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He is the ultimate protector, the ultimate sanctuary. Taking shelter in Him gives relief from sufferings and pains. The concept of śaraṇāgati (approach for protection) is considered very important amongst the followers of Lord Viṣṇu.  

Surrender is an important aspect of spiritual path. When a person performs an action without attachment to the fruits of an action, it is known as surrender. Here, the power of ego is overcome by the concept of surrender. By surrendering to the Brahman, one understands his essential nature that was hither to veiled by His projecting power known as māyā.  

Towards the end of Bhagavad Gita (XVIII.65, 66) Kṛṣṇa says, “Fix your mind on Me, worship Me and bow down to Me. By doing so, you will come to Me alone. I promise you. Resigning all dharma, take refuge in Me alone. I shall absolve you of all your sins.” When one surrenders to the Lord, he need not even follow the path of dharma as such a person will have no other thought except the Lord. Such a person walks with Him, eats with Him and sleeps with Him. The one without the other is just not possible. Duality blossoms forth into non-duality.

Sharanam – means One who grants refuge or safe haven to those in distress. He protects anyone seeking refuge irrespective of their status or merit. Bhagavan is the ‘Ultimate Refuge’ to those who are in misery.

As Adi Sankara says ‘Aartaanaam Aartiharanaat Sharanam – He is called Sharanam because He puts an end to the miseries of those who resort to him’.

He grants the wishes of those who surrender unto him, like Gajendra, Prahalada or Darupadi.

his refuge:

Sri Rama in Yuddha Kandam 18.33 said:

Sakrud eva Prapannaya Tavaasmeeti ca yaacate

Abhayam sarva bhootebhyo dadaamy etad vratam ma ma

Meaning: He who seeks refuge in me once, telling me that I am yours, I shall give him assurance of safety against all beings. This is my solemn pledge.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12 Verse 8, Bhagavan says

मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय |

निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशय: || 8||

mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya

nivasiṣhyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na sanśhay:||8||

Meaning: Fix your mind on Me; Engage your intellect upon me; Thereafter, you will live in Me without a doubt. 

भागवतगीता 18.65,66

मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय ।

निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः ॥ १२-८॥

Fix your mind on Me only, place your intellect in Me; then,

(thereafter) you shall, no doubt, live in Me alone (12.8)

Meditation is not a physical act but it is a subtle art developed by the inner personality in man. Every seeker must be experiencing that what his intellect accepts, his heart does not appreciate; and what his heart craves for, the intellect laughs at. To bring both the head and the heart to the same Enchanting Form of thrilled satisfaction, would be the secret of harnessing the entire inner man to the spiritual effort. The technique of this art is beautifully explained in this stanza.

FIX THY MIND ON ME ALONE मय्येव मन आधत्स्व — The mind cannot contemplate on any theme that cannot be conditioned by the senses. Therefore, by meditation upon the enchanting form of the Immortal Flute-player, the human mind can readily be made to rest entirely at the feet of the form. The Lord, being all-pervading, is at once the Divine Grace behind all names and forms. The mind of a devotee cannot wander to any place where he is not reminded of the smile of the Crowned Cowherd-boy!

Merely to ruminate over a decorated marble symbol of the Eternal Child is not in itself sufficient food for the inner personality of man. The intellectual aspect in us is starved, although the heart nestles in satisfaction at the soft feet of the Lord. Any over-development will bring about an ugly situation; perfection is harmony and uniform growth. Therefore, technically, the Geeta rightly advises that the devotee must bring his discriminating intellect to pierce through the stony idol and contact the pulsating Truth it represents.

PLACE THE INTELLECT IN ME  मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय — To contact thereby the cosmic total-intellect which is the Lord’s equipment. Every one of us, at any given moment, is the sum-total of what we think and what we feel. If our minds are resting on the Lord and our intellects have dived into the very depths of the Infinite, our individualities end and we merge to become one with the Infinite, the all-pervading.

Therefore, the Lord says,

“THEREAFTER YOU SHALL LIVE IN ME.” निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं This statement may look as an exaggeration for the finite mortal, who is standing agitated and shy at the gateway of the Temple-of-Truth. In this habitual concept that he is a finite mortal entity — pressed under a thousand limitations, suffering from a host of imperfections, and persecuted by an army of despairs — he fails to accept that he can rediscover himself to be Himself, the ever- Divine. Therefore, as a kindly teacher, Lord Krishna reassures him by affirming directly, “no doubt” न संशयः (Nasamshayah).

