SARANAAGATHI - Surrender to the Divine - leaving everything to His Will is the highest form of Bhakthi

SARANAAGATHI
(Surrender to the Divine)

SARANAAGATHI: leaving everything to His Will is the highest form of Bhakthi.

the easiest path to self-realisation is the surrender of ego; Saranaagathi.

When you accept and when you believe that the divine is present in every human being and in every living thing, that Divinity is Omnipresent then only can you understand the meaning of saying surrendering in thought, word and you will also become one with God. There is some justification in your talking of Saranaagathi or surrender, when you are fully in control of your mind, fully in control of your word and fully in control of your body. As soon as you are able to recognise the aspect of omnipresence of God and the aspect of omnipotence of God, then the feeling of ego, the feeling that there is an "I" which is distinct thing, will disappear.

Three types of Saranagathi: Thamaivaaam (I am Thine), Mamaiva-thwam (You are mine) Thwame-Vaaham (Thou art I). The first affirms I am Yours; the second asserts, You are mine and the third declares, You and I are One, the Same. Each is just a step in the rising series and the last is the highest step of all. In the first stage, Tham-eva-aham, the Lord is fully free and Devotee is fully bound (it is like the cat & the kitten). The cat shifts the kitten about as it wills; the kitten just mews and accepts whatever happens. This attitude is very gentle and is within easy reach of all.

In the second, Mama-eva-thwam, the devotee binds theLord, who is to that extent un-free! Surdas is a good example of this attitude. "Krishna! you may escape from my hold, from the clasp of these arms; but you cannot escape from my heart I have bound You", challenged the Lord just smiled and assented; for 'I am bound by My devotees'. The devotee can tie up the Lord with his Prema, by Bhakthi that overwhelms and overpowers his egoism. When man is full of this type of Bhakthi, the Lord will Himself bless with everything he needs; His Grace will fulfil all his wants.

Remember the promise the Lord made in the Githa 'Yogakshemam Vahaaamyaham', "I carry the burden of his welfare".

Next about the third stage: "Thwamevaaham ithi thridhaa"; this is the Avibhaktha - Bhakthi, the inseparable devotion. The devotee offers all to the Lord, including himself, for he feels that he cannot withhold himself. That completes his surrender. The thwa-me-vaaham feeling is the Adwaithic Saranagathi, based on the realisation that all this ('Idam') is Vasudeva and nothing else, nothing else. So long as the consciousness of the Deha or body persists, the bhaktha is the servant and the Lord is the Master. So long as the individual feels that he is separate from other individuals, the bhaktha is a part and the Lord is the Whole. When he progresses to the State when he gets beyond the limits of the body

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as well as of 'I' and 'Mine', then there is no more distinction; Bhaktha and Bhagaavan are the same. In Ramayana, Hanuman, achieved this third stage through bhakthi.

The Gita does not intend that you should pluck a leaf or flower or a fruit from some plant or tree and place it before God. Nor does it ask you to bring water from a well or river or the road-side tap. The leaf is your own body, which like the leaf, sprouts green, fades and finally falls off from the branch. The flower is the Heart freed from the insect pests of Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride, Hate, etc. The fruit is the mind, the consequence of its yearning, which has to be dedicated to God, the water is the stream of tears that flow from the eyes when one is in ecstatic Bliss at the contemplation of God's Glory. Giving these four is the real act of surrender, Saranagathi. The offering of leaves or flowers or fruits or river water is at best a way of helping the plant or tree or river to secure a little merit.

It is the mind that builds up the body, strong and shiny, or wastes it to skin and bone. For Manushya to be strong, the manas has to be strong. Live always as the servant of the Lord within you, then you will not be tempted into sin or. fall into evil. Get into the habit of living in the light of God. It is the habit that rehabilitates the fallen. Have the attitude of Saranagathi, or else your destiny will be Sara-gathi. -Sai Baba

Source: (S.S.S. Vol. IV - p. 120),(S.S.B. 1972 - p. 102/103),(G.V. - p. 20/21),(S.S.S. Vol. VIII - p. 157),(S.S.S. Vol. II - p. 77) (See-Obstacle, Responsibility).