The greatest act of the spiritual life is to surrender totally. Surrender totally to your Self. Your Self means the Absolute, Divinity, God, the Divine Mother. Whatever is your idea of the ultimate reality, surrender to that. Surrender means give into or give up everything to. To surrender you must be free from desire, hatred, hatred, attachment, anger, greed delusion, emotion, passion, jealousy, spitefulness, revenge, arrogance, showing off and I-ness.

Total surrender means letting go of your will and floating in the sea of the divine will. A free and surrendered mind will experience peace, calm and the powerful force of purity. It means that you give everything that is yours both within and outside yourself, completely, absolutely, without expecting anything in return and without conditions.

You cannot do this instantly. It takes many years of genuine practice and experience to surrender totally to God. Yet the more total your surrender and the more sincerely you do this, the more God will take care of you. The Divine will give you everything that is necessary for you to survive on the spiritual path. If you have real faith in God you can surrender easily. If you truly believe that everything is divine and the Divine is in everything....If you genuinely believe that Divine Mother is with you always, then She looks after you like Her little child and you surrender to Her. Just like mother and child. Mother always protects baby.

Difficulties may come before you but these should be treated as tests with which you can practise your surrender. Such trials will strengthen your faith and enable you to come closer to total surrender. Total surrender means that you have no doubts or questions. You believe in the ultimate reality and that it takes care of you. You have no interest in anything in this world other than the Divine. Everything you do, every action you make, every word you speak is for the sake of God or God's spiritual work. Without thought of your worldly self you live to give others the divine light. That is total surrender.

If you have any reservations or any doubts then you have not surrendered. Some people try to mix their egotistical desires and worldly wants with the divine life. That is not surrender. That is bargaining on the spiritual path. If you want the real thing you must be genuine and honest. If you want God and your spiritual master to live in your heart always, you must be clean and empty. Then only can you install them firmly in your heart. If you keep all the impure forces there as well there is no room for them.

The huge and beautiful blossoms of the lotus flower bloom above the dirty mud. The flower plucker takes the flowers carefully from the deep, muddy ponds where they bloom naturally. If he worries about losing his life in the depths of the pool, he can not take the flower. The only thought in his mind is to pluck that flower. Are you still only concerned with the world or are you really interested in the lotus flower of spirituality? Think about it.

Do not blame God for your shortcomings. Do not complain about or become angry with your master. All thoughts are impermanent and they are usually illusory in nature. Realize that your anger and upset are impurities within you. If you still have impurities it means that you have not surrendered. Essentially you are all pure people. Between the time of your birth and now, the dirt of the world has tainted you. When understanding dawns and you surrender, the dirt will automatically leave you. A surrendered mind is peaceful under all circumstances, happy with any conditions and full of divine love whatever happens.

Swami Premananda