The Power of Surrender

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj,
14 December 2010

Bhaktera adhin Bhagavan: the Supreme Lord is controlled by His devotees.

ভক্তের হৃদয়ে সদা গোবিন্দ-বিশ্রাম ।
গোবিন্দ কহেন—মম বৈষ্ণব পরাণ ॥

bhaktera hrdaye sada govinda-visrama
govinda kahena—mama vaisnava parana

Govinda always resides in the hearts of His devotees. Govinda says, "Vaishnavs are My life and soul."

Krishna Himself said, "Devotees have Me tied within their hearts."

When Mahaprabhu wanted to go to Vrindavan, He asked devotees for permission. Even when He was going to take sannyas, He asked Sachi Mata and Vishnupriya for permission. He told them before He wanted to take sannyas, although Sachi Mata had already understood that Nimai would not stay there, and she blamed Advaita Acharya for that, "You are taking away my son! One son has already left, and that was also because of you; and now Nimai is also going to leave. It is your fault! Your name was Advaita, but now for me you are Dvaita. You do not care who will look after me and Vishnupriya. You have preached to Nimai, and now He wants to leave this house, but how am I going to stay here?"

When Gurudev joined the mission in 1947, his mother also asked Sridhar Maharaj, "Who will take care of me?"

If Krishna protects you, no one can destroy you. Krishna says, "If you think for Me, I will think for you." You think that your children and other people will look after you, but no, it is not so.

We were just singing this song today:

দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ॥
'অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ'—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana

Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord's guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me.'

Saranagati, 1, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Full faith is necessary.

Even Draupadi could not understand it. She asked Krishna, "Why did You not protect me when they were beating me?"

Duhsasan came to her house and said, "The kingdom now belongs to us, and so do you. You have to go with us." Kunti, her mother-in-law, was also there, and she tried to stop him, "She is just a housewife, why does she have to go?" But they forcefully took her by hair and threw her on the floor at the raj-sabha (royal assembly). Duryodan was sitting in the place of the king, and the Pandavas were sitting with their heads down because they had been defeated in the pasha khela (পাশা খেলা, a dice game)—their uncle Sakuni made the arrangement for them to lose the game.

When Duhsasan came to take Draupadi, she thought of her husbands, "I am alone, and they are beating and taking me away! Where are you, Yudhisthir, where are you, Bhim and Arjun?" When Duhsasan brought her into the hall, she saw all of them sitting there and cried, "Yudhisthir! Bhim! Arjun! Why are you not protecting me? I am your wife, and they are abusing me!" But they had no power. Everyone knew how chaste Draupadi was to her husbands, so Duhsasan came to take her sari off.

Krishna asked Draupadi later, "Did you remember Me? No, you remembered your husbands. Even when they were taking your clothes off, you thought you could protect yourself. They were pulling your clothes, and you were holding it, trying to cover your body and save yourself. Then you were clasping to your sari with one hand, and calling out with the other. That is not full surrender. When they had taken almost all your sari off, then with both hands up, heart and soul, you called out to Me, 'Please protect me!' Did I protect you at that time or not?" Draupadi admitted it.

দীক্ষাকালে ভক্ত করে আত্মসমর্পণ ।
সেইকালে কৃষ্ণ তারে করে আত্মসম ॥

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama

At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Krishna accepts him to be as good as Himself.

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.192

When you take initiation, you do not only receive a mantra, you also receive divya-jnana (divine knowledge). If a devotee surrenders to Krishna, Krishna thinks, "This devotee is My soul." Surrender is necessary for this. Without surrender, you cannot do anything.

It is also said about Nityananda Prabhu:

উত্তম, অধম, কিছু না করে বিচার ।
যে আগে পড়য়ে, তারে করয়ে নিস্তার ॥

uttama, adhama, kichhu na kare vichara
ye age padaye, tare karaye nistara

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 5.208-209

Nityananda Prabhu does not distinguish who is bad, who is worse, who is good—whoever surrenders, falls down at His lotus feet, He gives them mercy. Krishna rescues them in this way...

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