Thou doest everything. Thou art just. I am an instrument in Thy hands. I am nothing. I can do nothing. I have nothing”, and thus he destroys his egoism and does self-surrender unto the Lord.

The ten senses, the mind, the intellect and the Pranas have no independent existence. They have no power of their own. They derive their power and energy and light from the Lord. Therefore give up your vanity and egoism. Do not think: “I have done this great work. My intellect is very powerful. I am very intelligent. The Lord does everything. These are all His instruments. If you remember these points, you can free yourself from egoism and bonds of Karma. You can do perfect self-surrender.

Egoism develops through Karmas (I have done good works), Varna-Ashrama (I am a Brahmin. I am superior to everybody. I am Sannyasi, I am a pure man), possession of physical strength, wealth, intelligence, beauty, moral virtues, etc. If this egoism is destroyed through spiritual Sadhana, true self-surrender to the Lord can be done.

Excerpts from: Saranagati (Surrender) - Self-Knowledge by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda