There is an incident in Vivekananda`s life...🔗

Vivekananda was sitting on the banks of the holy river Ganga with his disciple who was pressing his feet.

A so-called Vedantist, a scholar, came and started to flaunt his knowledge to Vivekananda. He talked all sorts of philosophies and bragged to Vivekananda that he bathed in the Ganga everyday and therefore he was very spiritual and what not.

Vivekananda replied, 'There are many fish in the Ganga river that swim everyday as well. Does it mean that they are big scholars? Does it mean that they are very holy? Simply go into the world and live your life. Learn something there. Don't be stuck in these stupid philosophies'.

The Vedantist was simply shocked when he heard this. He turned and quietly went away.

After some time, a young college student passed by and was very excited to see Vivekananda. He approached him and said, 'I have heard that you are a very modern Guru. You don't believe in all of these useless rituals like taking bath in Ganga every day and reading all the ancient scriptures. I completely agree with your ideology. I am living happily in society without all these spiritual practices."

Vivekananda looked at him and said, 'What are you talking about? It is only because of this Vedantic spiritual backbone which we have, that you are able to live peacefully in society. Go back and learn more on spirituality and Vedanta. Bathe in the Ganga everyday and cleanse yourself.' The young guy was shaken and he simply went away.

• Let go of it all -

Both the Vendantist and the college guy got the lessons they needed. But the guy who was sitting and pressing Vivekananda's feet was very confused! He asked him why he was making such contradictory statements - saying one thing to one guy and the complete opposite to the other.

Vivekananda told him, 'What had to be told to each of them, I have taken care of. For you, don't bother, simply press the feet!'

When do we know surrender has happened?

To surrender is to become blind with love. You will not know in which direction the Master is taking you, yet you will trust that he will lead you down the path. This is because the Master is the path for you, nothing more. You don't have agenda for yourself. The Master becomes your agenda. When this happens, he will ensure that you do not move off the path and stray.

With me, I never make rules. I give only guidelines. I can tell you that something would be good for you so that you can explode in 360 degrees. The decision is yours. In the end only you must decide.

Surrendering is your choice. I am not going to sit here and force you to surrender. But I can say that something will be good for you. I can say that you will experience a tremendous freedom when you let go the weight of your mind's emotions.

But in the end, it is your own choice. You can help yourself grow, or you can simply listen to your inner chatter and go back to the same life that you were living. It is you who has come to me, and it is your own decision that makes you stay here.

A real disciple chooses to follow the Master's words because he loves to do it! Because he doesn't know any other way! He doesn't care to know if there is any other way! He loves the idea of following the Master blindly, with no idea of what might happen to him. This is the way in which you guys are living around me now. You keep yourself going only because of your devotion and trust that you are with the Master.

You have been obeying your parents, your friends, your relatives and your teachers, all your life. Your parents would say something and you would obey. Your teachers would say something and you would follow them. But here, I am not saying something for you to obey. I am saying it to make you understand, and with this understanding you simply find that you are transformed!

So, it is only because of your surrender, that you are with me. It is only because of your love, that you enjoy the transformation. When a person surrenders, he does not do the work simply as work. He does it because he feels the Master's transforming fingers in the work. He enjoys the Master through the work. This work is valuable only because of the love that is put into it.

And not everyone gets an opportunity to do my work. Those who have surrendered and simply do without any reason are the chosen ones who will carry my mission.

People sometimes approach me and say they think they have surrendered but that they are not sure. Surrender is the ultimate certainty. It is the clearest clarity. You have really surrendered when you don't even have the idea of surrender left in you because if you have surrendered everything, then even this very idea has left you. So only when you feel nothing but love and openness while sitting in front of the Master, have you surrendered. And be clear: if the thought comes, 'I feel a lot of love towards the Master right now; I think I have surrendered,' be sure that you have not surrendered at all! If this is the case, then it is only your mind that is playing with you. Your mind is just telling itself that it has surrendered! But surrender happens only when the mind itself is surrendered!

Your surrender must be total. You cannot simply think you have surrendered. If there is a doubt, you have still not surrendered. It is yet to come. But if you have a deep seeking inside, it will happen.

Also, with a Master, things happen quite in contrast to what you might expect. Just see how things happen in the ashram! You may be doing something thinking that I will not enter that place for the next few hours. But what happens? Suddenly I will enter and you will get the shock of your life!

So with the Master, expect only what can never be expected! This is the ultimate lifestyle, the most spontaneous way to live. This is what living in divinity is all about.

And there is no technique which you can practice to simply make surrender happen. It will happen when the time is right. You cannot create it. You can only stop the stopping that is preventing it from happening.

