Miscellaneous - Religion   

Principle of surrender

CHENNAI: The Ramayana captures the spirit and essence of the principle of surrender (Saranagati) and clearly illustrates the qualifications of not only the seeker of refuge but also of the one who offers refuge. In a lecture, Kalyanapuram Sri Aravamudhachariar pointed out the two instances in the Ramayana that occur in quick succession — Vibhishana’s act of surrender followed immediately by the Lord’s act of seeking the help of the ocean king to cross the ocean (on the advice of Vibhishana) — as illustrative of the efficacy or otherwise of the act of seeking help. Vibhishana sought Lord Rama knowing Him to be the Supreme Being incarnate; he chose to leave his brother and his possessions and was even unmindful of the slander that was likely to spread because he had deserted his brother at a crucial time and joined hands with the enemy. He left Ravana only when his advice to Ravana on the futility of waging a war against the embodiment of Dharma failed to have any effect.

Vibhishana’s faith manifests the Bhava of a devotee who has the conviction in the surety of protection that the Supreme Being offers both in this life and hereafter. Such a devotee is determined to seek the grace of the Lord by pledging sincere service to Him. In this context, the Lord makes the emphatic promise of saving all those who seek His feet though during His incarnation as Lord Rama He played the role of a human being to the hilt and masked His divinity in a very natural manner.

But when the Lord sought the ocean king’s help formally, it was a reversal of roles and hence not fruitful. The ocean king had his limitations and the belated response to the Lord’s call made Lord Rama summon His anger.

Surrender at the Lord’s feet is possible only if one has an intuitive grasp of the goal of human endeavour as one and the same with the bliss of God realisation. From this awareness one has to search for the means of reaching it and also make all efforts to attain it.

The sentiment that all other protectors are of no avail however powerful each of them might appear to be, expressed by Vedanta Desika, captures the absolute power of the Lord to take care of all those who seek His help.

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