94 - Self-surrender and God’s Grace | Swami Tattwamayananda

Summary: <br /><br />9th chapter: verse 22, 23, 24<br /><br />22nd verse: “People who meditate on God as not separate, who worship Him in all beings, who are always engaged in that divine pursuit, who engage in noble, unselfish deeds – for such people, I carry what they lack, and preserve what they already have.”<br /><br />This is one of the most celebrated verses of the Gita. Lord Krishna makes a big promise in this verse. “If you do God’s work, God will work for you.” When we do good, noble deeds without selfish motive, then some of our problems are automatically solved.<br /><br />In all spiritual traditions, there is a strong emphasis on God’s grace. If we surrender to God, our problems are mysteriously solved; our karmic blocks are removed. Such surrender needs to be complete, without any second thought or doubt. If there are doubts or second thoughts, our energy and concentration get dissipated.<br /><br />Doubt can be of two types. (1) Creative doubt, which is coupled with shraddha, and demonstrates a true thirst for knowledge. (2) Skepticism– seekers who ask questions without any shraddha. Their mind is closed, they don’t derive any benefits from answers to their questions, and they keep asking the same questions again and again.<br /><br />The devotee needs to blend his own effort with God’s grace. Self-effort helps him reach a level of spiritual fitness to become graceworthy and recognize God’s grace as God’s grace, not an accident.<br /><br />The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna provides an analogy on combining self-effort with God’s grace. If a boat is tied to an anchor, the effort is needed to first untie it and row it to the middle of the river. Only then, it can use the power of the wind to move further.<br /><br />Saint Teresa of Avila provides an analogy on the need to remove all doubts when surrendering to God. Before irrigating a field, one needs to remove the weeds and make it ready for irrigation. Similarly, doubts should be removed and then the mind should be connected to the perennial waters of G