Surrender....

mana krama vachana chhamri chaturai bhajatahim kripa karahim raghurai

(Ramayana)

The Ramayana states, "It is only through complete surrender, that one can attain Grace and be liberated from the bondage of Maya." All this scriptural evidence implies that we must surrender to god. God's Grace is dependent upon surrender. All those souls who surrendered to him, attained their supreme ultimate goal of Divine Bliss, whereas those who chose not to, have remained deprived of His Grace revolving in the 8.4 million species of life governed by time, destiny, their own natures and the three modes of maya, the gunas.

Phirata sada maya kara prera, kala karma svabhava guna ghera

(Ramayana)

Now a quetion likely to arie is that, the act of doing something in order to attain God's Grace, is like a wordly business transaction of give and take. but to hold such a view is naive, because surrender actually means coming to a state of doing nothing. As long as a newborn baby does nothing, the mother does everything foe it. when the child starts doing something, the mother lessens her responsibilities to the same extent. when the child begins to do everything, then the mother does nothing. This example fully explains what surrender is. As long as we suffer from the ego of being doers, we will remain bound by the fruit of our actions because we will be considered the doers of our actions. The moment the feeling of doership ends, we will become 'non-doers' and God will personally take care of all our needs and protect whatever we have for eternity.

tesham nityabhiyuktanam yogakshemam vahamyaham

(Gita 9.22)

Therefore, if by surrender i.e. doing nothing, one attain freedom from maya, freedom from its three modes, gunas, the three types of consequences of actions, trikarma, the three afflictions, tritapa, the five sheaths, panchakosha. etc. and simultaneously attains Supreme Bliss and Everlasting Peace, what greater Grace could there possibly be?

If we had done something and received God's Grace in return an objection could have been raised that we had to do something to receive His Grace. But since we attain everything just by doing nothing i.e. complete surrender, this is only His Causeless Mercy. what effort is required of us in letting go off everything?

Understand this with an example: As long as a bird has a piece of food in its beak, it is noisily pursued by other birds and does not get a momen's peace. The moment the bird lets go off the piece of food, it attains peace immediately because the other birds now leave it alone. However, even if one lets go off everything and surrenders to God, it cannot be the price, for His Grace. This is because what God gives is divine, unlimited and perfect, and what we let go off is material, limited and defective. Besides, of what ue are material things to God?

Let us look at an example from the Mahabharata. Draupadi,the wife of the Pandavas was being insulted openly in court by being stripped off her clothing by Duhshasana. Initially, Draupadi had faith that her mighty husbands would save her. when they did not respond to her entreatie, she turned to the elders in the assembly - Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Vidura, Bhishma, etc. who were authorities on religious principles. when she saw no help coming from them either, she tried to protect herself and clenched her sari between her teeth. Lord Krishna still did not come to her help. when Duhshasana pulled her sari with a jerk, she lost hold of it, and was totally helpless. now, she surrendered herself completely to Lord Krishna. In other words, she came to a state of doing nothing. It was only when she ceased to expect protection from elsewhere, that she was protected by Him. The Lord states in the Gita,

Sarvadharman parityajya mamekam sharanam vraja

(Gita 18.66)

" Abandon all kinds of righteous and unrighteous actions and surrender to Me, then I will forgive all your sins of uncountable past lifetimes." God who acts as a judge dispensing justice for all becomes merciful for those who surrender to Him. In the material world, If a criminal surrenders to the law, the court still punishes him for his past crimes. However, God is so merciful, the moment a soul surrenders to Him completely, He forgives him i.e. He liberates him from the bondage of countless lifetimes of good and bad deeds and also betows the Ultimates Bliss upon that soul. In addition, He takes care of his needs and protect whatever he has for eternity. Is this not Causeless Grace? Even an ignornant person will agree to this. Now this should put an end to the question whether God requires 'something' as a price in return for His Grace.

If a cloth merchant upplies a dress free of cost for your daughter's wedding, he is being really kind. If a washerman were to clean your clothes and not charge you for it, we would say that he has done you a favour, even though the clothes could become dirty again. when God purifies your mind, it never becomes impure again. when a woman marries, she automatically becomes an equal owner of her husband's property. Similarly, when you surrender to God, you automatically acquire His unlimited Knowledge, Bliss and Love...