The Bhagavad Gita (18.73) concludes with Arjuna surrendering to Krishna, not in a passive way by accepting Krishna’s will as it is happening in his life, but in an active way by accepting the responsibility to do Krishna’s will through his life. This understanding that Krishna’s will doesn’t just happen to us through the events around us, but it is also meant to happen through us is the distinctive focus of the Gita’s conclusion. When we are trying to remember Krishna, that remembrance needs to include both these aspects of how Krishna’s will works.
Whatever may be happening to us and whatever may be the specific cause because of which it may be happening, we need to see beyond those specifics to the universal unchanging reality that it is Krishna’s will that is still happening. If we see people’s actions, even world events, as random or disconnected from Krishna, then we cannot be very steadily Krishna conscious.
At the same time, just because whatever is happening to us is a part of Krishna’s will does not mean that we just accept it passively. Krishna wants us to consciously choose to respond in a way that is in harmony with his will. And his will for us may range from a graceful acceptance of whatever has happened to a resourceful correction of whatever has happened. In the Bhagavad Gita especially, Krishna calls Arjuna to the latter way of harmonizing with his will by urging Arjuna to fight against the Kauravas.
When we chant Krishna’s name and pray to him through such chanting, the underlying mood is primarily that we be engaged in his service. That means we are praying to have both the vision and the determination to do his will. Vision means that among the multiple choices that we could be making at every moment, we are able to discern the choice that will draw us closer to Him. Determination means that we not just theoretically know what choice will take us closer to Krishna, but also tangibly enact that choice in our life and thus move closer to Him.
When we learn to see this active dimension of surrender, we realize that serving Krishna will not make our life poorer by robbing it of all initiative and reducing it to mere passivity. Far from it, we realize that doing Krishna’s will will help us to direct our initiative towards the highest purpose and thus enrich our life to its fullest potential.
Summary:
- Surrender is not just about accepting God’s will as it happens around us; it is also about accepting the responsibility to enact that will through us.
- This surrender requires the vision to discern the choices that bring us closer to Krishna and the determination to carry them out.
- Harmonizing with Krishna’s will doesn’t diminish us by taking away our initiative; instead, it enriches us by guiding our initiative toward the highest purpose.
Think it over:
- What are the two aspects of surrender?
- Which aspect of surrender do you need to increase in your life?
- How can you increase that aspect through cultivating the appropriate vision or determination?
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18.73: Arjuna said: My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.
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