I just finished reading a book recommended to me by a friend: The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by Michael Singer.
Michael Singer describes himself as a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and hints that he visited Ananda Village twice long ago, but he keeps both of these facts at a distance in his book. Living on his own with no evidence of an active relationship with other disciples, his journey is fascinating and very universalist in its expression. He founded the Temple of the Universe near Gainsville, FL.
I won’t dwell on his fascinating story (he’s written other books, as well) because what I want to share is an apparent dichotomy between will power and surrender. Paramhansa Yogananda emphasized will power and associated that emphasis with the quality of consciousness in our times, a new age, called “Dwapara.” By contrast, in former times, the emphasis was on God’s mercy and grace, and, for Christians, the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
But in modern culture, we think more naturally in terms of will power, self-expression, personal liberties and rights. Accordingly, therefore, I found Singer’s use of the term and concept of surrender rather interesting, though hardly unique or unusual. (I’ve read that the term “Islam” means “surrender.”)
Jesus Christ, faced with what he knew was a supreme test, prayed to be relieved but concluded “Thy will be done.” This is certainly how a devotee should live. Surrender to the Divine flow or will is inherently a life of faith.
How then do we reconcile the need and inclination of our culture to emphasize will power with the everlasting importance of surrender to the will of God?
Is the consciousness of our culture simply more egotistical and less humble? Yes, in some respects, that is true. But we are also more self-aware and even, sometimes, more self-honest than in general in the past. Surrounded by competing interests and egos, we quickly find that our chaotic and fast-paced world isn’t very interested in us. In this age, our many opportunities to pursue our own interests are balanced by the reality that this is precisely what everyone around us is doing.
With so many competing influences surrounding us, it is virtually necessary to think in terms of tuning in to “what is trying to happen” in our lives, or as Michael Singer and others might say: “What is the universe trying to tell me?”
While our culture expresses itself in different words than people did hundreds of years ago, the human dilemma is not that different. What Michael Singer means by “surrender” is what I, and those of us who are part of the Ananda worldwide communities say when we are “trying to tune in” to inspiration; to listen for inner guidance; or, trying to understand “what is trying to happen.” Neither for him nor for us is this effort a passive one. It takes courage to put aside the ego-driven inner narrative voice in order to calmly intuit (or “feel”) inner guidance. It takes wisdom and courage to ask the inner guide, the guru, or the Spirit. And, it takes practice, practice, practice!
Words CAN make a difference but more useful than mere words is the ability to understand what is meant by their use. Often a person doesn’t express himself clearly. Sometimes a person is not even clear about what he is trying to say!
When listening to a person speak, feel the spaces between words. Feel behind the words what is meant by those words. And feel behind the words, the consciousness out of which the words are produced.