To tell you honestly, man has more capacity to destroy than to create. This is because in man, the ego is most prominent. But if you just look at small children, this will not be the case. Ego has not fully penetrated small children. Just observe their play. Look at a two year old. She will not destroy at all. She will go on creating something. Of course, children also throw things in a fit. But their inherent nature will be to build, to create, to make new things. This is why children are so interested in building blocks. They get a chance to create. They get a chance to express themselves.

But there are a few things which however much you try, you simply cannot create. For example, you cannot create love. It happens when it has to happen.

- Let go of it All -

You have come to me after such a long time. You have seen the world and understood society. After all that, you have come to me. Now simply allow what has to happen to happen! Why are you in such a hurry? There is no need to think of the passing time and all such things because you are with me now and nothing matters any more. The day that you are completely unaware of what might come, but at the same time in a state of full awareness, it will come!

The very idea of surrender has been misunderstood. We are taught that surrender is 'giving in' through an inevitable fight; we have to fight with ourselves and someday change. We are taught that we have to change our natural way of being. But if you see in reality, it is totally the opposite! Surrender itself means to be totally natural. You give up all the nonsense which you have acquired through time. You simply throw all your falsity in the dustbin; that is surrender!

Surrendering to the Master means being fully relaxed in your being. Whatever I tell you to do, even if it is the most illogical thing, you will simply do in a relaxed way. Even if I tell you to walk on fire, you will simply do it with a smile on your face. And this has really happened. Just ask our ashram brahmacharis. For their dheeksha initiation, they are made to walk on red hot coal as a meditation. And you will be shocked: every single one will enter and come out laughing. Can you even imagine walking on red hot coal in society? Instead of getting bliss, you will only get nice blisters! So understand: it is surrender that gives you the power to do things which you never imagined.

Actually, when you resist me, you are creating a split within yourself. One side that is your heart, will want to be with me, and the other side that is your mind, will simply tell you to drop everything and run! Fighting creates duality within yourself. By fighting, you are going against everything that I am teaching you. If you want to live with this fight, with this duality, then simply live with it! What else can be done? You must learn to

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look beyond these divisions that have been created by you. Only then will you find unity. And this unity will not be forced at all. It will simply rise. It is like an orchestra. Many different instruments will be playing, with so many different sounds. But somehow in the noise, there will be a central chord, a rhythm!

In the same way, if you are aware of these divisions, unity will begin to happen. When unity is found in duality, it will be at a much deeper level. And it cannot come by any effort. It only happens through deep relaxation within your self.

In the beginning, the so-called surrender that you feel is actually only a honeymoon! It is not surrender at all. There is excitement of the unknown, that's all. But you will soon settle down and then the real work will start. The operation will start!

This has to happen to everyone. It is a kind of falling in love with the Master. But you mistake this feeling of excitement as surrender. It is only when this 'honeymoon' period ends that you begin to rise in love with the Master. It is only when you begin to rise in love with the Master that you really start growing.

And when you are in this initial phase, your trust will not be total. You will go on doubting your own surrender, your own trust. Learn to just he, to just feel receptive; then, things will simply happen. If you are patient, if you simply wait with all openness, this doubting attitude will disappear. If you are in a hurry, be clear, you have already missed.

Once you trust, once you surrender everything to the Master, then even he disappears. As I said before, I am just an excuse for you to surrender. The Master is nothing but the form to which you surrender. So once you have surrendered, the Master's form is no more of significance to you. Then there is only the emptiness. When this happens, you and I will be part of the bigger Whole. It becomes a deep understanding.

It is possible to surrender to the cosmos, but you will create many problems in the process. Surrender is like a waterfall. It needs space. But you will give only a small

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and narrow entrance. This narrow opening and this waterfall will continuously be fighting with each other. Then it is this narrow opening that will come to me and say, 'I am not getting any experiences.' What am I to do? The waterfall wants to come in. It is trying to push its way through; you are not giving enough space. That is where the Master comes in. He is used as a representation of the cosmos. It is easier to surrender to something which you can relate to. It is easier to fall in tune with something which you can admire. You can relate with the Cosmic Whole. You can admire the Cosmic Whole, but it will take time.

The Divine is continuously guiding us. But we never listen; this is the main problem. And this voice is small, very discreet. The quieter the mind gets, the louder the voice within becomes. It is continuously guiding you, telling you the way, but you do not listen. The noise in your mind is so much that you can't hear the whispers of the Divine.

This divine guide does not lie outside you, it lies within. Only a person who goes deep within uncovers the divine guide. As of now, it is covered by too much of your mind. Once you have uncovered this guide, everything that you do will be blissful. And this has nothing to do with any increased morality. No! Your being is by itself pure; just that purity will come through and whatever you do will simply be blissful. You are not going to try to create an emotion. The emotion will happen on its own.

