Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Ammachi, superblu7@a... wrote: > What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? > I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... Somwehere in the book "From Amma's Heart", which is a terrific collection of Q&A with Amma, it is deduced (and Amma concurs and elaborates on it too) that 'to surrender' means 'to live in the present'. If the word surrender reminds you of being captured or of being humiliated and/or giving in, that is not what it means. It means to not live in the past (traumas of the past etc), or the future (dreams of a great rosy future). It means, that every waking moment, live in the present. SURRENDER then means to "give up" the tendency of the mind to dwell in the past or the future, and live in the present. Please read the book, and meditate on the statements there (most important aspect); it will give you far better answers than I or others can expound here. Jai Ma! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Hi Dana, Great question. I think you will get a variety of responses which is great. For me, surrendering to Amma means many different things. The main way I try to demonstrate my surrender is to bring as much discipline as I can into my daily spiritual practices. Everyday, I try to do the IAM meditation, the 108 names, the 1,000 names, japa, etc. Singing bhajans are another great way to calm my emotions and help me feel connected to Her grace. I also try to go to as many of the local satsang groups here in DC as I can. I can't seem to control my mind and emotions too much, but I can control my actions and do the sadhana that Amma asks me to do. As for the inner surrender of giving up all my negative thoughts and emotions, all I can do is pray for Amma's grace to take them away. My feeling is that Amma's grace will come quicker if I'm disciplined in my sadhana and do it without expectations. My experience is that having Amma as my spiritual Master is not always easy. She is bringing a lot of my negative tendencies to the surface where I have no choice but to see them directly. Sometimes its really painful! But it seems the more I can hold them in clear and loving awareness, the more they dissolve. Spending as much time as I can with other Amma devotees also helps a lot. May Amma's loving arms enfold us all, Advait superblu7 wrote: >What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? >I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... >I found this peice of writing to be very touching, and I see myself as >sitting on the riverbank, seeing the river (Amma) but not plunging in, feeling >afraid sometimes, sometimes wanting to run away, and sometimes feeling the cool >breeze and touching the water with my toes. Looking at her beauty, loning >for her, and then feeling like it is too much and pushing her away. I still >feel very afraid. I have so many attachments, and my heart gets broken. I >don't consistently pray or do my duties. My thoughts get muddled and I become a >slave to my mind, and my heart hurts...really badly. My heart feels a pool >of pain and sorrow and I want to surrender all of that to Amma. How do I do >it? > >Thank you, blessings, may we all be held in Mothers arms, >Dana > > > >Surrender makes you silent. Surrender destroys the ego, and helps you to >experience your >nothingness and God's omniscience. Once you know that you are nothing, that >you are >totally ignorant, then you have nothing to say. You have only unconditional >and undivided >faith; you can only bow down in utmost humility. In order to really know, >one should be >humble. The ego and real knowledge are not compatible. Humility is a sign of >true >knowledge. > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! > Links > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 During the Sam Ramon retreat, someone gave a talk about surrender to Amma. Three of the points I remember hearing were: 1) To think of Amma before starting an activity. 2) Do our best to incorporate Her teachings into our lives. 3) Put everything at Her feet. superblu7 wrote: What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Namah Shivaya, I like that! This is good for me to remember. Dawn --- manoj_menon <ammasmon wrote: > SURRENDER then means to "give up" the tendency of > the mind to dwell in the past or the future, and live in the present. > > Jai Ma! > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 >> > What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? >> > I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... > > Some years ago while in the temple at Amma Center in MI, I watched an Indian > mother bow to the alter and gently but firmly push her toddler into a bow. As > a Westerner, this really caught my attention and I began reflecting on what it > means and noticing when other Indian parents did it. I think it is a great > blessing for a child to be taught this so early, and I pray that my own Amma > will teach the little child inside of this older body to surrender in this way > and every other way. > > Aum Amriteshvaryai Namah > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Namah Shivayah I was struck at MI programs this time, when I sat near the side of the stage. Lots of young boys would walk around and horseplay, but as soon as any swami came from the side door, the boys would immediately get up from their own chairs and offer Swami to sit. They would all touch his feet and quit the horseplay and sit quietly. It struck me too. I think that, for me, surrender comes from a place of deep respect and trust. It literally feels like a letting go, a sinking down into a soft comfortable pillow, a release of all tension. Sometimes, when we are children, we do not want to do as our mother tells us -- we want cookies and candies for dinner, and we want to stay up all night playing, and we want to skip school and play instead. Eventually as we grow older and wiser, we realize that Mother is right to push us. However, when we grow older and wiser still, we realize that it is not Mother who has changed, it is our own little selves