SURRENDER IS A MATTER OF HEART

A state of circumstantial surrender is when whatever is happening your life doesn't make much sense and you feel like you have no choice but to accept it as a will of God. This may sound very despondent & sad to some & very fatalistic too.

Surrender doesn't mean you do not take any action. You have to work to reach your goal. You learn to sincerely pray when things go unexpectedly bad- that is the magic of surrender. In real surrender, you let go of your feverishness and act out of gratitude.

In the West, surrendering to somebody is seen as a sign of weakness whereas in the Eastern part of the world, surrendering to the Guru or the master is seen as sign of great strength and courage.

As a child I visited many religious and holy places like Vrindavan, Mathura, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Lotus Temple, Jama Masjid and local Church in my area. My parents taught to respect all religions equally. I understood quite early that all religions wish for peace and harmony amongst people. Humanity is above religion. But the concept of surrender, of having a guru was new to me at that time. We didn't have a family guru and growing up in a metro like Delhi I was never exposed to any traditional Gurukul system that we have in India.

The Art of Living Happiness program which I did reluctantly after being pushed by my mother, who gravely thought I needed peace of mind when I was just nine-TEEN, opened up another dimension in my life. The Spiritual dimension. Here I was exposed to concepts of faith and surrender. 

I remember very vividly, the last day of the course when our teacher told us the meaning of 'Jai Guru Dev', I was still hesitant to say those words. As a rebellious teenager, I did not want to be a part of some cult or blindly follow a guru I have never even met but I loved doing Sudarshan Kriya and yoga. I felt peace and joy that I had never felt before and decided to continue my spiritual practice or 'Sadhana' as we call it in hindi. 

My Sadhna was a private matter during college, I never spoke about it to my friends for the fear of being laughed at or ridiculed for blindly following a guru I have never even spoken to. However my friends were aware that I followed the Art of Living and did some yoga in the morning everyday. Unknowingly, my dedication to yoga and the spiritual practices bought me closer to the Guru.

When I met Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji for the first time, I was scared, skeptical and totally confused about my feelings for him. I liked Yoga and Sudarshan Kriya but I wasn't sure if I would follow him or like him as a person, as I had never interacted with any spiritual guru in my life. 

So one lazy saturday afternoon when I finally got to meet him after two years of doing the Happiness program, I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. His presence was so calming and loving that I felt tears rolling down my cheeks for reasons I didn't know at that time. This was the first time I had cried without any reason, without any pain or scoldings. This was something beyond my intellectual understanding. 

The meeting was short, I did'nt say a word but felt so deeply connected to him. Something had opened up in my heart. I felt light and joyful. I felt taken care of and connected, a faith started developing that gave me strength to deal with challenging situations. I started remembering Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji every time I was in trouble. The words 'Jai Guru Dev' suddenly didn't seem so strange.  

I realised that Guru is not just the physical body but an embodiment of wisdom and love. I felt surrendered in my heart to the universal knowledge, to the human values of caring and sharing and to the vision of one world family.

Surrender elevates you. It has been the basis of Gurukul system in India where the disciple had to leave his parents house to stay in ashram and study scriptures. This great lineage of the Vedic masters/ Gurus has been followed since time immemorial in India.

Copyright @ Kannu Priya