Inviting sharing of practical experiences in 'surrender'

[surrenderindailylife]

One of the central themes in Bhagvad Geeta is 'surrender to God' At the conceptual stage, this sounds so beautiful - but how does one start practicing this in real life? For example what does one do differently when one says I have "surrendered my actions to HIM". Or is it that, whatever one does, with God's image in mind and God's name on lips (Japa) qualifies as 'surrender'. Does continuous chanting of Japa, while being involved in mundane day-to-day activities aid in reaching this state?

I am curious to know what one does so as to reach this exalted state? What are the ways to practice surrender in the contemporary life of a householder? Looking forward to an enlightened discussion.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: In my opinion, one has to shift their consciousness away from selfishness (ego) to fully surrender. You just have to thing it's all God's work, not yours. It's God's money, service, and it's not you or your ego. You're just his tool, his device, his extension. So when we speak of God's love for humanity, he doesn't do that directly. He has to demonstrate His love via the channel or medium of humanity, of which we are all a portion.

Aum Namasivaya

[NayaSurya]

This thread very much compliment the other.

I do this japa a whole lot. Sometimes I have to be careful...as in the car doing japa make my family fall asleep.

Japa for me has many purposes. One of which is to force this machine to behave the way I wish. Saying the name of Beloved over and over again, only thinking of Beloved as I crochet, or other simple tasks, shuts down the constant inner chatter. It becomes so focused upon Beloved that there comes a complete inner silence. Where only Beloved exist.

Japa is also used to show Beloved my tremendous Love. All day. It is as if I am saying..."See, even here in this moment, Beloved, I am yours."


Surrender in my daily life is something like this.

Beloved, every particle of this foolish girl is so utterly devoted to you...every particle yours to use....use me up Beloved.

Use my hands, my heart...use me to perform your miracles.

Surrender is also something more mundane. Because I know my point of origin is Beloved...I can utterly surrender percieved control of this trajectory. So when bad things happen, and they will...all the time.

I no longer feel the need to become obssessed with the small things.

Let me explain that in a true story.

My children...

One son is very much enamoured with a young lady, she is very kind. But, her family is absolutely staunch, bible thumping....missionaries. They are wretchedly confused Portions.

So, what can I do? I have become very affect by this Truth, so much so...even the children are too. But, this does not seal that destiny for them. For I know that they have their own lessons to learn here...so...

I will bring them to awareness...but I can not make them stay there...nor even for them to accept it. I have surrendered this issue to Beloved.

So this means, I do my part to the very best of my ability...to teach...to set a very very good example. But, in the end...I have surrendered this worry... to Beloved. Knowing that what is ultimately meant to be, will be.

There had been a time in my life, inwhich I was very impetuous...I suppose you could say I can still be this way even now. When Beloved set a task before me...I would very often fight the lesson. I was like a green thoroughbred...headstrong.

I was as a child in high school...the worst student in class...always getting called to principal's office...getting detention time.

Not doing the work...not paying attention. I just wanted to leave.

Over time I have become completely changed. I surrendered to this fate, to my lessons. I began to work upon them...to learn. Finally do the work. In this simple way, I surrendered. In profound ways, I have changed.

Now, everyOne is an opportunity to Love Beloved, to help Him. I pay close attention to the clues...to my lessons. The garden, once abandoned for leisure activities, now blooms magnificently.

As a householder, we are so fortunate to have so many opportunities to serve Beloved in such diverse ways. By taking care of these precious Portions of Beloved, which He specifically entrusted us to care for...

This is a very big honor.

[MahaHrada]

Surrender to some imagined invisible friend outside your own self is not what is meant. The Bhagavadgita is not the Quran or the Bible. Therefore the deva is within, it is the self, the aim is not to please some god and then entering some paradise but to gain self knowledge. so you have to surrender your imperfections and vices to what is the divinity within. Which in this case is srikrishna nothing but your own perfected self.

It is your own limited self that has to surrender to the divine self, which is nothing but yourself, the deity residing within the lotos of your own heart or center of your being. Bharata Dharma is about self knowledge and experiencing the divine within and liberation from what enslaves and limits you, not about enslavement and submission to an external imagined God ruling in some far away heaven.

