Q. 203. WHO SHOULD ONE SURRENDER TO ? part 1
A. BY SRILA PRABHUPADA.
bahūnāḿ janmanām ante
jñānavān māḿ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
SYNONYMS
bahūnām — many; janmanām — repeated births and deaths; ante — after; jñāna-vān — one who is in full knowledge; mām — unto Me; prapadyate — surrenders; vāsudevaḥ — the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa; sarvam — everything; iti — thus; saḥ — that; mahā-ātmā — great soul; su-durlabhaḥ — very rareto see.
TRANSLATION
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. (Bhagavad-Gita As It Is).
PURPORT
The living entity, while executing devotional service or transcendental rituals after many, many births, may actually become situated in transcendental pure knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of spiritual realization.
In the beginning of spiritual realization, while one is trying to give up one's attachment to materialism, there is some leaning towards impersonalism, but when one is further advanced he can understand that there are activities in the spiritual life and that these activities constitute devotional service.
Realizing this, he becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrenders to Him. At such a time one can understand that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's mercy is everything, that He is the cause of all causes and that this material manifestation is not independent from Him.
He realizes the material world to be a perverted reflection of spiritual variegatedness and realizes that in everything there is a relationship with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus he thinks of everything in relation to Vāsudeva, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Such a universal vision of Vāsudeva precipitates one's full surrender to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the highest goal. Such surrendered great souls are very rare.
This verse is very nicely explained in the Third Chapter (verses 14 and 15) of the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad:
sahasra-śīrṣā puruṣaḥ
sahasrākṣaḥ sahasra-pāt
sa bhūmiḿ viśvato vṛtvā-
tyātiṣṭhad daśāńgulam
puruṣa evedaḿ sarvaḿ
yad bhūtaḿ yac ca bhavyam
utāmṛtatvasyeśāno
yad annenātirohati
In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (5.1.15) it is said, na vai vāco na cakṣūḿṣi na śrotrāṇi na manāḿsīty ācakṣate prāṇa iti evācakṣate prāṇo hy evaitāni sarvāṇibhavanti: "In the body of a living being neither the power to speak, nor the power to see, nor the power to hear, nor the power to think is the prime factor; it is life which is the center of all activities."
Similarly Lord Vāsudeva, or the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the prime entity in everything. In this body there are powers of speaking, of seeing, of hearing, of mental activities, etc. But these are not important if not related to the Supreme Lord. And because Vāsudeva is all-pervading and everything is Vāsudeva, the devotee surrenders in full knowledge.
tam eva śaraṇaḿ gaccha
sarva-bhāvena bhārata
tat-prasādāt parāḿ śāntiḿ
sthānaḿ prāpsyasi śāśvatam
SYNONYMS
tam — unto Him; eva — certainly; śaraṇam gaccha — surrender; sarva-bhāvena — in all respects; bhārata — O son of Bharata; tat-prasādāt — by His grace;parām — transcendental; śāntim — peace; sthānam — the abode; prāpsyasi — you will get; śāśvatam — eternal.
TRANSLATION
O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.
(Bhagavad-Gita As It Is).
PURPORT
A living entity should therefore surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone's heart, and that will relieve him from all kinds of miseries of this material existence. By such surrender, not only will one be released from all miseries in this life, but at the end he will reach the Supreme God.
The transcendental world is described in the Vedic literature (Ṛg Veda 1.22.20) as tad viṣṇoḥ paramaḿ padam. Since all of creation is the kingdom of God, everything material is actually spiritual, but paramaḿ padam specifically refers to the eternal abode, which is called the spiritual sky or Vaikuṇṭha.
In the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: the Lord is seated in everyone's heart. So this recommendation that one should surrender unto the Supersoul sitting within means that one should surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa has already been accepted by Arjuna as the Supreme. He was accepted in the Tenth Chapter as paraḿ brahma paraḿ dhāma. Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the supreme abode of all living entities, not only because of his personal experience but also because of the evidence of great authorities like Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa.
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