--- title: "The Ultimate Power of Surrender - Part 2" url: "https://webinars.bhagavadgitauniversity.com/powersur-2" --- # The Ultimate Power of Surrender - Part 2 The Ultimate Power of Surrender Part 2 of 3 – Lessons 9 to 15 **Lesson No 9. A talk on The Ultimate Liberation- Struggle and Release** You are superior to your 2 cents of knowledge. You are much larger than the combined wealth of the entire universe. Why? Because you **own Bliss**. The Sat Chit Ananda… Yet, the tragedy lies in acknowledging this truth. You own the palace of Bliss but have rented it out, pleading with the so-called “owner” for happiness. When you go into deep sleep, you momentarily reclaim this Bliss. Without doing anything, you experience freedom from sorrow. This simple phenomenon **reveals a profound truth**: there is something within you that grants total **freedom without action**. Where are we going wrong? Shankaracharya reminds us: "Happiness **that is mixed with sorrow is no happiness**." Just as the sun knows no shadow, your Self **knows no sorrow**. From sunrise to sunset, **we are chasing happiness that is mixed with sorrow.** Our life often becomes a cycle of chasing goals, desires, and ambitions. It feels productive, even exhilarating at times, but it comes with a hidden cost: Every step taken outward in pursuit of external fulfillment strengthens **Avarana** (the veil of ignorance covering the Atman in deep sleep). This veil obscures the truth of your own nature—Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence, consciousness, and bliss). Over time, the chasing turns into a habit, **and the habit becomes your identity. You become used to chasing happiness mixed with sorrow and that is what you get.** You forget that you are not the one chasing; you are the blissful. Sat Chit Ananda. **Vivekananda warns**: "Ever running, never reaching, not even a glimpse of the shore." **Manifestation becomes meaningful only when the Self is realized.** Otherwise, it deceives you into thinking fulfillment is external, leading to ruin in the long run. Wake up before it is too late. **The Importance of Mental Freedom** First you should train yourself to be **free** in your mind… Without mental freedom, even the greatest worldly achievements wealth, health, relationships—are bound by limitations. Even the wealthiest individuals cannot shield themselves or their loved ones from suffering. Great relationships, no matter how deep, are subject to misunderstandings, conflicts, and eventual separation. Dependence on relationships for fulfillment leaves us vulnerable when they falter or end. Physical well-being is essential, but it’s fragile and ultimately declines with age. Even the best medical care cannot ensure eternal vitality or prevent loss. While these aspects of life have their place, they are external and cannot grant the inner freedom. **Freedom originates only from Bliss and cannot be discovered anywhere.** It is Kaivalya.. absolute freedom that depends on nothing external. It cannot be **captured** in words, images, objects, or events. **To authentically enjoy Bliss, train yourself to be 100% free in your mind.** 99% is not enough. Vedanta assures us **that the mind can be destroyed completely**, and in doing so, true freedom is realized. **The origin of mind is Maya..** Maya meaning unmanifest.. **Unmanifest means it began with a visualization..** The mind is born from visualization, maintains itself through manifestation, and leaves seeds for future visualizations. Says Krishna “ The beginning is unmanifest the middle is the manifest and the end is unmanifest so fight O Arjuna” One of the main reasons we fail to benefit from the unlimited bliss is because we want to **control** what we cannot. It could be controlling others behaviour, external events, or even our daily lives… **Our job is to destroy the mind altogether.** When an emotion rises—or within 15 minutes of its onset—acknowledge: "This emotion began as a visualization, and I am maintaining it." This realization marks the start of mental freedom. Keep practicing it you will succeed big time. **When you train your mind to destroy itself it will become your most faithful servant.** The base of all our emotions is freedom, but the mind must dissolve to **reveal it**. **Close your eyes.** **Imagine your anger rising like a storm in the vast ocean of your mind.** The waves crash, roar, and churn, a force seemingly unstoppable. The resentment builds, words are on the verge of spilling out like a raging torrent. But beneath this stormy surface, **in the depths of the ocean, lies Vishnu**, the eternal presence, reclining effortlessly on the serpent of infinity, Shesha. His form radiates peace, bliss, and truth—Sat-Chit-Ananda. Though 8 billion minds across the world are storming with anger, their collective fury is but a fleeting ripple to Him. The essence of Sat-Chit-Ananda within you remains untouched, unshaken, and unaffected. It is bliss that knows no sorrow. **Now focus on the veiling force of Avarana**, the ignorance that blinds us to this eternal truth. This veiling, like a thick mist, hides the profound reality of Vishnu within us, making us identify with the storm rather than the stillness beneath it. Feel the shame that decades of prayer and meditation sometimes bring—not from failure, but **from not acknowledging** this profound truth. We are not defeated by our emotions; we are defeated by the ignorance that hides the Divine within. **Now visualize: Build immense self-esteem in your Sat-Chit-Ananda.