Ishwara pranidhana, meaning complete self-surrender to God, is the last and one of the thorniest and most complicated of the Niyamas as outlined by Patanjali. God by any name can be a mouthful for many of us. The idea of God is associated to so much dogma, so many interesting interpretations, and tainted by thousands of years of war and greed in the name of “God,” that many of us feel alienated from the concept. From a yogic perspective, these associations are not an understanding of God, but of concept, and that concept is religion. Any concept formed of God cannot be true because God is limitless. Trying to understand this intricate yet subtle concept can be maddening. It can drive one to desperation.
Caroline Myss, the once Nun who lived in an abbey and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition once asked, “What is a mystic? A mystic is someone who is madly in love with the experience of God, not the debate of God or the knowledge of God but the direct experience of God.” When we reach the end of our rope trying to define God intellectually, many of us either begin or end a spiritual path. We either become seekers or lose faith that there is anything to seek. Both stages can lead to this direct experience of the Infinite. Ishwara can be Allahm Yahweh, Krishna, Brahma, God, or any Divine name you like, but these are usually still concepts, and not a direct experience. Many of us have not yet had that direct experience, so we are asked to surrender. This is an alarming thought for the intellectually bent ego.
Most of us only develop a complete faith in God in desperate times, more out of a sense of self-preservation than a deep burning desire to know the Infinite. Some of us are seekers from birth or at some juncture in life when we have run out of other answers. We can reach the direct experience through many paths, through sadness and pain, through desperation and even through bliss, but most human beings seem to need the hard knock version of God’s classroom. The great Sage Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutras that one can even attain the highest form of Samadhi, the final stage before kaivalya, if one can truly and fully surrender to God. Many of us are just trying to get through the day let alone reach Samadhi. Either way, our self-surrender should be free and unconditional.
Once we surrender something seemingly magical happens. We have such stillness, and God, Brahma, whatever we call the Infinite, removes the egoic boundaries of any tradition that would cause us to feel disdain or skepticism. We would experience the heart of the sacred, the cosmic fire, the expansiveness of the truest version of our Self.
© Christina Sarich http://www.yogaforthenewworld.blogspot.com
This is very well written. I concur heartily. Thank you for sharing, Christina Mother.
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