Complete Surrender

 

by Smt. Mandira Lahiri

While going through the journey of life, we all go through favourable and unfavourable circumstances.  Our mind laps up all the good things and rejects all the so-called bad things. How we react to an unpleasant situation is the main thing to be observed. Losing our temper, screaming, becoming hyper…. does not solve the problem. Instead if we keep our anger at bay, stay calm and maintain a normal body language, then we might be able to find a solution.  A peaceful mind, a relaxed heart and body help us to take the correct decision. Once we are able to overcome the hurdle which was bothering us…. a wave of peace, joy and contentment washes our being.

When I was in school, our first period used to be Moral Science. Invariably one of the nuns of the school would come to conduct the class.  Now I realize that the lessons imparted during that period were invaluable. Some of the things which were often reiterated in class are as follows:

·         “Goodness begets goodness.”

·         “As you sow so shall you reap.”

·         “What goes around comes around.”

·         “Treat others the way you want them to treat you.”

·         “Don’t try to change the world just change yourself.”

·         “Each and everything that we get in life is our own earning.”

Such impactful lines!  If only we could practice them in our daily lives.  Inflated egos, resentment, negativity, friction cause so much pain and sorrow. The sad part is that most of us know what needs to be done, yet we still do not implement what needs to be done.

Great wise men often talk about surrender. They say, when we surrender to the Lord with our heart and soul, then most of our problems are taken care of.  For this we need constant reminders. In fact, a Guru’s handholding helps us to tread the path of surrender.

Few months ago, I came across an article published in The Speaking Tree edition of the TOI dated July 25, 2020, written by Echart Tolle.  Here are some excerpts from the article which are very impressive:

“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing-------the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation. It is to relinquish inner resistance to what is. Inner resistance is to say “no” to what is, through mental judgement and emotional negativity. It becomes particularly pronounced when things “go wrong” and we all know that things “go wrong” quite often. It is precisely at those times that surrender needs to be practiced if you want to eliminate pain and sorrow from your life. Acceptance of what is, immediately frees you from mind identification and thus reconnects you with Being. Resistance is the mind.”

“Surrender is a purely inner phenomenon.  It does not mean that on the outer level you cannot take action and change the situation.  In fact, it is not the overall situation that you need to accept when you surrender, but just the tiny segment called the Now.”

“For example, if you were stuck in the mud somewhere, you wouldn’t say, “Okay, I resign myself to being stuck in the mud.” Resignation is not surrender. You don’t need to accept an undesirable or unpleasant life situation.  Nor do you need to deceive yourself and say that there is nothing wrong with being stuck in the mud.  No.  You recognize fully that you want to get out of it.  You then narrow your attention down to the present moment without mentally labeling it in any way.  This means that there is no judgment of the Now. Therefore, there is no resistance, no emotional negativity.  You accept the “isness’ of this moment.  Then you take action and do all that you can to get out of the mud.  Such action I call positive action.  It is far more effective than negative action, which arises out of anger, despair, or frustration.  Until you achieve the desired result, you continue to practice surrender by refraining from labeling the Now.”

Here I would like to mention about an incident which took place nearly two and a half decades ago. A saintly person one of our close acquaintance, once invited my husband to visit his native place. My husband happily accepted the proposal.  He had a very fruitful trip. That saintly person told him about a guideline to be followed in life which would make our lives far easier and more joyful.  He pointed to a piece of rag which was clipped to a clothesline and told my husband that if we become like the rag and let the wind -that is- the Divine will maneuver our lives—then there will be no tension, hence we would be able to lead a stress free and peaceful life.

Several years ago, I saw a film called –`The Three Idiots’. There also, the hero of the film kept telling everybody to repeat--- `All is well’ — not only when things were hunky dory but also when things went awry.

Sri Sri Babathakur would often tell his devotees to become a tiny kitten in life. He would elaborate on this and say that the mother cat holds her kitten by the scruff of its neck to carry her from place to place. The kitten surrenders to her mother completely. In the same way, we should also surrender ourselves to the Divine mother. Come what may, just fold your hands and bow down before The Almighty and accept whatever comes your way.

So now the question is how do we incorporate these precious lessons in our lives?  I feel this is possible through constant remembrance, through prayers, by reading our Guru’s books, by listening to His discourses, by attending Satsangs, by listening to or singing His revealed Bhajans, by doing anything that relates to our Guru will make things happen miraculously. This will make each and every cell of our body resonate with inner peace of surrender.

I shall end my piece with a prayer from the book, `The Science of Oneness’, as revealed to and narrated by Sri Sri Babathakur, where he explains about the process of complete surrender of life to Sadguru. He says, “Once a man gets to know his True Identity, he would have a smooth sailing to absolute Perfection.”

`Hail Guru! Hail Divine Mother! Hail Divine-Self! The embodiment of Truth, Knowledge (Consciousness), Bliss, Love and Peace Absolute.'

‘Oh Guru, the Supreme Divine-Self! I take refuge in Thee; I surrender to Thee wholeheartedly; be kind to me, be gracious and blissful to me. Take me as Thine own, make me as Thine own and mould me in Thy all Divine Essence, so that I will become perfectly one with Thee. Please do reveal in my heart and being and take away completely my ego and the sense of individuality, so that I can realize Thyself as myself and myself as Thyself. Since Thou art the Self of all, Thou art the Self of mine. When I realize Thee as myself and myself as Thyself alone and none else, there remains no duality, no reality of difference between myself and others, between me and the universe, between the universe and the Absolute, and between myself and the Absolute as well. This is possible only by Thy grace alone.'   

‘Salutations to the Sadguru.  By merely remembering Him or reflecting on Him, one receives spontaneous Knowledge.  By attaining Him, everything is attained.  Sri Guru by His power of Self- Knowledge, burns up all the Karmas accumulated through countless lives.’