** See it not as something abstract or distant, but as the most real and solid part of your being. Feel it as **more tangible than your body and mind**, even if just for a fleeting moment. As this realization dawns, imagine your anger transforming. From the center of your brows—the Ajna Chakra—sense a release. This is the place where the **Vyashti** (your individual self) dissolves into the **Samashti** (the universal). Your anger flows out, dissipating into the infinite ocean of bliss. In this merging, feel a profound stillness, a realization that you are not your anger, nor your feelings… You are that ocean, that Vishnu—eternal and infinite. --- **Lesson No 10: How to tame the big fat ego?** The late Shankaracharya of Dwaraka, a towering spiritual luminary, often said, *“Search for the deep peace inside.”* This peace is not broken by the forces of karma. It is not an ordinary peace that lasts for some time and then withers away. This peace does not have any Aham(ego). You can access this deep peace even when your surface emotions are volatile… Writes Vivekananda It is joy that never spoke, And grief unfelt, profound, Immortal life unlived, Eternal death unmourned. It is beauty never seen, And love that stands alone, It is song that lives un-sung, And knowledge never known. It is death between two lives, And lull between two storms, The void whence rose creation, And that where it returns. Aham sticks to the surface… reflected concsiousenss and because of this it **keeps pulling you back** even when **you concentrate on this deep peace.** Here you do a simple visualization You are lying peacefully in bed, but in your dream, you find yourself in the middle of a stormy ocean. The waves are towering, the boat capsizing, and you are gasping for breath. You cry out for help, but no one answers. Those you trust betray you or worsen your plight. The chaos is overwhelming, and you feel utterly helpless. Yet, amidst this turmoil, the person sleeping in the bed remains untouched. Serene. Unshaken. Completely unaffected by the drama unfolding in the dream. This is the key: even in the height of suffering, there is a deeper part of you—that remains in perfect peace. The problem is, your **Aham** (ego) identifies with the dream body, not the serene sleeper. As long as the ego **clings to the dream body, you will continue to experience suffering.** **What must you do?** You must *transfer your ego* from the turbulent dream body to the serene sleeper. Visualize it. As long as your **Aham** identifies with the dream body, you will be pulled back into the chaos. But the moment you transfer it to the sleeper—the silent, unaffected Self—**you awaken.** The dream ends. The suffering dissolves. You realize your freedom. Now, bring this same principle into the waking state. When you are angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed—when life feels like a stormy ocean threatening to drown you—connect with the deep peace within. Visualize the dream and the sleeper. Recognize that your **Aham** is clinging to the body and mind, to the turbulence on the surface. Instead, **transfer your ego to the Atman**, the pure Self, the unshaken Sat. This is the practice: shift your identification. Surrender your **Aham** to the Atman. The more you do this, the more the ego dissolves, merging with the pure consciousness. This is the meaning of the great Mahavakya, **“Aham Brahmasmi”**—I am Brahman. By merging the ego with the Self, you realize that you will get the benefit of SAT chit Ananda of the Self With this shift, the grip of the mind loosens. The pull of karma weakens. You experience a profound breakthrough—freedom amidst the chaos of life. About 75% of the mind’s restlessness disappears as the **Aham** merges into the Self. Try it … It works… --- **Lesson No 11 :Can words alone lead to liberation?