that have just now caught up. Jai Ma With love, Erica > > > > Some years ago while in the temple at Amma Center in MI, I watched an Indian > > mother bow to the alter and gently but firmly push her toddler into a bow. As > > a Westerner, this really caught my attention and I began reflecting on what it > > means and noticing when other Indian parents did it. I think it is a great > > blessing for a child to be taught this so early, and I pray that my own Amma > > will teach the little child inside of this older body to surrender in this way > > and every other way. > > > > Aum Amriteshvaryai Namah > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Ammachi, superblu7@a... wrote: > What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? It must look different for everyone, and different for the same person, at different times. > I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... > I found this peice of writing to be very touching, and I see myself as > sitting on the riverbank, seeing the river (Amma) but not plunging in, feeling > afraid sometimes, sometimes wanting to run away, and sometimes feeling the cool > breeze and touching the water with my toes. I feel like I've plunged in, but am still sometimes struggling against the current. still sometimes afraid to be still and let the river (Amma) carry me. I had a really intense experience in MIchigan. The first night there, I prayed to experience Amma's true nature...and, well...be careful what you pray for, because you never know what will happen! Although I'd registered this intellectually, I didn't truly *get it* that asking to experience Amma's true nature is also asking to experience the true nature of the Self. Every year, I've started to naively think that perhaps I'm beginning to understand something about Amma...and every time I'm with Her, I realize what I see is only the tip of the (infinite) iceberg. An unusual thing happened this year, in Michigan. I was almost unable to physically see Her. Her energy was so strong for me that it actually obscured Her physical presence, for me. Although I love singing bhajans, I couldn't sing this time. Every time the bhajans would start, I would fall into a deep meditation. Although my eyes were closed, I was so attuned to Amma's energy. Every so often, my body would get a jolt and rise up, and my friend sitting next to me later told me that these movements perfectly corresponded with the times that Amma threw Her arms up in the air, as She sang. Throughout the retreat, my concepts of Amma (and myself) began to fall away, one by one, until I was left, on Devi Bhava night, with absolutely *no* idea or form to which my mind could cling. I have never felt such fright in my life, especially when She arranged it so that I had to spend most of the night by myself. Simultaneously, I couldn't tear myself away from Her, and, yet, there was no "I" and no "Her." Nothing, and everything, just *was*. I realized how afraid I was to be alone, in pure consciousness, where there was no specific thing onto which my mind could grasp. I cried that night, before Her, for hours. I felt like I was dying. I felt my ego, my individual consciousness dissolving, and... I began to understand why so many traditions speak of G-d being veiled, because most people would not be able to look upon G-d and live...or at least and not go insane! ;-) I wasn't planning to ask Her any questions this time, but I was so overwhelmed by fear that I wrote Her a note, and gave it to Her, when my husband and I went up for darshan, basically saying, "I'm scared. How do I go on?" Dayamrita Swami had me stand behind Her for more than half an hour, while I waited for Her answer to my question. Finally, he turned to me, and said, "Amma says, 'Don't worry.' She says, 'Be spontaneous.'" At first, I thought to myself, "What? That's it? That's *all* She has to say to me?!?!" I noticed a spot on the stage next to a friend, just behind Amma's chair, and I sat there for awhile, and reflected. I realized that I was starting to feel an increasing, deepening sense of peace. She was telling me to trust Her, to trust my Self, to trust this process, to go with the flow...and, really, to be still, and let Her carry me, to the ocean of pure consciousness. It's been a gradual process, letting go of this fear...but during this week, I've felt my experience shift from a place of darkness and turbulence to a place of light and peace. But, oh my goodness...how exhausting was all of that struggle?!? ;-) Afterward, I wondered...what next? How do I integrate this experience? Is this just some peak event that will fade away and be forgotten? Or will I go deeper? But I think whoever posted those words of wisdom about surrender meaning to exist in the present is right on! Floating along in Amma, Iswari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Thanks for writing that. Bedtime here, but two quick thoughts: "Surrender means not insisting that things happen any particular way." Read "Collision With the Infinite: A Life Beyond the Personal Self" by Suzanne Segal. Fascinating account of someone experiencing great fear due to loss of self prior to full awakening. on 12/3/04 9:53 PM, ammasiswari at ammasiswari wrote: > > > Ammachi, superblu7@a... wrote: >> What does it really mean to surrender to Amma? what does that look like? > > It must look different for everyone, and different for the same person, at > different times. > >> I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this... >> I found this peice of writing to be very touching, and I see myself as >> sitting on the riverbank, seeing the river (Amma) but not plunging in, >> feeling >> afraid sometimes, sometimes wanting to run away, and sometimes feeling the >> cool >> breeze and touching the water with my toes. > > I feel like I've plunged in, but am still sometimes struggling against the > current. still > sometimes afraid to be still and let the river (Amma) carry me. I had a really > intense > experience in MIchigan. snip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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