Nivedanam means that we fully surrender ourselves to the Divine.
This is an advanced state of consciousness, one that we can strive towards. Sometimes that dance is one step forward and two steps back, as the ego re-asserts itself.
The core of this bhakti practice is to offer yourself and everything you are, have and be to the Divine. We don’t hold back. We don’t say: “well God you can have this and this and this but not this…” It’s easier said than done. So difficult can surrender be in practice that the best way to achieve it is to practice some of the other limbs of Bhakti yoga at the same time. Pada Seva (worship of the feet of the Divine) and Vandanam (prostration) can be quite helpful. Kirtan (singing to the Divine with your whole heart) can be helpful too.
There are those who have attained complete surrender. To such souls, there is nothing to be attached to, and nothing to be frightened of. The identification as ‘self’ is not just with the body and emotions, or the mind. It is with the Divine within and in everyone. It has a transcendental element, but the strength of heart of the bhakti brings that surrender right into all facets of their lived felt experience. The end result of such practices is the inner awakening of Prema: love beyond imagining, beyond any bounds of relationship and beyond subject and object. One could say it is a pinnacle of spiritual accomplishment, or perhaps completion.
Surrender takes us beyond motivational pep talks. It is an engagement with the soul which brings forth long lasting transformation and closeness. In 12 step programs it is also to recognise that we are powerless over some aspects of our personality, over certain addictions, drives and states of being as an incarnated person. And so we call upon the Higher Power, our beloved, the Divine in its kindness and love, to alleviate our burden and relieve us of our suffering, separated consciousness and all the habits that we cannot shake. Edo Kahn has a song: “Help me to surrender Amma.” Another great one is a song by Kirtana, called “Blessed Life.” Her song “Satguru” is also excellent; hers are available on Spotify. They have really helped me to develop as a bhakti yoga practitioner.
I hope you have enjoyed this series on the kinds of practices that are part of the path of Bhakti Yoga. I don’t know a more beautiful way to meet the Divine. Our next series of letters will deal with the effects of devotion upon the practitioner, outlining some of the evolutionary states that we encounter.
With much love, Shakti Durga
