Economics of Surrender

In our daily activities, we are looking for a return. Any energy that we expend, any money. A good businessman is measured by how well he gets a return on his investment. If he makes investments that get returns regularly, equal to or greater than his investment then he’s considered to be very expert. The greater the return, the greater he is considered to be. So in spiritual life, this happens automatically. It’s actually guaranteed by Krishna. And the reciprocation, because it’s guaranteed, it’s different. In the material world, we give, we surrender and we may get no return. We may get some, we may get a lot, we may get a little, we may get none. That’s the nature of the material world. So, surrender to God has a transcendental aspect. It’s a transcendental surrender and it’s different from surrender as we know it in the material world. It’s a guaranteed return. That’s the difference between surrender to God and surrender to one who is not God or not of God or not Godly.

In another verse Krishna says, “daiva hy esa guna-mayi, mama maya duratyaya, mam eva ye prapadyante, mayam etam taranti te.” Here Krishna is saying that “My external illusory energy is impossible to overcome.” It’s very durable and insurmountable is the translation that Prabhupada uses. To survive spiritually, that is to overcome birth, death, disease and old age, which is actually impossible to do – one has to be born, suffer and die of old age and disease. That actually can be overcome – all those things. That’s a distinct contribution of practicing sanatana dharma or Krishna consciousness. The inevitable things of life, like birth and death and the ultimate problems of life, which are those things can actually be overcome. And Krishna says explicitly that these can be overcome by the process of surrender. And there’s actually no other means to do it. In fact, He says by surrendering, one can easily overcome that which is insurmountable. So it becomes not only possible but it becomes easy. So, it’s a mystical process. And it’s a simple process. It’s very difficult – millions and billions are spent every year just trying to overcome disease. And the same is being spent to stop birth and stop death – trying medicines and other means for people to live indefinitely in this body. But it’s very complicated and very difficult and so far, it’s not actually happening very successfully but by surrendering to Krishna it’s possible to overcome all these things immediately. That’s Krishna’s assurance. That’s Krishna’s guarantee.

[Excerpted from Meaning of Surrender - by Mukunda Goswami ]