[anirvan]

[QUOTE]

One of the central themes in Bhagvad Geeta is 'surrender to God' how does one start practicing this in real life?

As Nayasurya has pointed out,practical and surrendering is complimentary to each.What MAHAHRADA has said is completely out of context as here surrender means in term of pure bhakti where a individual understands nothind except that he is seeing and believing another INDIVIDUAL standing infront of him as GOD.

Surrender is not a separate project but a holistic comprehensive approach,but the very foundation of surrender is complete trust and believe that the person guiding me is the ultimate saviour of me.

Here in BG, Srikrishna is the physical guide or Guru.He is not teaching this as Lord of universe,but AS GURU. After Arjuna has surrendered at Srikrishna saying that I am totally confused about your advices on jnana,karma,samkhya, i am accepting you as my guru and receive me your sisya.

Then the jagatguru bhava was fully manifest in Srikrishna and said whatever i am telling you,follow without any questioning.

So central theme of surrendering is following his instructions and wishes.Now the difficulty is how we can know what is his wish or instructions?
The solution is two types....

1-To listen his words physically.....here only practical solution is GURU ,who is the physical represent of Divine.

2- To perceive the divine wishes in our BODHI...god himself told that he Gives us BUDHHI-YOGA.But its most difficult how to differentiate between the thoughts arising in our Buddhi..wheather its our own or its lords. Here most of the wise also fails,there are numerous example in sastra/purana.Ravana also alleged to lord Rama that whatever he did was the budhhi given by divine to him.

Unless you levelled at a very higher spiritual realm,you can"t perceive the real budhhi yoga given by lord.So practically you have to follow the instruction of your Guru unquestioned.

[MahaHrada]

[QUOTE=anirvan;79604]

As Nayasurya has pointed out,practical and surrendering is complimentary to each.What MAHAHRADA has said is completely out of context as here surrender means in term of pure bhakti where a individual understands nothind except that he is seeing and believing another INDIVIDUAL standing infront of him as GOD.

Surrender is not a separate project but a holistic comprehensive approach,but the very foundation of surrender is complete trust and believe that the person guiding me is the ultimate saviour of me.

Here in BG, Srikrishna is the physical guide or Guru.He is not teaching this as Lord of universe,but AS GURU. After Arjuna has surrendered at Srikrishna saying that I am totally confused about your advices on jnana,karma,samkhya, i am accepting you as my guru and receive me your sisya.

Then the jagatguru bhava was fully manifest in Srikrishna and said whatever i am telling you,follow without any questioning.

So central theme of surrendering is following his instructions and wishes.Now the difficulty is how we can know what is his wish or instructions?
The solution is two types....

1-To listen his words physically.....here only practical solution is GURU ,who is the physical represent of Divine.

2- To perceive the divine wishes in our BODHI...god himself told that he Gives us BUDHHI-YOGA.But its most difficult how to differentiate between the thoughts arising in our Buddhi..wheather its our own or its lords. Here most of the wise also fails,there are numerous example in sastra/purana.Ravana also alleged to lord Rama that whatever he did was the budhhi given by divine to him.

Unless you levelled at a very higher spiritual realm,you can"t perceive the real budhhi yoga given by lord.So practically you have to follow the instruction of your Guru unquestioned.

How can you even understand or notice what is divine and who is a Guru, and what is adharma, if you do not have developed divine qualities yourself?

For what reason do you search for a Guru if not to improve yourself andf realise the divinity within? If you just want to follow orders why not join the army? As long as you have not become divine yourself and acquired knowledge of the self you have no means to recognize Indra even if he stands right besides you, what to say of surrendering? The god of a dog is a stinking bone.

Bhartrihari writes in Niti shatakam:

A dog is not afraid even if Indra, the lord of Gods, is standing by its side, as long as it is devouring a donkey’s bone which might be vermin‐infested,loathsome, saliva‐doused, stinking and flesh‐less. Similarly, a wretch will never pay heed to the unworthiness of his acquisitions.

Those who are devoid of learning, restraint, charity, knowledge, moral conduct, virtue and righteousness are virtually animals living in the garb of men, and burdening the earth.

It is better to wander in the mountain‐caves along with the forest‐dwellers,than to be with conceited fools even in the mansion of Indra, the lord of gods.

