Surrender to God is accepting the Will of God as best for us and living in accordance with His Will. We give up our own will and synchronize our thoughts, ideas and action to the will of God. Every single being in the Universe surrenders to God at some point of time or the other. We are forced to surrender to God when age and sickness take over and the physical body dies. This is involuntary surrender. There are countless others who surrender voluntarily to God while still alive. When we surrender to God when we are physically alive, we acknowledge the greatness of the Divine Power which is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the Universe. We accept that God made us and He sustains us and He is the power which shapes and forms our lives and entirety of our being. We have experience of the stupendous power of Divinity and we bow before that power with love and reverence. We know and accept that we belong to God and we are His in all ways. Hence we live our lives in accordance with His Will. There is no fear or resistance in this bowing down to God.
Surrender is a complete annihilation of the lower self to the Higher Self. Enlightenment or salvation is a gift from God. So is Grace. Surrender is also a mighty gift from God. We may want to surrender to God very much but we cannot will it. It is given to us as a gift from Divinity. And like enlightenment and grace, we have to accept/consent to accept the gift of surrender also. There is an instant result of accepting this great gift. Our lives transform. There is great peace and no double talk in our mind. We are able to do our duties effortlessly and more efficiently as we become instruments of Divinity.
When Arjun went to the battlefield of Kurukshetra with Sri Krishna, there were doubts in his mind regarding the war. He wanted to give up the very idea of killing his own relatives and friends and live as a monk. Sri Krishna gave him the wisdom of Bhagwad Geeta to calm and soothe his mind. It was only after Arjun saw the Vishwa Roop or the Universal form of Sri Krishna, he was able to surrender wholly to the Lord. Then he became a flawless instrument at the hands of the Lord. He was matchless in his skills as a fighting machine and annihilated all those who were on the path of adharma or evil. He did his duty as a kshtriya or warrior prince to the highest possible perfection. All his thoughts and actions flowed effortlessly to match the will of Sri Krishna. This is a lesson for those of us who think that surrender to God means losing out on efficiency and performance and becoming a mindless and useless puppet in the hands of Guru or God. We do not want to surrender as we are far too attached to our wealth, qualifications, power, possessions, ego, our personal identity and thoughts. We must understand that when we surrender to God, we let the divine grace wash away the turmoil in our thoughts and our will and being is aligned with the Greatest Force in the Universe. From that moment onwards, we give our best output in any work we do.
There is a difference is surrender and submission. When we submit to God or Guru or any authority, there is a hesitation in our being. There is an inner resistance to giving in and the yielding is only superficial. There is a feeling of reservation, of anger, of doubt and of non acceptance. Surrender is effortless giving-in to the Will of Divinity. There are no reservations in self at all. Surrender is done in great love. Submission is done where there is no choice and any fear of punishment or repercussions. We submit to the authority of Government, brutal force, parents, etc. This is partial acceptance and we are conflicted within.
Surrender to God and Guru brings about inner peace, joy and serenity. We rise to the highest levels of quality of life and performance. We live truly only after we surrender to God. Let us prepare ourselves by spiritual practices, mantra japa and meditation and other teachings for the day when this marvellous gift will be bestowed on us and we can accept it wholeheartedly and live our lives to the fullest.