Once you have dropped the mind, your walk itself becomes lighter. This is because a big load has been taken off you. Your mind is the biggest load. Once it is dropped, just imagine how much lighter you will look and feel!

I tell you, walking lightly without the mind is the greatest gift which you can give to Existence. Just think: the Earth is carrying so much weight - the weight of all the minds and all the people! That is why Mother Earth is considered to be most patient. She carries our weight day and night. So the minute you walk without your identity, you have made yourself so light and therefore you become the greatest gift to Her.

Until we have found the inner guide, the Master is needed. He is the guide who appears to be outside but in reality is inside. He goes on pulling us within ourselves to become aware of just one glimpse of the Divine, the inner guide. And having this one glimpse is enough. It will throw you back into yourself.

The Master is here to tell you what you are not listening to. Only because you are not listening within, it must be told from the outside. It is always easier to listen to the outside than it is to listen to the inside. This is because your mind can relate to the outside. Your mind knows only that. So until the time comes when you are fully pushed within yourself, the Master will only appear to you as a form from the outside, from the external. When you surrender to the Master, you are doing nothing more than surrendering to the guide within. The Master is only a mirror of yourself; he reflects you.

- Let go of it All -

Surrender needs your strength. And it is not the strength which you think you know. It needs the strength of the soul. It needs complete certainty. The Master gives you this strength.

When you decide strongly to be around me, along with strength, you get the stamina, not of the body, but of your will! If this is not there, you can simply run around me, but you will not be able to be around me. To be around me, you need intense maturity. But to run around me, just an instruction is enough and you will run around like a horse! But I don't need you all to run around; horses are more than enough for that! I want all of you to develop this intensity and stamina. And the moment I have said this, the very next moment is simply enough for you to catch the flame. Actually, the very next moment is too much! This moment is enough! Simply catch hold of it; nothing more is needed.

Let you understand: by surrender, I do not mean for you to only surrender to me. Surrender means to let go of everything and place it before Existence. You only use the Master as a tool. So if you have really surrendered to the Master, then you have surrendered to Existence. And when you have surrendered in the truest sense, you are enlightened! After all, Masters are the ones who have surrendered to Existence so completely that their very body is an expression of Existence.

A disciple tells swamiji that he feels he has not surrendered even though he has been with the Master for so long. Because of this, he feels that it is time for him to leave.

Actually, because you are feeling this way, the possibility to surrender is even greater! You see, you have just given up. But there is still one thing that is stopping you. You are still fighting. You have still not fully given up. The fact that you want to leave means two things: that you are letting go, but at the same time you are fighting.

The only reason you are waging this battle within yourself is because deep within you, the desire to surrender is there. But you are so frustrated that you simply don't feel the need to wait anymore. This is the reason why your surrender is not total; it is clouded by all sorts of confusion and impatience.

There is no need for you to leave. By leaving, you will simply miss. To be with the Master is the greatest blessing. Just understand this deeply because over and above this, I cannot force you to be with me. Ultimately, it is your own decision.

People always think that living with the Master is only waking up in the morning, doing meditation and yoga etc. Understand, being with the Master means to go through all your ego hurdles. The Master will go on churning you through different ways until you are finally churned down to nothing; meaning, there will be no separate identity of yourself, just a merger with the Divine.

There are a few guys who feel happy only in disagreement with me! And it is okay to say 'no' to me once in a while. It gives some juice to the whole fruit! Actually, if you continuously say 'no', a 'yes' will soon come. From that deep

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disagreement, an agreement will come. This happens with everything. If you are strongly for something, the complete opposite is bound to come up at some point in time.

So don't be bothered about your disagreement; it is alright. Even if just a small corner agrees with me, that is enough. I will move deeper and penetrate you further.

When you first come to me, your surrender cannot be total. It can't even be called surrender. But slowly, very slowly, it grows. You begin to surrender more and more everyday. The beauty of surrender is that you will never be aware of what is happening to you. It will simply happen without your knowledge and it will take its own course.

As you begin to understand me, it becomes even more possible. And the minute you begin to understand yourself, it has become possible.

As time goes by, you begin to understand that the object to which you are surrendering is nothing but yourself. You understand that by surrendering, you will not lose your individuality; you will gain it.

I am not telling you to drop your material things. The whole idea is that even if I tell you to drop all that you have ever known, you will not think twice; you will just do it. This is what surrender is all about. But in order to trust, the mind has to drop you! Because as long as the mind is there, it will keep filling your head with unnecessary thoughts. When it drops, what has to happen can happen.