Sharanam or Surrender often is seen in physical terms but deeper is at the inner, mental processes level. Externalised inner strength and fortitude become ‘God’ for believers. This externalising develops a ‘give and take’ relation for the seeker. The seeker pursues one or some goals, puts in the effort, and offers prayers and in the process, expects that he/she shall receive the desired outcome from God. A linear relation is expected.
When the person puts in the effort, the effort may be concentrated sometimes and often there may be mental clutter. The doer may not have merged into the giving/effort process and hence retains the sense of separation. When the involvement is not ‘full’, then a mental vacuum exists. It gets filled with thoughts of all sorts. Often the first to rush are the thoughts that ‘what shall happen if something goes wrong’. The active brain works on future projections and scares the individual of the potential possibilities, of which none may ever happen. These cluttered thoughts affect the energies and reduce one’s efforts’ intensity. Due to many mental calculations, the focus gets diluted. Blunted efforts! Thus, the seeker, who is supposed to be in ‘present’ and offer perfect ‘effort’ from his/her side as the worship and then seeks the preferred outcome as the ‘prasad’ falters along the way.
In the process model of representation, the seeker is offering the inputs and the personal God of the seeker bestows the process outcome. Here, the process is ‘work’. The palatability of the outcome, the sufficiency of the same, and the timing of the same, all become reasons for challenging the fairness of the ‘life process’. The comparisons may be self’s effort-centered or externalised. Either of these takes away the mental peace of the involved and reduces the probability of occurrence of the preferred outcome. Here, the efforts become inferior due to lower resource commitment, and the intensity of the process gets compromised.
To avoid the clutter and have the possibility of full efficiency, the seeker has to ‘surrender’ to one’s personal God. Then, many wonders happen. The challenging grounds reduce drastically, comparisons disappear, and the timing of ‘happening’ is trusted. This surrendering is Sharanagati and seeker vibes with the ONE. Then life’s journey becomes serene, and the outcomes are peacefully enjoyable.
Prof S Ainavolu is a Mumbai-based teacher of tradition and management. Views are personal. https://www.ainavolu.in/blog
