The Power of Surrender: How Deep is Yours?

As the saying goes “the more flexible the branch is, the more it can be flexed”. Mahabani ji was such a devotee. He completely surrendered to Shri Maharaj Ji. Such was his level of surrender that throughout his life he did not save a single penny as security for his old age or his family. For 14 years, Shri Maharaj ji stayed with Mahabani Ji in his residence like a respected member of the family . 
 
The king of Pratapgarh was a friend of Mahabani Ji. All through his life, Mahabani Ji lived on rent in a bungalow owned by the king. The bungalow had a sprawling lawn and was called Peeli Kothi (Yellow Bungalow). Keertan was held in Peeli Kothi three times a day - in the morning, evening and night. The devotees were served meals prior to each keertan session, after which they comfortably enjoyed the keertan. Mahabani Ji was a food Inspector by profession. He used to spend his entire income in the service of the devotees. And when needed, he used to withdraw money from his retirement fund as well in the service of the devotees.
 
His colleagues used to make fun of him by passing side comments such as “Mahabani Ji has lost his mind. He has been brain-washed by Shri Maharaj Ji. He withdraws money from his retirement fund on the pretext of his daughter's wedding, but till date we have yet to receive an invitation for any of his daughter’s wedding” and so on. But Mahabani Ji was firm in his resolve. Till the very end, he remained completely devoted to the service of Shri Maharaj Ji and his
devotees.
 
When Shri Maharaj Ji learnt of his passing away in 1959, He said “today Pratapgarh has become a widow”. (a phrase that means "has lost all of its charm"). After his passing away Mahabani Ji’s family had no means of livelihood. All four of his daughters were unmarried and did not have a job to earn a livelihood. The son also did not have a job and there was not a penny in his retirement fund. Seeing this situation, Raja Saheb agreed to sell the Kothi to the Mahabani family for ₹ 5000, but the Mahabani family did not even have ₹ 5000. So, the whole family had to move to Lucknow with Mahabani ji's younger brother.
 
In due course Mahabani Ji's son got a job. When Shri Maharaj ji came to know that Mahabani Ji's son got a job, He breathed a sigh of relief. Shri Maharaj ji's words were, "Today I have taken a bath in the holy Ganges river” (a phrase which means - I have fulfilled my responsibility). The entire family of Mahabani ji was taken care of by Shri Maharaj ji. For the rest of her life Mahabani ji's wife lived in Guru Dham, Mangarh. One of his daughters became a lecturer in degree college, two of his daughters (Nagari Didi, Banchary Didi) were given a lifetime opportunity to serve Shri Maharaj Ji as His preachers and the fourth daughter spent her life as a saint in Braj.
 
Mahabani ji dedicated everything to Shri Maharaj ji. Shri Maharaj ji took care of all of Mahabani ji's responsibilities even after his death ! (1)A Mercedes car cannot be bought for ten rupees. If you wish that God should take care of you completely, then you also have to surrender completely. [1]
 
The higher you value worldly responsibilities and achievements proportionately less will be the value of God and Godly things. So even if you believe  that you are 100% surrendered, God will not bear complete yogakshem (take care of everything you have and give you what you don’t have).

Moral

People ask what is surrender? I have written several articles on this website on the topics How do I Surrender,  Why yield to a saint, not directly to God?, ​How does Guru help us in spiritual growth?. Since sometimes an example is needed to understand the concepts. So, giving you a very real and recent example of surrender to Guru.

Perhaps from this true story, you would have gotten a practical glimpse of “what complete refuge under the lotus feet of God and Guru looks like ''. Lord will bear your yogakshem, or in other words, the burden of your responsibilities such as providing for food, shelter, clothing and children's education to the extent of your surrender. The more you surrender to Him, the more God Himself will carry your burden. Finally, when you make God your only goal and use all your resources to attain that goal, then God will bear your yogakshem fully. You will never need to ask; He is so gracious that He does it without our even having to ask.
 
Until and unless you surrender everything, and  everything means 1. everything that belongs to you and 2. also you yourself, then God and Guru will not bear your complete yogakshem. This is God's irrefutable law. Whether you accept it today or not, and choose to take infinite births and go round in 84 lakh life forms, is in your hands. God has given freedom to every living being to determine his own goal.
 
Maybe, as of this moment you are not as surrendered as Mahabani Ji’s and don’t even see the path of being able to reach there. Maybe, to maintain a peaceful situation you have to make compromises with others in your life. But, if you long for reaching this level of surrender, here is an option that Shri Maharaj Ji [2] has offered us. Start with Sadhana - Daily Devotion [3]. Do it daily and earnestly, by Guru’s grace you will start progressing on the path. Gradually but surely, devotion will reduce your miseries and create an environment conducive to doing bhakti. When a dangerous  dacoit like Ratnakar [4] can attain God in the same birth then why won't you? Just resolve once to do it and follow it through. God is waiting with outstretched arms to bear your yogakshem.
 
There is a saying that “a hint is enough for the wise”.