On face value, surrender sounds like a horrible thing. It reminds us of the surrender of Germany when the allied forces bombed Berlin while the Russian Army marched in with millions of soldiers. It reminds us of the surrender of Japan, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. But when Krishna asks us in the Bhagavad Gita to abandon all varieties of religions and just surrender unto Him, it’s not like the German or Japanese surrender.
Of course, ultimately we all surrender to God in the form of death, but nobody likes to surrender to death. The surrender which Krishna and all great saints talk about is the most beautiful experience and the most wonderful concept in all creation. It means to genuinely offer our love to God. “I am yours. How can I please you? Let me live a vibrant dynamic life and let me use all my creative abilities, my intelligence, my wealth, and whatever I have, as an expression of my love for you, by helping all others. Not selfishly, but with compassion.” That is surrender.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very well said. Thank you Radhanath Swami.
ReplyDeleteSurrender also can be beautiful...hard to believe but true since God is omnicient. Thank you Radhanath swami for this truth
ReplyDeleteSurrender to God becomes very sweet, easy & the most beautiful experience of our lives if we seek the shelter of a bonafide guru like Radhanath Swami who is a surrendered soul possessing all spiritual qualities.
ReplyDeleteSuch deep love leads to such sweet surrender. Otherwise, the mystery of surrender will continue to elude us.
ReplyDeleteIn this selfish, materialistic & chaotic society, only surrender to God under the guidance of a guru like Radhanath Swami can make our lives meaningful & beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSurrender to God is not like surrendering to an enemy or to someone when there is no other coarse left and as a last choice. Radhanath Swami so nicely explains that surrender means to offer all that we have to God for His pleasure and as an expression of our love for Him.
ReplyDeleteIncredibly clear and yet deep! It makes us embrace surrender.
ReplyDeleteWithout surrender, we cannot receive the full mercy & protection from God. Therefore, as Radhanath Swami says, this surrender to God is absolutely in our own interest & is not at all demeaning to our existence. Rather, it becomes a very beautiful & enrichening experience.
ReplyDeleteVery clear, concise and practical description of a difficult concept. Thank you Radhanath Maharaj.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this the fear of surrender is going away. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteOnly the great souls who are fully surrendered to God like Radhanath Swamy Maharaj can give such a wonderful definition for surrender. Thank You Maharaj for this wonderful definition on surrender.
ReplyDeleteRadhanath swami also says that "Surrender means to do anything at anytime without desire or expectation". Very powerful and sublime.
ReplyDeleteActually when Radhanath Swami talks of surrender in the spiritual terms, he basically wants us to surrender all our propensities to engage in various material sense gratification & instead replace these with a desire to perform devotional service for the pleasure of God.
ReplyDeleteThe word 'Surrender' in English brings out great amount of fear and apprehension. However Radhanath Swami has explained this word in such wonderful way keeping in mind the sanskrit word 'Sharanam', that it drives away all fear.
ReplyDeleteIn the English language there is only one word which means surrender i.e. the word surrender itself. This sounds as Radhanath swami says, 'like a horrible thing'. The original sanskrit on the other hand, the language of the Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic scriptures uses the word 'saranagati' which 'is the most beautiful experience and the most wonderful concept in all creation.' Thank you Radhanath Swami for explaining this vital difference.
ReplyDeleteMaharaj says to surrender in love is the true essence of surrender.It is the whole-hearted giving away of oneself to the supreme will of the Lord out of compassion not fear.
ReplyDeleteRadhanath swami' realization on spiritual life are amazing and I hope one dayto come neat to those standards
ReplyDeleteThe natural resistence we have for the word "Surrender" because of our false ego will disappear if we understand what Maharaj is saying
ReplyDeleteSuch demystifying explanations of simple yet profound concepts like 'surrender' is a great gift to humanity. Thank you
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful definition of surrender by Radhanath Swami, makes our heart yearn to surrender to the Lord.
ReplyDeleteOne can not surrender to God unless one surrenders to his spiritual master. Spiritual masters like Radhanath Swami are taking all the pains for people like me, so that one day we can realize that this material world is not a place for picnic, but for purifying our existence by taking shelter of saints like him.
ReplyDelete