** There was a debate between Adi Shankaracharya and a great scholar who argued that liberation could only be achieved through actions, as actions establish the meaning of words. To support his view, the scholar gave an example: In a park, an elderly person, an adult, and a young boy are sitting together. The elderly person tells the adult, “Bring a cow.” The boy, not knowing what a cow is, observes as the adult brings one. Then, the elderly person instructs, “Tie the cow and bring a horse,” using his hands to gesture the act of bringing. The boy understands the action associated with “bring” but not the meaning of “horse,” since there was no action directly demonstrating what a horse is. Consequently, the boy assumes the horse is the cow. Through actions, the boy begins to associate some words with their meanings, but his understanding remains incomplete. The scholar argued that without actions to demonstrate meaning, words alone—like those in the Vedas or Upanishads—are ineffective. In his view, scriptures that rely solely on words are redundant because realization cannot be attained through words alone. Shankaracharya, however, refuted this claim. He argued that **words have the power to directly lead to realization** and that no action is needed. He provided examples to illustrate his point: 1. A friend visits a man in North India and says, “You have been blessed with a baby boy.” Upon hearing these words, the man is overjoyed. Later, his friend shows him a piece of cloth with the baby’s footprints, and his happiness increases. This shows that **words alone can evoke profound joy.** 2. In Indian society, a woman becoming pregnant before marriage is considered a great sin. If someone tells her mother, “Your daughter is pregnant,” the mother’s smiling face immediately turns pale. This demonstrates that **words alone can cause immense sorrow.** Through these examples, Shankaracharya explained that **words carry immense power** to evoke emotions, convey meaning, and bring direct understanding. Similarly, when one hears or reads the Upanishads, the words themselves can awaken realization. **No action is required.** Shankaracharya further emphasized that **Brahman** is **Sat (existence), Chit (consciousness), and Ananda (bliss).** The realization of Brahman brings **Kaivalya (absolute independence)** because the Atman (Self) is eternal and unchanging. The moment one surrenders to the words of the Guru or the scriptures, the truth of the Atman is realized. This is why **listening** (Shravana) is the quickest and most direct path to liberation. Listening includes reading and reflecting on the words. It is important to remember that liberation is not achieved through external efforts like **concentration or control alone**. There is no action needed to realise Atman. The words of the scriptures, carrying **Shuddha Chaitanya (pure consciousness),** hold the power to awaken realization. For example, uttering “Ram” at the moment of death can lead to liberation. This is because the word “Ram” is not merely a sound—it carries the hidden meaning of **Sat-Chit-Ananda, Kaivalya, and Moksha.** Tommorow we will see the obstacles in the path of listening thorugh words --- **Lesson Number 12: The Tale of the Missing Person.- The obstacles in the path of realization through Words.** Once, a group of fifteen friends set out on a long holiday trip, enjoying their time together. One day, they crossed a river to reach the other shore. As they regrouped, the leader of the group grew anxious. He counted the members: "One, two, three... nine...fourteen" Someone was missing. Fear gripped him. Tears welled up as he cried, convinced that one of their friends had drowned in the river. His panic spread, and soon, everyone in the group was mourning the loss of their companion. A passerby noticed the commotion and asked what had happened. The group explained their plight, saying they started as fifteen but now were only fourteen. The passerby looked at them and immediately realized the problem. With a calm voice, he said to the leader, **"The** fifteenth **person is not missing.** The fifteenth person exists**. Don’t worry."** The leader, still shaken, felt a flicker of relief. Just hearing those words brought him a strange comfort, even though he hadn’t yet seen the missing member. Shankaracharya explains this moment as ***indirect realization***—an intellectual understanding of a truth through **Words** But the story doesn’t end here. **Finding the Fifteenth** The leader, now hopeful, asked, "Where is the fifteenth person?" The passerby called everyone together and asked the leader to count again. The leader began: "One, two, three... nine...fourteen..." He stopped, still convinced someone was missing. At that moment, the passerby gently pointed his finger toward the leader and said, **"You are the** fifteenth **person."** The leader froze, his eyes wide with shock and amazement. **"I am the** fifteenth **person,"** he whispered, realization dawning. In that instant, what was previously indirect knowledge transformed into *direct realization.* Shankaracharya calls this ***Aparoksha Anubhuti***—realizing truth **directly through Words**. In that moment of clarity, the leader realized something profound: The "other fourteen" were merely tools—faculties like the mind, senses, and ego—none of which had consciousness of their own. **He was the only ONE truly existing.