Isvara Pranidana
The power of surrender
Often we associate surrender with having to lose something.
But it’s sooooo not the case when the true power of surrender is understood.
Isvara Pranidana, a Sanskrit term is part of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali.
The intentional practice of Isvara Pranidana (Isvara represents the divine or god, and Pranidana represents the devotion or surrender to) helps us integrate the power of surrender into a day-to-day embodiment.
In our conditioned mind the very idea of surrender creates resistance only because we feel we are losing something. It comes with the conditioning from society that we must take control of our lives and that surrender is only used as a last resort, when all else fails.
Quite the opposite is true. When surrender is part of daily life, life flows with more ease and joy.
Our longing to end the struggles and sufferings we encounter in our human existence is what leads us to doorways, like yoga, that help us awaken to our true nature.
Daily practice of Isvara Pranidana
To begin embodying the true power of surrender we first need to change our description of what surrender means.
One of my favorite quotes from Tosha Silver is:
“Let whatever needs to go, go. Let whatever needs to come, come.”
This is surrender in that pure sense of letting life show us how to live in flow. To acknowledge a divine energy that is guiding us in life.
We can think of surrendering to life as acknowledging that we may not know everything, and allow the flow of life to carry us rather than trying to persistently control things, or assume we have to do it ‘alone’, or paddle upstream when we can simply let the currents of life guide us.
When we begin to surrender to a force of energy that’s much greater than our tiny self we expand into a serendipitous and synchronised life that fosters trust. Not to mention a creative way of living.
Our willingness to let life show us what’s needed and use courage (the heart) to follow that guidance brings us into a restful place where curiosity replaces fear, and trust replaces doubt.
The Power of Surrender – The practice of Isvara Pranidana
- Expand your awareness and understanding that you are not what you think you are. There is an energy that’s vast and benevolent and is supporting you at all times.
- Learn to trust in this power and connect with it daily.
- Understand that you are not separate from the energy of the universe but are an integral part willing to contribute your part to the whole.
- Surrender doesn’t mean losing something but rather opening up to the mysteries of life.
- The sufferings created by a thought based reality (ego) start to dissolve and have less influence over our life.
- We embody our non-dual nature whilst living in a dualistic human existence.
Let me know how surrender becomes a more natural part of your life and what you notice. I'd love to know.
