You Will Have To Surrender Everything To Him

Only after you understand that you have only cheated yourself by not worshiping his lotus feet, only after you understand that you have always been running after sensory pleasures, can you dedicate yourself to Sri Hari.

Then you offer yourself at his feet and pray for mercy. Ask for his kindness. Sri Hari has promised that whoever takes refuge in him, he will take care of them.

The relationship between you and Sri Hari has to be exclusive. There cannot be a third party in this. You have to be convinced that your miseries, your troubles, are the results of sins committed by you alone. You never realized that you have to face their consequences.

You never know whether you will have to take more births to fully undergo the results of your karma, so you ask only for one thing — give me unrelenting bhakti at your lotus feet.

You should be humble at your heart. Sri Hari takes care of only those with humility. Your attitude should be that you are his servant. If you think, because of your ill-fated spiritual exposure, that your kundalini is awake and you can sit cross-legged on par with him, then you will be deprived of his affection and love.

You have to surrender everything to him — your body, your mind, your family, whatever you think is your possession, you should surrender everything to him. You cannot claim that you deserve his attention. You cannot claim that you deserve his protection. It is up to him.

But pray to him that, if at all I have to take a birth, may I be born in the household of your devotee. Pray to him, tell him that you do not mind being born as a worm or an insect, but may have faith at his lotus feet whatever birth you take.

For you everything has to be Sri Hari alone — father, mother, relatives, friends, everything.
त्वमेव …..

Everything that is signified by the terms ‘I’ and ‘mine’ should be offered at his feet. Whatever you think that is yours, including your body, has to become ‘his’. That is surrender. That is how you dedicate yourself to him.

Whatever you think are yours — your possessions, your house, your money, your gold, your vehicle — you have to hand over the ownership of all that to Sri Hari. When you hand over the ownership of your house to him, you simply become an occupant thereafter. He becomes the master of your house. You become a servant in that house.

Your only goal, day in and day out, is to satisfy that master — Sri Hari. Whatever you have done in the past, all your karma, you have to relinquish at his lotus feet. They are no longer yours. They become ‘his’.

Whatever good deeds you have done in the past, even those you have to hand over to him. You can no longer anticipate results of those good deeds coming to you. You cannot say that, let Sri Hari remove my sins, my troubles, my sorrows, and I will keep all my punya with myself and enjoy the results.

That will not work. Either you hand over everything to him or nothing at all. This is like how companies are taken over, with all assets and liabilities together, on ‘as is where is’ basis.

The question is — are you ready to take that risk? Are you ready to surrender even your punya at the lotus feet, that you have probably earned through noble deeds of many, many births?

Then you will have to begin on a clean slate. Then your life is reset to zero. That is sharanagati. Not otherwise.

• What does surrender actually include?
  Hand over control of body, mind, time, wealth, status, and outcomes. Keep using them, but treat everything as Bhagavan’s property and yourself as the caretaker.

• How is exclusive devotion different from general devotion?
  Exclusive devotion cuts out rival anchors. No half-measures, no backup gods for specific benefits, no superstition. One refuge. One trust.

• Does surrender mean doing nothing?
  No. Do your duties fully. The shift is in ownership and authorship: you act as a servant offering work and results to Sri Hari.

• What happens to pride after surrender?
  Pride has no seat. Gratitude and responsibility replace it. Success is credited upward; failure is accepted without self-pity or blame.

• Is it wrong to ask for relief from pain?
  You can ask, but do not bargain. Ask for strength, clarity, and steady bhakti first. Relief follows when it truly helps your growth.

• How do I handle my past mistakes and guilt?
  Confess inwardly, accept consequences, make amends, and place the burden at his feet. Stop re-lifting what you have surrendered.

• What about my good deeds and the credit I expect?
  Offer the merit as well. Seeking rewards keeps you bound. Freedom begins when even punya is returned to the master.

• How do I know if my surrender is genuine?
  Watch your reflexes under stress. Less panic, less blame, less boasting, more prayerful action, more consistency in dharma.

• Can family and work remain a priority after surrender?
  Yes. Serve them better as his trusts. Care deepens, attachment loosens, integrity rises.

• What practical daily habits support surrender?
  Morning remembrance, short prayers at transitions, honest work, restrained speech, simple food, nightly self-audit, and regular service.

• How do I deal with fear of losing control?
  Replace control with commitment. You control effort and attitude; you hand off the final script. That swap reduces anxiety.

• Does surrender erase karma instantly?
  No shortcuts. Consequences may unfold, but the sting reduces and the path straightens. You walk lighter and wiser.

• What if my spiritual experiences inflate my ego?
  Treat experiences as weather. Do not chase them, do not flaunt them. Stay at the feet. Ego drops when service rises.

• How should I view my home and money after surrender?
  As entrusted assets. Spend with restraint, share with compassion, maintain with care, and keep books clean.

• What is the inner posture of a servant of Sri Hari?
  Humble, alert, cheerful, and accountable. Quick to thank, quick to correct, slow to complain.

• What is the one ask that never backfires?
  Unbroken bhakti at his feet. With that, every season of life becomes usable and meaningful.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi