Call Out to God - Surrender at His Lotus Feet

Gist: Taking refuge in God, is considering only God as our very own. Thereafter everything will change automatically. Worldly affairs cannot touch us. God is the only One that is always with us. Therefore let us pray to God to remain always at His lotus feet, to provide help and direction. Let us pray for His love and rememberance at all times.

Call Out to God - Surrender at His Lotus Feet

Question: How to surrender entirely to God ? How to bring this inner expression in our lives ?

Swamiji: Just like your daughter who once considered your home as hers, but when she marries and goes to her husband's home, she begins to consider that home as her home. It is the same. We are God's, by considering God as our very own, everything will change automatically thereafter. Is there any doubt about this? Just like when your married daughter who is visiting your house, worries about her husband, whether he has eaten properly. She does not worry about her father having eaten. Her worries about her own husband, make her think about returning back to her own home. Similarly when God is ours, our entire focus will change, it will be on God and not on the world. Worldly matters will no longer worry us or concern us. "Yat gatvaa na nivartante, tat dhaam paramam mama" God's home will become our only home. God will become the only one in our life. Once we reach there, nothing worldly can touch us. After all there is nothing in this world that is ours, nothing goes
with us, isn't that the truth? Absolutely nothing is ours. Now what is false in what I am stating ?

See brothers, God has said "You are part of my very own being" "mameva ansh" "Ishvar ansh jeev avinaashi" "Sau maya bas ..gosaayi" Do not be trapped in the illusory powers (maya), as all of this will surely leave you. Do you have any doubt about everything in this world leaving you? God will never leave you, even in hell, in all the different life forms, wherever you go, God is always with you. Is there anyone else you know who will be with you at all times? Wherever it is you go, he is with you at all times. If you have the courage, confront me and tell me if you know of anyone who will be with you at all times?

Therefore call out to the One and Only. Pray that He always appears sweet to you. Pray that Oh Lord, Let me never forget You. "He Naath, He mere Naath, mein bhooloo nahi." Pray "Let my mind never stray away from You." "Sab per maange ek bal, ram sharan gati ho, jinke man mandir baso, sia ram mangal ho." Pray to God and you will have tremendous gains. Pray to Him, to bless you such that your mind never leaves His lotus feet. Pray "Let me never forget You, let me never forget You, let me feel sad when I forget You." There is nothing more that cleanses like sorrow. All worldly happiness is nothing but on it's way to ending. Therefore grace me such that I do not become happy in favorable times and unhappy in unfavorable times.

Pray that we do not sin. Pray that we do not think we are something special and can do this and that. By getting trapped in attachment, we will incur sin. Therefore call out to God, with a true and simple heart. Say to Him - Oh Lord, " hu haaryo bahu biddhi jatan kari" After trying and trying for a long time, I have failed, I am defeated. I am unable to do this on my own, where can I go for help? Who can help me? What should I do? Where should I go? Try calling out to God. Do this and surely you will gain. Do not have attachment or aversion. There is no gain in it. Have attachment and aversion for only God. Fight with God, enjoy with God, get angry with God, and you will see the magic. Experience the love of God. Remember God at all times. There is no one else that is ours.

Refuge is Being Happy in His Will

Ram Ram

Gist: Attain God - take refuge in Him. It is the easiest - and best path. Only God is ours - no one else is ours. A true devotee has an exclusive relation with only God. Do everything for His happiness. Let everything be His Will. Relation with the world is only for service. Serve everyone. Be only God's. You are only His.

Refuge is Being Happy in His Will

Devotion (Bhakti) is the best and easiest path for the attainment of God and even in devotion 'refuge in God' (sharnagati) tops it all and is the easiest. Gita starts with refuge (Gita 2:7) and ends with refuge (Gita 18:66,73). God says take refuge in Me and I shall liberate you from all sins. Like a chaste wife - her entire life centers and depends on her husband. Even her lineage changes. Similarly, become God's. Take refuge in His Lotus feet. By doing so, our existence does not remain. Only God remains. Even the vilest of sinners are entitled to take refuge in God (Gita 9:30).

Refuge means His exclusive support, where there is no other support. (Like the chaatak bird. Like Mirabai - Only God is mine). This exclusivity is key. Serve all, but be only God's. This path is open to all and available at all times, in any situation or circumstance (whether ascetic or householder) . Only your sentiment and feeling needs to change. A true devotee has an exclusive relation with only God. Most of us accept our relation with God, but do not accept that no one else is ours. That is why we remain bound. One who has taken refuge in God has no concern with fame, praise, money, etc. No desire whatsoever. Only whatever is God's will.

Let all work be for God only (Gita 9:27). We are only concerned with His happiness. We are only His. Only acceptance is needed. I am not the world's. The world is only to serve because it is God's. I am everybody's to serve. He is the Master and I am the servant. Just say yes to His will. No desire of our own. Stay however He keeps you. Remain ever happy in His will. Refuge mean there is no want, no worry, no fear, no doubt, no sorrow. Prahlad never felt scared in the most unfavourable circumstances also. He was thrown in fire, but felt cool and unaffected in it, as He had taken refuge in God.

No effort is needed. Simply acceptance. Like a child who gets adopted by a millionaire has to make no effort to get rich, similarly become God's. No effort is needed to experience bliss - to attain God.

We have to follow His instructions, but we may not imitate Him

The Srimad-Bhagavatam affirms:

naitat samacarej jatu

manasapi hy anisvarah

vinasyaty acaran maudhyad

yatha 'rudro 'bdhi-jam visam

isvaranam vacah satyam

tathaivacaritam kvacit

tesam yat sva-vaco-yuktam

buddhimams tat samacaret

"One should simply follow the instructions of the Lord and His empowered servants. Their instructions are all good for us, and any intelligent person will perform them as instructed. However, one should guard against trying to imitate their actions. One should not try to drink the ocean of poison in imitation of Lord Siva." (Bhag. 10.33.30)

Chapter 3 - TEXT 24
If I should cease to work, then all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would also be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all sentient beings.

Varna-sankara is unwanted population which disturbs the peace of the general society. In order to check this social disturbance, there are prescribed rules and regulations by which the population can automatically become peaceful and organized for spiritual progress in life. When Lord Krsna descends, naturally He deals with such rules and regulations in order to maintain the prestige and necessity of such important performances. The Lord is the father of all living entities, and if the living entities are misguided, indirectly the responsibility goes to the Lord. Therefore, whenever there is general disregard of regulative principles, the Lord Himself descends and corrects the society. We should, however, note carefully that although we have to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, we still have to remember that we cannot imitate Him. Following and imitating are not on the same level. We cannot imitate the Lord by lifting Govardhana Hill, as the Lord did in His childhood. It is impossible for any human being. We have to follow His instructions, but we may not imitate Him at any time.

We should always consider the position of the isvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the isvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Siva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo-devotees of Lord Siva who want to indulge in smoking ganja (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Siva they are calling death very near. Similarly, there are some pseudo-devotees of Lord Krsna who prefer to imitate the Lord in His rasa-lila, or dance of love, forgetting their inability to lift Govardhana Hill. It is best, therefore, that one not try to imitate the powerful, but simply follow their instructions; nor should one try to occupy their posts without qualification. There are so many "incarnations" of God without the power of the Supreme Godhead.