** The other fourteen only appeared conscious because of Him, the Atman, the true Self. This realization shifted everything. He saw himself not as separate from the tools, but as the life force that animates them. With this realisation, the veil of Maya dissolved, and he stood face-to-face with the truth of his own divine nature. **Bridging the Gap** Shankaracharya says many of us struggle to make this leap from *“Atman exists”* to *“I am the Atman.”* Why? He explains that the voice of God resides within each of us, within our Atman. This divine voice is present in every individual, whether pure or sinful, good or wicked. The voice of God is an **established fact in you**. You **don’t need to search** for it elsewhere—it’s always within you. Whenever we stray, this inner voice urges, **"Stop. Don’t do this."** But most of us fail to hear it. Why? Because this voice is drowned out by the clamor of what Shankaracharya calls the “14 tools”—the fake voices of ego, desire, anger, greed, and other distractions. **The Noise of Maya** Shankaracharya compares these false voices to a thick, insensitive nose that can no longer smell foul odors. When our mind becomes immune to what is unreal, it loses its ability to discriminate the real from the unreal. Yet, the voice of God continues to call, "I am Atman… come to me." To truly hear this voice, Shankaracharya says, we need a pure heart. A pure *antahkarana*—the inner instrument of the mind—is essential to benefit directly from spiritual teachings. **Purifying the Heart** The leader in the story was able to grasp the truth when the passerby revealed it: "You are the fifteenth person." Why? **Because his heart was pure**. If our hearts aren’t pure, Shankaracharya advises **stepping up our prayers and worship** to clear the false visions of lust, anger, jealousy, greed, and hypocrisy. These emotions are the *rajas* and *tamas* gunas of Maya—false visualisations that have no beginning but can certainly have an end. By untying the *granthi*—the knot of Self and non-Self—we can overcome these obstacles. **The Essence of Realization** The Atman is the only conscious being. Everything else is *jad*—inert, lifeless. This is why Shankaracharya stresses the purity of the mind as the foundation for spiritual success. Tomorrow, we’ll delve deeper into how to cultivate purity of mind and walk the path to realization. --- **Lesson Number 13: The Secret to having a pure heart.** Shuddh Chaitanya is an established fact . It is called pure consciousness or Chit and is the basis of all your knowledge. **You can’t make it impure even if you want to..** You are this shuddh Chaitanya. However there is also the reflected consciousness called Chidabasa that appears in the waking and dream states. This hides the pure consciousness through the power of Maya and creates all confusion. Maya hides the pure consciousness in two ways: First, it covers your Atman through the power of Avarana Shakti, and then it superimposes all thoughts through the Viksepa Shakti. **Your job is not to make the reflected consciousness pure..** Read this a million times. This is what most are trying to do in million lifetimes It is a false visualization by default … Your job is to make the reflected consciousness disappear so that the pure consciousness can shine by itself. Says Vivekananda “ **Ignorance constitutes the only darkness** which covers all things and makes they look mysterious. When everything is lighted with knowledge the sense of mystery vanishes from the face of things Even such an **inscrutable thing as Maya** which brings the most impossible things to pass disappear.” Maya gets destroyed when AVarana is removed. Its game is over. It can no longer trouble you. However, to do that, you first have to **train to make the reflected consciousness disappear** in order to become eligible for removing avarana through direct knowledge … Reflected consciousness is very tricky because it seems almost impossible to make it disappear, as it can appear in various forms and hide the pure consciousness. To win this battle we have to do two simple things The first is we have to love our Atman 100 million times more. The current love will not do. This means you have to love Ishwara Bhagwan, seated in the Atman, 100 million times more. The reason you have to do this is because if your love is overflowing or very strong in waking you will get attracted to Shuddh Chaitanya easily and **not fight to win in the reflected consciousness** In reflected consciousness, even if you win, you are ultimately losing because you are not gaining anything in the end. You have to make the reflected consciousness disappear at will. That is real power. We waste a lot of time picking fights and battles in reflected consciousness, and before we know it, it's time to move out of this body. Renunciation or vairagya can come only when you love your aTman or Ishwara residing in the Atman dearly. This is why direct knowledge is necessary. Everything else **appears conscious** because of this Atman Shankraachrya says our biggest enemy is likes and dislikes .. Like is called Raag, and dislike is called Dvesha. They set up desires and plunge us into karma. But all this like, dislike, desire, and anger for not achieving desires are insentient. They have no consciousness. It is because of the **Atman that anger appears furious, desire appears attractive, sadness appears dull and** hatred appears as a reaction satisfying our thoughts. We get fooled and these emotions which are dead **become the fuel for Aham….