How To Surrender To God? - From Bhavani Ashtakam Of Adi Shankara

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In Hinduism, surrendering to God completely is the highest form of Bhakti. How is one to surrender to God? The very first sloka from Bhavani Ashtakam points out how to surrender to God totally.

Surrender to God meaning

Surrendering to God is submitting willingly one's thoughts and deeds to the all knowing higher power, considering it to be the sole doer. We often struggle to surrender to God because we cling to our thoughts and ideas and believe ourselves to be the doers. This way we get into the rut of action and reaction and get caught in the continuous swirl of the birth and death cycle.

How do you mentally surrender to God?

When one knows one's true Self as beyond the body and the mind, surrender happens spontaneously. It's the thoughts that are the root cause of bondage. Our attachments are all in the form of thoughts. The world does not hold on to us. It is we who cling to it by the way of thoughts, creating bondage. When one submits one's thoughts to the higher power, surrender happens and a certain detachment sets in with the prevalence of peace.

The essence of surrender in the first sloka of Bhavani Ashtakam

Bhavani Ashtakam by Adi Shankara is a composition with the spirit of surrender to the benevolent form of Devi, in the name of Bhavani. Though the entire composition is about seeking her refuge in various ways, the very first sloka of Bhavani Ashtakam throws light on where our attachments lie. The sloka opens with the note of surrender to Goddess Bhavani recognising our attachments, which is the cause of bondage.

na tātō na mātā na bandhurna dātā
na putrō na putrī na bhr̥tyō na bhartā
na jāyā na vidyā na vr̥ttirmamaiva
gatistvaṁ gatistvaṁ tvamēkā bhavāni .. 1..

1.1: Neither the father, nor the mother; neither the relation and friend,
1.2: Neither the son, nor the daughter; neither the servant, nor the husband,
1.3: Neither the wife, nor the (worldly) knowledge; neither my profession,
1.4: You are my refuge, You alone are my refuge, Oh Mother Bhavani.

Our attachments lie with our relation with the ephemeral world that we forget the eternal. We are dependent on the worldly things that are subject to change and fail to take refuge in the eternal almighty. Awakening to the understanding of the futility of such attachments bestows great clarity, which leads to surrender to God, here Goddess Bhavani, which will bring about Self-Realisation. Let's thus surrender to Goddess Bhavani our thoughts and deeds and seek her blessings for eternal peace.