Dr. Rajesh Bhola
India
Aug 16, 2013
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says,
“It takes many births for a soul to know that I am the cause of all
causes and to surrender unto me.” He states in the final chapter of the
Gita, “Discharge your duties in the world…but fix your mind on me. Take
refuge in me and you will overcome all obstacles and enjoy enduring
happiness.” God works through us. While he has given man freedom of
choice, He is the determinant of our lives. Surrender to Him must be
total - involving the body, speech and the mind. We erroneously think
that we are the doers. It is the higher power that does everything, and
man is only a tool. All of us know how little control we actually have
on our lives. We should try to practice letting go, to cultivate a
habit of total surrender - to our mistakes, to life’s fragility, to the
people around us; and complete surrender to things well beyond our
control.
India
Aug 16, 2013
One of
my friends is a Captain of a merchant ship. He took me along on a
journey off the coast of Port Blair. It was a huge ship with tonnes of
load on board. While sitting in his cabin I heard and saw with interest
the advancements made by science and technology in the field of
navigation. After some hours of sailing in the Andaman Sea we crossed
the Great Nicobar Island and entered the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Almost all through the journey my Captain friend was alongside me. When
I asked him who was in control of the ship, he replied that it was
navigating on an ‘auto-pilot’ mode. In our lives we feel that the
steering-wheel (of our lives) is in our hands. We believe that we
ourselves can determine and change the course of our lives. We believe
that we can steer our ship of life and cruise through our journey –
whether in shallow or deep waters, calm waters or high tides. It is not
so…easy.
It
is in our hands to choose between a life that is a willing surrender to
circumstances or one that survives on an ego-driven conflict with
situations and people. We can choose to swim upstream in the rough
waters of a swirling river or flow in comfort along with the current. In
a sense, flowing is like surrendering ourselves to His will. Surrender
is one of the most beautiful experiences that life has to offer, and it
is much more enlightening than we can imagine. It means bowing down
to the divine play and accepting life as it is. It is what liberates us
from our ego and allows us to savour a radically joyful life. Surrender
frees us from any suffering that we are experiencing. The person who can
surrender fully soon realizes that he has discovered paradise on earth.
The experience of letting go - of the need not to be in control of our
life - is such a huge relief. An enormous release occurs the instant we
stop pretending to be the doers, and open our mind to seeing and feeling
the bigger plan that our soul is here for. When we surrender we
discover a deep sense of contentment and peace - and all our inner
battles end.
We
should learn to own the truth - owning up to the fact that we can be
very good at making a mess of things and very bad at admitting it. If we cannot surrender it is because our ego is coming in the way, and ‘protecting’ itself from evolution and enlightenment.
By instinct, in our early childhood, we feel ourselves safe in the
hands of our parents and elders; but as we start growing in age we
create our own sense of insecurity, which becomes a roadblock in the way
of enlightenment. It is only through relinquishing the need to control,
defend, manipulate and protect the self that we can find true and total
freedom at a deep soul level. Where is the need for control, when we
are at His command for everything that happens in our lives? A ‘Shabad’
says it very beautifully: Hoekeme andar sab ko baahar hoekam na koye (Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command.)
So much happens in our lives without us being conscious of it – like when we inhale or exhale. A
complete surrender to Higher Wisdom or God means giving up all thoughts
and concentrating the mind on Him. Surrender is the ultimate act of
faith. Surrender means we should become completely non-existent, letting
God’s will prevail. This way, the death of the ego brings about a state
that is called oneness with higher consciousness. Let us have faith in
the world around us, the people around us - and faith in some Higher
Force in the world. I call it Higher Wisdom.
Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President
of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children
with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple
disabilities for more than 20 years
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