Complete samarpan (surrender) is supreme bhajan by Pujya Sunilbhai Gandhi

All satsangi have a desire to achieve oneness with God. Our goal is to feel His presence and bliss from within at every moment so that we see Him here and now. This is what is meant by ‘Pragat prabhu ne pratyaksh karo”, that is, to have a personal relationship with Guruhari Pappaji who is the manifest form of God whom we have attained.

 

There are many ways in which haribhakto can establish this type of relationship. One such method is to have total dependence on God just like a child is totally dependent upon its mother. We are Pappaji’s children and so in every step we should throw everything: thinking, living, doing and saying unto Him. We should maintain continuous contact with Him through constant prayer and smurti[1]. One of Param Pujya Kakashri’s favourite phrases was ‘bhulku thavu’, that is, became childlike by always being dependent and trusting in the pratyaksh swarup. This is to have complete refuge in Pappaji Maharaj whereby we live carefree knowing that He is looking after us at every moment.

 

Once there was a haribhakta who was extremely ill and was hospitalised. The haribhakta asked a fellow sadhak to do dhun for him as he was too ill to do so. The sadhak replied, ‘Complete samarpan is supreme bhajan’ (complete surrender to God is supreme bhajan). Gunatitanand Swami stated that as a child clings to his mother when he becomes frightened, we should also cling to God whenever we become distressed by doing bhajan[2]. Although dhun is a key part of bhajan, it is not just about doing dhun because when we do dhun the mind might wonder elsewhere, or our mind might be filled with worry. The true meaning of bhajan is to have absolute refuge in Guruhari; this is the cornerstone of bhajan.

 

Nevertheless, when we do have unhappiness or strife in our lives, we often become wracked with worry. In this regard, Guruhari Pappaji has written an article in His autobiography titled, ‘Je nathi enu varnan’ (A description of what isn’t there). Here Pappaji describes the episode of the 24 lakh court case against Him and P. P. Kakaji. When Yogiji Maharaj was informed about this He personally asked Pappaji about it but Pappaji said to Yogi Bapa that it was a description of what isn’t there! The court case was such that both brothers could have ended up with prison sentences, but P. P. Pappaji had said, ‘What has one to tell Him (Yogiji Maharaj)’ because everything is happening according to His wish; today for us everything in our life is happening as per Pappaji Maharaj’s wish.

 

Pappaji has stated that people think and contemplate about problems that are not actually there.  These problems do not exist because everything is controlled by Maharaj; Maharaj can change everything in an instant. Even if we were to face imminent danger in the very next second, Maharaj will protect us. This is why Pappaji says to take everything lightly in the material world.

 

Therefore why should we worry and contemplate on material problems that do not really exist? Pappaji says that instead we should meditate on the murti of the Pratyaksh Swarup (Pappaji’s) murti. So, whenever we are faced with problems, troubles and strife, we should pray, throw the entire burden on to Guruhari and meditate solely on His murti. We should not contemplate on the problem that we are facing or even contemplate on the solution by having a preconceived view on how that problem should be solved, but instead should lose ourselves in God such that there is only Pappaji¹; it is He who is the supreme truth and reality.

 

The challenge for us is to develop this degree of refuge in Pappaji Maharaj not only when we have troubles in our life but in every walk of life: from the time when we get up in the morning and we pray to Him to stay with us and protect us, to asking Him to guide and inspire us (nimit bani) in all of daily activities, to the time when we pray to Him when we retire at night. In fact our surrender should be such that we ask Pappaji to do everything for us. We should stay carefree with the knowledge that He is with us and protecting us. Throughout the day we should practice praying continuously to maintain that relationship with Him.

 

Maharaj has stated that if we want anything then we should pray for it. This helps us to develop a relationship with Him and to depend on Him. However, even if we pray to Pappaji to fulfil a wish or a desire, we should not become obsessed with that desire, but instead pray that if it is beneficial to me then only fulfil that wish. We should then be content with whatever Pappaji gives us. This once again is an example of true refuge in Him.

 

Therefore, the essence of our sadhana is complete samarpan. Complete surrender and refuge in Him is supreme bhakti and bhajan. Pappaji Maharaj cannot stay even one millimetre away for us if we have taken complete refuge in Him; He will do everything for us and will protect us always.