** Aham enjoys its dominance over us and, with the help of Chidabasa, maintains the reflected consciousness. **We lose touch with Shuddh Chaitanya.** When you love the Atman or Ishwara residing in the Atman a hundred million times more, **you will recognize that your likes, dislikes, and emotions are all a big drama.** They come at the big expense of ignorance of Atman, which creates many layers of bondage in this life and also destroys your chances of liberation. Most try to improve their habits or get better by increasing good qualities and reducing bad qualities. That does not work in real life during difficult times. It puts tremendous pressure on you, trying to **police your emotions all the time.** This is why great ones **loved the Atman more**. This love for the Atman will automatically rise and guide you, becoming your authentic voice when you commit to the Atman. It will take of the burden of constantly improving relationships, abundance and many other things that take up most of our thoughts and feelings. When you become addicted to loving Atman vairagya will become easy and Raag dvesh(like and dislikes) which creates desires will not have much power over you… Your commitment to shine the pure consciousness, Shuddh Chaitanya, in your intellect will increase, and with that, your heart and mind will become pure. Ishwara will dwell in your heart and mind in the waking state and guide you along the way. --- **Lesson Number 14:** The unseen obstacles in loving God and how to overcome them The one to **whom** you surrender is God, and the one **who knows** how to surrender is also God. The one **who receives the benefits** of surrender is also God. The first is called **Sat** existence, to whom you surrender. This Sat appears in the form of Ishwara, seated in your Atman. The one who knows how to surrender is called Shuddh Chaitanya — **Chit**. It is the **voice of God in you, appearing as the Atman.** It is the voice without form **that transmits this voice to your Antahkarana** (mind) in memory. The one who receives the benefits of surrender is Bliss — Ananda. It is the equilibrium state of Maya, where Sattvic, Rajas, and Tamas unite, or rather, they manifest from. When you rise above the gunas of Maya, you realize that there is only ONE: SAT Chit Ananda. Why do we struggle to come to terms with the ONE? Human beings **are not inspired** to LOVE God for two reasons. First, to love God, your problems should be significantly higher, to include the sum total of all the problems of 8 billion people. Why? It is because Bhagwan Ishwara is the sum total of all Jivas. God is the force superior to the sum total of all the problems of 8 billion people. That God is seated in you as the Atman. Since we are so much caught up in correcting our own problems, we don’t even have a moment to **listen** to other people’s problems. How could you listen? The problems of our body and our family, we consider to be our problems. Everything else, we call "the world." **"I" and "My" are my problems, and everything else is "Others."** Our minds are not fit to fully love God because we don’t realize that the worst problem in the world can come and sit in our lap in seconds. That is the power of Prakriti (nature). Others' problems, in an **instant,** become your problems and transform into the 'I' and 'My.'" The beggar on the street is not a beggar. He is God appearing as a beggar because of circumstances and karma. That same person was not a beggar from birth. The murderer is not a murderer. He is God appearing as the murderer. That same person was not a murderer from birth. God has been kind to us by making us play a good part in the world at the expense of many other evil people. When you realize this, only then can you be inspired to love God, for you will know He is ONE. You will not waste time complaining and mourning because you will know that the dangers ahead are huge and the opportunities for doing good are presented to you, and you should do your best with the work at hand. The same goes for happiness. If someone else becomes great, we are not happy. Our happiness is related to our success. However, God is the sum total of all Jivas. **He is superior to the happiness of 8 billion people.** It is impossible for us to be happy with the happiness of other people if we are seated in the intellect. You have to upgrade yourself to the Atman, where **you will be superior to the problems and happiness of 8 billion people.