Ramana Maharshi About Ananya Saranagathi(Surrender)

[Guest guest]

Letter 109

 

10th April, 1947

 

This morning, an Andhra youth handed over a letter to Bhagavan in which it

was written: “Swamiji! They say that one can obtain everything if one takes

refuge in God wholly and solely, and without thought of any other. Does it

mean sitting still at one place, and contemplating God entirely at all

times, discarding all thoughts, including even about food which is essential

for the sustenance of the body? Does it mean that when one gets ill, one

should not think of medicine and treatment, but entrust one’s health or

sickness exclusively to Providence? From the definition of sthitha prajna

given in Gita, (II:71):

 

The man who sheds all longing and moves without concern, free from the sense

of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, he attains peace.

 

“It means the discarding of all desires. Therefore should we devote

ourselves exclusively to the contemplation of God, and accept food, water,

etc. only if they are available by God’s grace, without asking for them? Or

does it mean that we should make a little effort? Bhagavan! Please explain

the secret of this saranagathi.â€

 

Bhagavan saw that letter leisurely and told the people near him: “Look!

‘Ananya

saranagathi’ means to be without any attachment of thoughts, no doubt, but

does it mean to discard thoughts even of food and water, etc., which are

essential for the sustenance of the physical body? He asks, ‘should I eat

only if I get anything by God’s direction, and without my asking for it? Or

should I make a little effort?’ All right! Let us take it that what we have

to eat comes of its own accord. But even then, who is to eat? Suppose

somebody puts it in our mouth, should we not swallow it, at least? Is that

not an effort? He asked, ‘If I become sick, should I take medicine or should

I keep quiet leaving my health and sickness in the hands of God?’

 

‘Kshudvyadeh aaharam’, it is said. There are two meanings to this. One is,

since kshuth, i.e. hunger, is also like sickness, so for the sickness called

hunger, the medicine called food must be given; the other is: like medicine

for vyadhi (sickness), food for kshuth (hunger) must be given.

 

In the book Sadhana Panchaka written by Sankara, it is stated,

kshudvyadhischa chikitsyatam pratidinam bhikshoushadham bhudyatam’. It

means, for treatment of the disease called hunger, eat food received as

alms. But then, one must at least go out for bhiksha. If all people close

their eyes and sit still saying if the food comes, we eat, how is the world

to get on? Hence one must take things as they come in accordance with one’s

traditions and must be free from the feeling that one is doing them oneself.

The feeling that I am doing it is bondage. It is therefore necessary to

consider and find out the method whereby such a feeling can be overcome,

instead of doubting as to whether medicine should be administered if one is

sick or whether food should be taken if one is hungry; such doubts will

continue to come up and will never end. Even such doubts as, ‘May I groan if

there is pain? May I inhale air after exhaling?’ also occur.

 

Call it Ishwara or call it karma — some Karta will carry on everything in

this world according to the development of the mind of each individual. If

the responsibility is thrown on him (the Karta), things will go on of their

own accord.

 

“We walk on this ground. While doing so, do we consider at every step

whether we should raise one leg after the other or stop at some stage? Isn’t

the walking done automatically? The same is the case with inhaling and

exhaling; no special effort is made to inhale or exhale. The same is the

case with this life also. Can we give up anything if we want to or do

anything as we please? Quite a number of things are done automatically

without our being conscious of it.Complete surrender to God means giving up

all thoughts and concentrating the mind on Him. If we can concentrate on

Him, other thoughts disappear. If mano-vak-kaya karmas, i.e., the actions of

the mind, speech and body are merged with God, all the burdens of our life

will be on Him. Lord Krishna told Arjuna in the Gita: (IX:22)

 

To those men who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those ever

harmonious, I bring full security and attend to their needs.

 

“Arjuna had to do the fighting. So Krishna said, ‘Place all the burden on

Me, do your duty; you are merely an instrument. I will see to everything.

Nothing will bother you.’ But then, before one surrenders to God, one should

know who it is that surrenders. Unless all thoughts are given up there can’t

be surrender. When there are no thoughts at all, what remains is only the

Self. So surrender will only be to one’s Self. If surrender is in terms of

bhakti, the burden should be thrown on God, and if it is in terms of karma,

karma should be performed until one knows one’s own Self. The result is the

same in either case.

 

Surrender means to enquire and know about one’s own Self and then remain in

the Self. What is there apart from the Self?â€

 

That young man said, “What is the path by which it can be known?â€

 

Bhagavan replied: “In the Gita several paths are indicated. You are asked to

do dhyana. If you are not able to do it, then bhakti or yoga or nishkama

karma. Many more have been indicated. And one of the paths must be

followed. One’s own self is always there. Things happen automatically in

accordance with the samskaras (the fruits of the actions of previous

births).

 

“The feeling that the doer is ‘I’ is itself bondage. If the feeling is got

rid of by vichara, these questions do not arise.

 

Saranagathi is not the mere act of sitting with closed eyes. If all sit like

that, how are they to get on in this world?†While Bhagavan was speaking the

bell of the dining hall rang.

 

“There goes the bell; should we not go?†So saying with a smile, Bhagavan

got up.

 

Sources:

1) Letters from Sri Ramanasramam by Suri Nagamma

2) http://suri-nagamma.blogspot.com/2007/07/letter-109.html

 

--

à°“à°‚ నమో భగవతే à°¶à±à°°à±€ రమణాయ

à°ªà±à°°à°¶à°¾à°‚తౠజలసూతà±à°°à°‚

à°ªà±à°°à±‡à°®à±‡ శాశà±à°µà°¤à°®à±