Surrender

Surrender is the devotional counterpart to inquiry. While self-inquiry approaches liberation through investigating the "I," surrender approaches it through releasing the "I" to a higher power—whether conceived as God, guru, or the Self.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna teaches complete surrender (sharanagati) as the supreme path. Ramana Maharshi taught that true surrender means surrendering the ego itself, not just external possessions or actions. When the sense of being a separate "doer" is completely released, what remains is pure being.

Surrender is not passive resignation but active release—a continuous offering of the separate self. As the "I" is surrendered moment to moment, it is discovered that there never was a separate self to surrender. The one who surrenders and the one to whom surrender happens are revealed as not-two.

In meditation and daily life, notice the sense of being the "doer" of actions and the "thinker" of thoughts. Offer this sense of agency to the Divine, to awareness, to the Self. Hold nothing back. Each time the ego reasserts itself, surrender it again. The practice is continuous release, not a one-time event.

The main obstacle is surrendering some things while holding others back—partial surrender is no surrender. Another is spiritual pride in "being surrendered." True surrender leaves no one behind to take credit. Some also confuse surrender with passivity; in reality, action flows more freely when not obstructed by ego.