** When you reach there, you don’t have to worry about doing good in the world and all that nonsense. You will know that you cannot solve a single person’s problem, including your own, unless God gives you the opportunity and **makes you an instrument**. God is the only conscious being, and He is giving us the opportunity to receive credit for the small things we are doing, but we fail to recognize that. **God is freedom.** Freedom is not created, maintained, or destroyed. It exists all the time. You may forget it, but you can never lose it. Everything else in the world has to be created and maintained to enjoy happiness and success, and when it is destroyed, there is sorrow. So, this freedom in you is above the laws of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. That is the basis of freedom, and that is YOU. You are free from the rules of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. Your body was born. You were never born. Your body will die one day. You will never die. The one to **whom** you surrender is God, and the one who **knows** how to surrender is also God. The one **who gets the benefits of surrender** is also God. You are Sat Chit Ananda. You should aim to make the reflected consciousness disappear by His grace and let your Shuddh Chaitanya, the pure consciousness, shine in your intellect. **The worst sinner is as much entitled to grace as a saint.** The sinner is thinking and making mistakes in the reflected consciousness, while there is no stain in the pure consciousness at all. **Step into the reflected consciousness, and you become a lame Jiva.** Step out of the reflected consciousness and you will merge into the pure consciousness, and become a shining sage in minutes. What is your plan? --- **Lesson 15: Who Are You to Solve Any Problem?** Shankaracharya beautifully states: *"There is no creature in this universe more beautiful than the Sat-Chit-Ananda Swaroop of Ishwara, present in your Atman."* This profound insight serves as a reminder to **surrender to our true nature,** which is pure consciousness, bliss, and existence. In Vedanta, there are two significant concepts that must be realized to truly surrender to Bhagwan: **Upadhi** and **Nimitth**. These terms hold the key to understanding the deeper workings of the universe. - **Upadhi** means the material cause. - **Nimitth** refers to the instrumental cause. A simple example can clarify this: A doctor attends to two patients in a hospital, both suffering from heart problems. - The first patient recovers swiftly after treatment, and the family, overjoyed, praises the doctor as godlike. - The second patient, however, passes away. Now, the question arises: Who saved the first patient? The obvious answer is the doctor. Here, the **Nimitth** (instrumental cause) is the doctor, while the **Upadhi** (material cause) includes the doctor’s skills, tools, and intelligence, which enabled the surgery. But what about the second patient, who died? The doctor might attribute the death to a heart attack, making the heart attack the **Upadhi**, or material cause. However, who ultimately took the life of the patient? The doctor is neither blamed nor does he accept responsibility. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: *"I am death, carrying all beings away. Of things yet to be, I am the origin."* Bhagwan, as the **Nimitth**, is the true instrumental cause of both life and death. Similarly, in the case of the first patient, who truly saved them? It was not the doctor. It was Bhagwan, working as the real **Nimitth**. Here lies the greatness of Ishwara: - When a patient is saved, God, as the ultimate cause, allows the doctor to take credit and receive praise. - When a patient dies, God takes the blame, as the unseen instrumental cause. When you deeply contemplate this, your **Ahamkara** (ego) begins to dissolve. You realize that for every achievement you claim as yours, it is Bhagwan who is the real doer. He is graciously giving you the opportunity to take credit. Every intellect, every tool, every action is jad(insentient) and shines only because it is illuminated by His presence. Shankaracharya reminds us: *"There is nothing else other than the Shuddha Chaitanya (pure consciousness) shining in your Atman."* It is this divine consciousness that makes a doctor’s intellect sharp and tools effective. Without it, every object is inert and lifeless. Ishwara, as the eternal **Nimitth**, lights up everything. Every joy and success you experience is due to Bhagwan’s grace and your accumulated good karma. Realizing this truth eradicates **Aham** (ego) and **Moha** (delusion), the false belief that *“I am the doer, and I deserve credit.”* This realization destroys your Avarana and you become free.. True freedom comes when you surrender completely, becoming an instrument in the hands of God. In this surrender, you become His chosen messenger. He takes charge of your destiny, guiding you to fulfill your purpose. [Continue to Lessons 16 to 20](https://webinars.bhagavadgitauniversity.com/powersur-3)