[anirvan]

[QUOTE]

How can you even understand or notice what is divine and who is a Guru, and what is adharma, if you do not have developed divine qualities yourself?

Yeah,rightly said so.If you are not in a position to notice divine and guru,and what is adharma,you need to finish your ground work first.What i mean to say is unless have not developed the minimum required divine qualities,scripture has advised to do barnasharama dharma,niskama karma and other virtuous jobs to accumulate sufficient PUNYA to acquire such divine qualities.GURU-KARANA is not for individual in lower spiritual realm.

For what reason do you search for a Guru if not to improve yourself andf realise the divinity within?

its the very reason to improve and self realisation ,we need a GURU.Even whatever you stands today,the underlying reason is those knowledge imparted by a guru.it may be in form of scripture,your teachers and parents.
Every step of our journey from a ignorant infant to self realized brahman,you need that Guru.And the final teacher is for the final step is called Sadguru.

If you just want to follow orders why not join the army? As long as you have not become divine yourself and acquired knowledge of the self you have no means to recognize Indra even if he stands right besides you, what to say of surrendering? The god of a dog is a stinking bone.

You must remember that,only a true wise is truly capable of following the orders of his gur unconditionally and unquestioned.Even in army,if you will not follow the order of your commander,very likely you will be killed in a war or may be court marshalled.

Bhartrihari writes in Niti shatakam:

A dog is not afraid even if Indra, the lord of Gods, is standing by its side, as long as it is devouring a donkey�s bone which might be vermin‐infested,loathsome, saliva‐doused, stinking and flesh‐less. Similarly, a wretch will never pay heed to the unworthiness of his acquisitions.

Definitely truth.A sadguru always reveals his true self to a true seeker after through examination of his capabilities and intention.Till then they behave like a ordinary human.Its the qualities of a disciple which finds out them,sometimes its the MERCIFUL GURU who search and find out the eligible disciple.

Those who are devoid of learning, restraint, charity, knowledge, moral conduct, virtue and righteousness are virtually animals living in the garb of men, and burdening the earth.

This is the teaching of scriptures to follow to be qualified to be disciple.

It is better to wander in the mountain‐caves along with the forest‐dwellers,than to be with conceited fools even in the mansion of Indra, the lord of gods.

Yeah,this the most difficult and testing ime of a seeker and god test his honesty and determination for purpose of truth.In this way,he is hardened for the next difficult path ahead.

[Believer]

Namaste,

10 Hindus = 10 views of every issue.

Surrender = NO quibbling, just saying your piece and letting the OP select what he/she wishes.
Surrender = Following your path and NOT forcing everyone to see God your way and your way only.
Surrender is to the God, and not to the intellect of one of the HDF interpreters of the scriptures.

God may be inside of you, outside of you, both inside and outside of you, may be everywhere, or may be nowhere and may not exist at all.
And if you don't find Him, feel free to go and surrender your weapons to your local sheriff.

Pranam.

[NayaSurya]

Or...and may be post right above me. /\

Hmm...yep.

He did<3

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: A lot of times I notice the dichotomy between a deeper concept and its practicality. "There is only one reality", "we need to surrender to it", 'God is everywhere" and many many more, found in our Upanishads, the Gita, and all over. Rarely, if ever, does scripture actually cover practicality. We are more or less left to fend for ourselves.

It's like deciding to build a house, and to be your own general contractor, and buying an empty lot. Next to the empty lot is an already finished beautiful house. The Upanishadic statements are like the finished house, and you are the guy standing at the empty lot, and somebody points to the completed house and says, "See that. Go build it." You just stare. But in truth there is a method ... the house can get built. It may take several trips to the bank, 27 different subcontractors, and months of headache, but it can get done. But not by staring, or visualisation. Only by hard work.

An angry person confronts you in a store.
A pet dies.
You get frustrated from learning to drive a car.
Noises wake you in the night, breaking your sleep so you're tired and miserable.
You catch the common cold, or worse.

There's a definite gap. I get frustrated at times when I hear only the higher truth being spoken or quoted. I just want to say, "If that's all there is, then write it out on a nice piece of paper, and just give it to the border guard next time you try to cross a border. Since it's reality, it should also serve you well as a passport!"

Aum Namasivaya