८६. ॐ शरणाय नमः |

86. OM Śaraṇāya Namaḥ

Saranam -The Refuge for all who are suffering from the thralldom of imperfection in life. According to the Sanskrit Lexicon (Amarakosa), the term Saranam means ‘Protector’ and also ‘home’. Since the Lord is the Ultimate Goal, Saranam, He is also the “Destination”, the ‘Harbour’. The One Who realizes Him comes to live in Him.

He is the home to which the prodigal son (jeeva) ultimately returns. Not only for the men of Realization is He the Home, but for all creatures, movables and immovables, He is the Home, to which they all disappear to rest and to revive during Pralaya (Sleep).

Sharanam also means a home and on this basis Swami ChinmayAnanda points out that He is not only the Home for those who have realized Him, but in Pralaya He is the home for all beings.

He is  also the final Goal or ‘Paramagati’ and the ultimate refuge to achieve Moksham or liberation.

Śriyate iti śaraṇam / श्रियते इति शरणम् One who removes the sorrows of those in distress.

Śrīmad Bhāgavata – Canto 2, Chapter 4

Vicakṣaṇā yaccaraṇopasādanātsaṅgaṃ vyudasyobhayato’ntarātmanaḥ,

Vindanti hi brahmagatiṃ gataklamāstasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ. (16)

:: श्रीमद्भागवते द्वितीयस्कन्धे चतुर्थोऽध्यायः ::

विचक्षणा यच्चरणोपसादनात्सङ्गं व्युदस्योभयतोऽन्तरात्मनः ।

विन्दन्ति हि ब्रह्मगतिं गतक्लमास्तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः ॥ १६ ॥

Let me offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The highly intellectual, simply by surrendering unto His lotus feet, are relieved of all attachments to present and future existences and without difficulty progress toward spiritual existence.

Sri Rama in Yuddha Kandam 18.33 said:

Sakrud eva Prapannaya Tavaasmeeti ca yaacate

Abhayam sarva bhootebhyo dadaamy etad vratam ma ma

Meaning: He who seeks refuge in me once, telling me that I am yours, I shall give him assurance of safety against all beings. This is my solemn pledge.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12 Verse 8, Bhagavan says

मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय |

निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशय: || 8||

mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya

nivasiṣhyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na sanśhay:||8||

Meaning: Fix your mind on Me; Engage your intellect upon me; Thereafter, you will live in Me without a doubt. 

The perfect example of someone completely absorbed in devotion was King Ambarish. The Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam describes:

sa vai manaḥ kṛiṣhṇa-padāravindayor vacāhṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane

karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣhu śhrutiṁ chakārāchyuta-sat-kathodaye

mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśhane dṛiśhau tad-bhṛitya-gātra-sparśhe ’ṅga-saṅgamam

ghrāṇaṁ cha tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe śhrīmat-tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite

pādau hareḥ kṣhetra-padānusarpaṇe śhiro hṛiṣhīkeśha-padābhivandane

kāmaṁ cha dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā yathottamaśhloka-janāśhrayā ratiḥ

(9.4.18-20) [v36]

“Ambarish absorbed his mind on the lotus feet of Shree Krishna; he used his speech in glorifying the qualities of God, his hands in cleaning the temple, and his ears in hearing the divine pastimes of the Lord. He engaged his eyes in seeing the deities; he used his limbs in touching the bodies of the devotees, his nose in smelling the fragrance of the Tulsī (holy basil) leaves offered at the feet of the Lord, and his tongue in tasting prasād (food sanctified by offering to God). He utilized his feet for walking to the holy abodes, and his head in offering obeisance to the lotus feet of God. He offered all paraphernalia, such as garlands and sandalwood, in the service of God. He did all this, not with some selfish motive, but only to attain the selfless service of Lord Krishna, through purification.”

INTERPRETATION GUIDED BY SANT VANI (WORDS OF SAINTS)

Śharaṇam

The ultimate refuge.

He, who is the refuge of all. The abode and home of all. He who is the protector. The final resting place. (Śaṅkara & Parāsara Battar) Nārayana is the abode, the refuge, the friend, and the goal of attainment. (Parāsara Battar).

The Lord is Śaraṇa, the final refuge. We take refuge in people as if people were destinations in themselves. Some of us prepare so much for the wedding day but not enough for marriage. We seek refuge in the dream job which encompasses a supportive boss and work environment, a decent remuneration+perks and our contribution to the company. We seek refuge in the idea of a ‘soulmate’, who will set everything right. We see refuge in that perfect child, who will make our dreams come true and who would be the perfect person to take forward our legacy. We seek refuge in the expert hands of the salon staff member/local barber, when he gives a smooth shave.

