Five Steps On The Ascending Scale Of Vitality In Surrender To Krishna

“’O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.’ Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

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यदि शक्नोषि गच्छ त्वम् अतिचञ्चलचेष्टित
इत्य् उक्त्वा च निजं कर्म सा चकार कुटुम्बिनी

yadi śaknoṣi gaccha tvam aticañcalaceṣṭita
ity uktvā ca nijaṃ karma sā cakāra kuṭumbinī

Surrender. That is the conclusion. Of Bhagavad-gita. Of one of the most revered texts of the Vedic tradition. Of any popular religion, for that matter. Find this higher power. Identify a Supreme Being. Refer to that force with a specific name. Think of it. Contemplate it. Remember it. Surrender everything to it. Proclaim your allegiance. Say it loud. Say it without shame.

But what exactly does that mean? How does the surrender manifest? What does life in surrender look like? How is it different from a life in defiance, in obstinance, in contravening every standard set for the mature human being?

Every person has a past. Every notable figure starts somewhere. In the United States, one of the more popular presidents of the last century essentially got their start from a television address. That is when the public first took notice. This person was endorsing another candidate in the upcoming presidential election. This was their first time on the national political stage, and one of the issues they addressed was surrender. They described how easy surrender could happen. You simply give up. You let the other side win. Then, there are no wars. Peace will follow, but is it really peace? Especially if the aggressors are the antagonists. If the people fighting want to usurp property that does not belong to them. Is it the wise move to surrender, then, to create a peace that exists only in name?

Bhagavad-gita concludes with a call to surrender. Does that signal the end to activity? Is the student in that case, the bow-warrior named Arjuna, supposed to stop moving? Is the party being surrendered to, in that case the all-attractive and divine Shri Krishna, supposed to then take over everything?

What is the difference between surrender and giving up? Is there a difference? To help us understand, we travel through the following steps in the hypothetical sense. In each succeeding step, we increase the level of activity, of alertness. With every turn of the knob of configuration, so to speak, we assess where the principle of surrender lies.

1. I am too afraid

This is a dangerous world, after all. Shrimad Bhagavatam confirms this. That sacred text refers to God as Mukunda, which means a person who can grant mukti, which is liberation. Mukunda is on the other side of the danger. At every step I can face a debilitating attack from others, from myself, or from the heavens. With the assistance of Mukunda, this vast place of suffering, which is like an ocean, shrinks to the size of a print left by a calf.

समाश्रिता ये पदपल्लवप्लवं
महत्पदं पुण्ययशो मुरारे:
भवाम्बुधिर्वत्सपदं परं पदं
पदं पदं यद् विपदां न तेषाम्

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Mukunda or the giver of mukti, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoofprint. Param padam, or the place where there are no material miseries, or Vaikuntha, is his goal, not the place where there is danger in every step of life.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.14.58)

2. You go ahead and take care of everything for me

In the previous step, I am too afraid to even do anything. In this next step, I acknowledge that someone else is available. They are the Supreme Being, in fact. They can handle everything. I have the option to work or to sit things out. I would rather stay where I am. Let God handle everything. I am not ready for the struggle. I could not tolerate the anxiety of uncertain outcomes.

3. You already protected us so much

Someone like Arjuna could use the excuse that Krishna already did so much. Krishna was the invisible force behind the rescue of Bhima from the poison cake and Draupadi in the incident where her sari was about to be torn off by aggressors. If Krishna was the steady well-wisher to the Pandava family, why not continue in that role?

विषान् महाग्नेः पुरुषाद-दर्शनाद्
असत्-सभाया वन-वास-कृच्छ्रतः
मृधे मृधे ऽनेक-महारथास्त्रतो
द्रौण्य्-अस्त्रतश् चास्म हरे ऽभिरक्षिताः

viṣān mahāgneḥ puruṣāda-darśanād
asat-sabhāyā vana-vāsa-kṛcchrataḥ
mṛdhe mṛdhe ‘neka-mahārathāstrato
drauṇy-astrataś cāsma hare ‘bhirakṣitāḥ

“My dear Krishna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Ashvatthama.” (Queen Kunti, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.24)

In my own life I have felt the invisible hand of protection many times. I am now asking God to continue in that role. Just protect me like you have in the past. I will not worry so much. At the same time, I am not about ready to invite danger, by taking the chance with different avenues of action.

4. I will stand up and fight

Although Bhagavad-gita concludes with the recommendation for surrender, there is a specific context. For the many reactions that Arjuna is worried about, for the potential breach of dharma, there is full accountability. Krishna will essentially run cover for Arjuna. The special blessing is due to the surrender, in following the interest of Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the original guru of the universe.

तस्मादज्ञानसम्भूतं हृत्स्थं ज्ञानासिनात्मन:
छित्त्वैनं संशयं योगमातिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ भारत

tasmād ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ
hṛt-sthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥ
chittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ yogam
ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata

“Therefore the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with yoga, O Bharata, stand and fight.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.42)

Krishna explicitly directs Arjuna to stand up. Fight. Be active. Do your duty. Work with detachment, but work. This means that the surrender can take shape in a fast-paced activity like releasing arrows in a fury, targeted at enemies on a battlefield. Arjuna is a surrendered soul when he wants to give up at first. He remains a surrendered soul when he later stands up and fights. This is because of his link in consciousness with Krishna. This link is known as yoga.

5. You go ahead and try to move

We started off with laziness and ended with participation in military conflict. The entire time, there is reliance on Krishna. The surrender is steady through the different circumstances. What if we learned that the surrender can continue in a circumstance where Krishna is on the receiving end of taunts? Where He is tied to a mortar of all places, by a loving mother.

This is what occurred one time in Gokula. This was during Krishna’s childhood, long before He steered the chariot on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Yashoda is described as kutumbini. She is the mother of the household. She is attentive to her duties. This is her occupation. This is her dharma specific to the time and circumstance. The playing field, if you will, is the home within the farm community.

Yashoda maintains an eye on her household work, while simultaneously taking care of young Krishna. There is actually no separation; everything is for the benefit of Krishna. One time, the child gets angry at Yashoda being diverted into the kitchen for a moment. Krishna breaks a pot of yogurt. He runs away when He thinks that He will get caught. Yashoda finally does catch up to Him. She decides to bind Him to a mortar as a mild punishment.

This is activity. This is action. She is surrendered, though. She tries to find enough rope, but always ends up short by the width of two-fingers. She finally succeeds, after Krishna subtly sanctions the punishment. Yashoda then essentially taunts her beloved son. She asks Him to try to move now. When she is not looking, Krishna ends up doing just that, taking the mortar between two trees and knocking them down. But just see the potential for action within the surrendered state and how Krishna is always reciprocating for those who love Him.

In Closing:

Damodara-lila demonstrating,
How for devotees reciprocating.

Not on the sidelines to sit,
Or from household work to quit.

Yashoda of her son taking care,
But also of kitchen stove aware.

Bold enough in punishment to bind,
Better image of devotion not to find.