Spiritual surrender, we are told, is not a mental, still less an oral act, but the result of Grace, which comes in its own time and of its own accord, to cause the automatic subsidence of that self-asserting element in the spiritual seekers nature, which stands in his way to ultimate realization. Sometimes it is sudden, and sometimes so gradual, that the devotee himself may not become aware of it. Grace, though it comes from the Guru by his very presence, is not fortuitous, but fully earned by hard internal fight, by long periods of suffering, prayer, self-purification, and intense yearning for release.

      One should be on guard not to misinterpret the correct meaning of suffering in this regard. Sri Ma Anandamayi gives us the proper understanding of spiritual suffering in showing us that it is synonymous with the Sanskrit word "Tapa Sahana".

      Tapa Sahana, which translates into English as "bearing the heat", refers to the spiritual aspirants persevering endurance, mostly within meditation, to withstand the distracting urges to stop meditating before the alloted time period ends. The demanding urges of the lower mind, the ego, actually create physical heat which is here defined as suffering. Mother Anandamayi, as well as Bhagavan Ramana, have said that to fight and steadfastly repel these inner urges creates abundant spiritual progress. This repulsion, and the spiritual progress that ensues, is achieved by redirecting our lives from worldly (selfish) towards Godward impulses.

      There is within each one of us an elemental impulse toward God. Although our intelligence (buddhi) must cooperate in our return to God, still it is never a merely intellectual or emotional impulse. Rather it is inherent in our essential being itself. It is part of our eternal nature. Therefore to be an "awakened" person means to be experiencing and acting upon this godward impulse, and at the same time attempt to minimize acting upon emotional impulsive experience.

      This form of suffering (Tapa Sahana) turns the mind inward and eventually draws out the cry from the depths of the soul for the liberating light of Truth, and for the appearance of God, the Divine Teacher, who alone can lead to it and, thus, to Redemption.


     FROM TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

Visitor: What is self-surrender?

Bhagavan: It is the same as mind-control. The ego submits when it recognizes the higher authority of the Atman. This is the beginning of surrender. Although the ego cannot exist without the Self, yet,
due to its ignorance of this fact, it remains rebellious, and acts on its own initiatives and by its own will.

V: How can the rebellious ego be subjugated?

Bh: Either by seeking its source, when it automatically disappears, or by deliberately surrendering all its actions, motives and decisions, striking thereby at its root. Habits create the false notion that thinking is a permanent institution, with which it is impossible to dispense, but enquiry and discrimination will blast this fallacy. None succeeds without effort and the successful few owe their victory to perseverance.

V: People prostrate before God or the Guru to prove, I suppose, or at least to show their surrender.

Bh: True surrender is the melting of the ego in its Source, the Heart. God is not deceived by physical genuflections; what He sees in the worshiper is how much of the ego remains in full control and how much is on the verge of self-destruction.