It is a close shave. Our neck is on the line, yet we rely on his expertise. All of these have their valid place in life’s scheme of things. With some viveka, we do recognise that people and situations are mortal, finite, limited and conditional and cannot serve as a lasting refuge.

PLEASE WATCH

So, who is the ultimate refuge? Parameśvara alone is the ultimate refuge. The Lord removes the troubles of all those who are in distress. He is the refuge. In Mahabharata and Bhagvatam, we see examples of Draupadī, Gajendra, Vibhīṣaṇa and others, taking refuge in the Lord. He is the altar of surrender both for those who seek freedom from distress within samsāra and for those who seek freedom from the distress of samsāra itself. Even the devatās are empowered only by Īśvara and they too have to surrender to Him when they are in distress. Thus, the Lord is the ultimate altar of surrender, because every altar of surrender is empowered by Īśvara.

To say that one must see refuge in the Lord or surrender is far too simplistic. Surrender is a mature attitude born out of an understanding of Īśvara. There is no surrender without it. I can learn to appreciate that there is nothing in this creation that is authored by me, that everything is given to me, including my physical body, mind, and senses. Everything including my support

systems and many powers are given to me. If something was truly mine, I could check for baggage allowance and accordingly pack before I depart from this world.

What is given to me is not mine. I recognise that ‘I am just a trustee, O Lord, You are the giver. Where there is the given, the giver is not separate,’ I stand altered as I surrender at the altar. My notion of I is no longer a notion subject to negation. My notion of I expands to include Isvara. If ‘I’ includes Īśvara in the many manifestations of the various physiological, psychological and other processes of the body-mind-sense complex, then who has to surrender or take refuge in what?

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When Draupadi was initially attempting to hold on to her sari with one hand while calling out to Krishna, her surrender was not considered exclusive. However, when she threw both her arms up in the air, calling out “He Govinda!”, that mood of exclusive shelter in Krishna’s protection is the highest platform of devotional service. Reflecting upon Draupadi’s mood of devotion, Krishna says, “When I was away from Draupadi, she cried with the words, ‘He Govinda!’ This call for Me has put Me in her debt, and that indebtedness is gradually increasing in My heart!” This clearly establishes the highest platform of Draupadi’s devotion to Krishna.

In Prahlada Maharaja’s example as well, we can find instances of his praying for the shelter and protection of Lord Nrsimhadeva.

“Now kindly take me under the protection of Your lotus feet.” [SB 7.9.22]

“When will that moment come when You will call me to the shelter of Your lotus feet, which are the ultimate goal for liberation from conditional life?” [SB 7.9.16]

Therefore, calling out to the Lord (in a prayerful mood) for receiving protection and having internal conviction about the Lord’s protection go hand in hand. Thus, we can understand that both Prahlada Maharaja and Draupadi have full confidence in Krishna’s protection and therefore both of them are equally glorious in their mood of surrender.

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Therefore, Īśvara being the ultimate refuge, it is His grace that one has to tap. Even the doctor to whom we surrender, in turn has to turn to Īśvara alone, because the final doctor is the Lord. Lord Śiva is called Bhiṣak, which means a doctor.

The capacity of the individual to tap the grace of the Lord is limited. Sometimes it looks as if the grace of Īśvara is not available and that He ceases to be our refuge. At such times perhaps our prārabdha-karma is more powerful than our capacity to tap His grace. But still, the ultimate and only refuge is the Lord.

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In interpreting the previous name, a Sanskrit shloka that is part of the Sandhyavandana was referred to in the context of all worship (to any divinity), leading to that one Supreme being as seen in the following verses:

आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथा गच्छति सागरम् ।

सर्वदेवनमस्कारः केशवं प्रति गच्छति ॥

ākāśāt patitaṃ toyaṃ yathā gacchati sāgaram |

sarvadevanamaskāraḥ keśavaṃ prati gacchati ||

As the rain that falls from the sky always winds it way to the Ocean, so also worship of any divinity ultimately reaches that one Supreme being – Keśava.

What we see here in this name (Śaraṇaṃ), that dovetails perfectly with the previous name (Sureśa) is that, no matter where we go, how long we travel, we finally have to come to rest within the folds of that one Supreme Being – his Śaraṇaṃ is the final resting place for all – the harbor where every boat must drop anchor – if not now then at some time, if not this birth then perhaps after a thousand but every single being must go back to its source and merge in that eternal being.

