The essence of perfection lies in selflessness
Many of us have read or come across the “Essence Of Gita (Gita Saar)†that says “whatever happened in the past, it happened for the good; Whatever is happening, is happening for the good; whatever shall happen in the future, shall happen for the good only. Do not weep for the past, do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present lifeâ€.
There is no doubt about the fact that the whole of Shrimad Bhagwat Gita is full of wisdom. But one misses its real meaning if one does not know whom the word, Bhagwan, in the Gita, refers to. The collection of divine orations says it in very clear terms that these are the utterances of God Himself (Bhagavan uvachya — these are the words). No one else, delivering a discourse, has ever said that he, the speaker, is God and none else but God. The essence of The Gita is contained in the words ‘Manmana Bhava’. ‘Dedicate your mind to Me; do things for Me alone; let your actions be offered to Me in reverence.’
These verses occur in The Gita twice and they end with a firm assurance from God, saying that one who stabilises his mind in HIM and fully surrenders himself to the Supreme Almighty will certainly get liberated from body-consciousness and the bondages that arise from it. The reason for such an exhortation and assurance is evident because man's miseries are mainly due to his attachments viz attachment to own body, to bodily relatives and to other things, like possessions, his country, language, etc. So, if a man yokes his mind to the remembrance of the Supreme Almighty and surrenders ego and attachments, implied by the words 'My', and 'Mine', he will truly be free from these entanglements.
Supreme Almighty - the Gita sermonizer -- advises us to follow His Shrimat — the holy principles enunciated by God. These principles signify the will of God. When the devout pray to God, they say: ‘Lord, thy will be done’, or ‘Let that happen what is the wish of God’. Now! If we really act according to His will, wish, advice or Shrimat, our will would become strong and effective. In short, if we identify our will with God's i.e., if we act as He wills, all our inner conflict will have ended. This will wipe off our pride and attachments and will increase capacity and efficiency.
An important consequence of it will be the ability to adjust ourselves easily and quickly. Having been freed from other psychological memories, except that of God and duty, our energy potential will find no resistance for full performance.
Man with all what he has will be pressed into action, for he will consider it as a sacrosanct act. It should, therefore, be remembered that, by surrendering to God, we don't become subservient. On the contrary, we become free agents — free from mental attachments which act as bondages. And, as free agents, we act as self-contained individuals.
Having dedicated our mind, intellect and emotions to Him, we feel ours as an integrated personality and can work with a wonderful cohesion of our mental abilities. Our personality, in totality, gets purified and sets to the work in a unified way and with joy and the result is excellence. Thus, the wise counsel of 'Surrender to God' is the gospel of inspired action which leads from progress to higher progress.
(The author is a spiritual educator)
