If you are into traditional Yoga or have read spiritual Yogic books, you must have heard the term ‘surrender ’. In over 25 years of teaching I have not encountered any spiritual term that is as misunderstood as this one. Let us unpack this loaded term bit by bit.
Lost in translation
Most Yogic scriptures that we study are written in Sanskrit. Most words in Sanskrit are homonyms, having more than one meaning. The meanings of spiritual terms are to be understood in context of time period and philosophical ideology. Example: the word ‘Karma’ has multiple meanings, stretching from mundane action to complex law of causality. Another roadblock is that there could be multiple words representing the same idea. Such nuances make the endeavor of translation very tricky, because there are words in Sanskrit which are so deeply rooted in cultural context that they may not have parallels in other languages.
Semantically (means, from the context of meaning) the term ‘surrender’ connotes defeat, yielding to someone else’s power. Humans don’t like to be defeated, neither do they like their will and freedom superseded. So there is an innate resistance to this particular word. In my teachings across the world I have seen how this one word evokes different reactions in different countries depending on culture, ethos and history. Those in countries with history of war react the strongest. Those with colonial past get triggered immediately by this term. Let’s examine three Sanskrit terms that connote the idea of what is understood as surrender and let us check if they convey a sense of defeat.
1) Ishwarapranidhan: This termis made up of two words, Ishwara + Pranidhan. Pranidhan actually means applying oneself to something. Ishwara Pranidhan it is about applying oneself to Ishwara, the superior Being. Applying oneself to a superior Being does not have to be necessarily out of defeat, it could also be out of love and/or deeper trust. When Patanjali talks about Ishwara Pranidhan in the Yoga Sutra he is recommending earnest application of one’s mind-body resource towards something that is grander than the limited self. Through such a focused application, Samadhi ensues. Samadhi is the peak experience of Patanjali’s Yoga.
2) Samarpan: This term is commonly used in Bhakti Yoga literature. It connotes offering oneself to, or handing oneself to someone – atma samarpan. It has a connotation of letting go and not defeat or loss.This term is observed in scriptures like Ramayana and Bhagwat Purana.
3) Prapatti: Prapatti means resigning oneself to a higher authority out of love and trust. The idea of Prapatti has been elaborated upon by Shri Ramanuja, the founder of Vishista Advaita, who considers Prapatti as the peak of devotional Yoga.
So, as one can see, none of the above Sanskrit terms that are usually translated as ‘surrender’ mean defeat. Instead, they connote a sense of offering or applying oneself to something bigger than one’s ego. One variable that underlines such offering is deep faith in something greater than one’s limited self. It could be God, Guru, a universal principle like Ishwara or formless absolute, the Nirguna Brahma. The Yoga practitioners apply themselves with vigor and dedication to a higher principle – this is the essence of what is generally translated as ‘surrender’.
From surrender to letting-go
If the word ‘surrender’ makes you uncomfortable due to your upbringing or preconceived ideas, you could replace it with ‘letting-go’. Letting-go has a connotation of wilful giving and not a sense of defeat. This is why I think it will sit well in your mind and heart as opposed to ‘surrender’.
It takes time
Surrender, like Love and Faith, cannot be forced. Just like you can’t be forced to love someone at a gun-point, surrender too can’t be forced by dogmatic injunctions. Surrender is a journey, it evolves through trial and error. Just because we read about surrender in Yoga books doesn’t mean it will happen instantly. It is not like a sensory regulation challenge where you instantly give up sugar for 10 days. The journey of surrender is a deeper journey of constantly realigning the mind with faith and taking it away from fear. In this sense, more the faith, lesser the personal demands, more the surrender, lesser the doubts in offerings of the universe (God). Surrender, Faith, Love, Devotion, all develop gradually over time. Yoga is a path of Love and Love takes time.
Allow yourself to float
To understand ‘surrender’ (to God or whoever you think is bigger than your limited ego), remember your first swimming lesson. You entered the pool with some anxiety and started flapping your arms thinking it would help you stay afloat. But the more you flapped, the harder it was to stay afloat. Then, over time, you learned to trust the buoyancy of water. You allowed the water to ‘hold’ you. Gradually, you just dropped your entire body weight trusting that water will hold you, and the water did hold you. This is when you just had to lightly move your arms to stay afloat, there was no flapping, no fluttering, no anxiety and no strife – this is surrender. This floating took time, surrender too takes time.
Surrender, for me
In my life learning to surrender has been the only practice that I work on. Over the years I find my internal strain and external resistance decreasing. I am breathing deeper as I release my control. I am living happier as I drop my guard. I am relishing life more than the times when I used to worry about things that could never happen. This is because my faith has strengthened, my surrender has deepened and in that faith and surrender my existential anxieties have reduced.
For me, surrender feels like a little boy (me) sitting in the back seat of a car, exited to go on vacation with his parents without the worry of how we get there or when we get there. Life becomes a joyride as I surrender myself to what is and what will be.