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Just as Brahmā seemed lost when the lotus stalk with him seated on the lotus emerged out of the cosmic waters and he looked in all four directions (hence the 4 faces) trying to locate “himself” in the vastness of that eternity so are we – boats sailing on the water not knowing where to drop anchor. Brahmā then had to meditate for several thousand years and then climb down the lotus-stalk to find his “source” – the anchor of the entire Universe – Viṣhṇu – Śaraṇaṃ

This is the same principle that we see in our temples where we need to go to the Garbhagṛha to find the ‘source’ and enter into the deity’s Śharaṇ (benevolent protection). Everything that is done – the waving of the lamps, the fragrance – Dhoopam, Deepam, the Abhiṣeka, Alaṃkāra, the screen that is removed to reveal the deity in all its glory – all of these are specifically done to bring our whole body-mind complex into that perfect state of Ṛtam – harmony and truth, such that we can at least for a moment be given an opportunity to stand on the shores of that infinite ocean. Sri Aurobindo in his “Secret of the Vedas” talks about the three vedic principles of Satyam, Ṛtam, Brhat as the fundamental pillars of the Vedas and key to human growth on the spiritual plane.

It is Ṛtam that is the root for many of the words and practices of our Dharma – Ṛtu (seasons), Vṛtam (Ekadashi Vṛta for example), even the English Rhythm is most likely a derivative of this. It is this Ṛtam that is codified as Dharma and the Dharma-Saṃskāras that we are enjoined to do are also for the purpose of bringing ourselves to that state of Ṛtam – for without that how can we hope to come into his Śharaṇ? It is this that should give us the confidence that nothing that is included in our Dharma is included without a clear objective – the results of course depend on the seeker and the intensity of the seeking for the Śharaṇ of that Śharaṇaṃ.

There are four instances in the Bhagavad gītā across chapters 2, 9 and 18 where Bhagavan asks Arjuna to give up everything and come into his Śharaṇ – this “giving-up” is not a call to give-up the principles of Dharma – how could he, who asked Arjuna to follow his Dharma say something so contradictory? – It is instead an injunction to give up wasteful indulgences and frittering away time and energy in meaningless arguments and rhetoric and come on to the path that lead our individual boats to the harbor of that Supreme Being to come into the Śharaṇ of that Śharaṇaṃ.

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“Surrender does not require that you close your eyes, that you turn a deaf ear or that you do not question, instead, it means looking at the world through His eyes, that you pay attention to your inner voice and that you exercise patience in understanding His answer. In fact, true surrender withstands any test, any examination.” – Om Swami

https://os.me/faith-meaning-surrender-to-divine-will/

Read on one of Swamiji’s favorite stories from the great epic Mahabharata is a story of faith and surrender, of destiny and divinity in this blog:

https://os.me/a-story-of-faith/

This incident happened when legions of troops from all over the country were being mobilized to fight one of the bloodiest battles in the history of India. The great war of Mahabharata between the Kauravas and Pandavas that would last eighteen days.

“Many people see faith or surrender as a way to have their dreams come true. They believe that they’ll pray to some god and their wishes will be granted. This is not how nature operates. It can’t afford to, for we often wish for the wrong things. We keep desiring certain outcomes without realizing or understanding the cost of those desires. We forget that our choices are intricately linked to our fate, they shape our destiny. In wanting the “good” stuff alone, we only see what we want to see.

Rather than aiming to be the person who could keep his or her partner happy, we wish for a person who will keep us happy, for example. And as we change, things that made us happy earlier no longer do so. We then wish for another person, a better partner or something like that. Rather than being content with what we have, we crave for more things. To acquire more things, we work harder, often at the cost of our health and relationships. The quality of living may go up but the quality of life stands compromised and then we wonder that how come more things are not making us happy.

Yes, you can grow a seedless melon but not a skinless one. Nature puts a protective covering on everything. Removing that layer can be sometimes tedious or messy, but without it the fruit will perish before it even ripens. Some part of our life will inevitably go in laboring to peel the coconut before we can enjoy the tender inside.

Faith is not a tug-of-war between your desires and His grace (both of which are endless) hoping that one day you’ll lure God into playing unfair. On the contrary, it is letting go. It is raising your hands in surrender without giving up on your action. Faith is knowing that not every day out there will be sunny. And that’s okay. It is realizing that dawn will follow dusk. Faith is awareness that a cloudy sky doesn’t mean the sun has set.

To work on everything that you can and to let go off everything beyond your control is faith in a nutshell. Such faith, made up of action and surrender, is the most potent antidote of all fears.

Faith is heart’s wisdom. It’s what your mind can’t grasp but your heart knows. Give it a place in your life and you’ll fly with a thousand wings. Higher and swifter. Across the seas, beyond the skies.” – Om Swami