Poorn-Sharnagati means to take full refuge in the shelter of someone!
What Importance Does Our Intention to Take Such Refuge Hold, for the Spiritual Practice?
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Without taking refuge, the ego does not leave. The medicine to remove the ego is to take refuge. However, whose refuge must you take? Of the One whose ego has left. It will not work if you take refuge just anywhere.”
The Refuge of The Viraat Purush
The One who takes away the ego of others is referred to as a Viraat Purush. Only when our ego leaves, can it be considered that we have done the darshan of the viraat swaroop (the real form of the Enlightened One)!”
The darshan of the viraat form means recognizing the Gnani Purush, the Enlightend One!! The One who devours your ego as well can be referred to as viraat in the true sense, isn’t it?! Or else this ego is such a thing that it will not leave even after a hundred thousand lifetimes.
Poorn-Sharnagati – the full surrender!
When Lord Krishna showed Arjuna the viraat swaroop, Arjuna bowed down to Him in total surrender. Poorn-Sharnagati becomes possible only when there arises poorn samarpan bhaav i.e. an intent of total surrender, like Arjun had towards Lord Krishna!
To Whom Should Such Full Surrender Be?
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says that a liberator who can save you and take you across the worldly ocean - to such person our full surrender ought to be!
After having totally surrendered to Him, you do not have to do anything. Just like when a child is born to you, he does not have to do anything; in the same way, after having totally surrendered, you do not have to do anything. And what can we do anyways? It is like a drowning person asking, “What should I do? How do I swim across?” Hey, first someone needs to save you, or else you are set to drown; what can you do in such a state? So, we all, who are presently drowning in this vast ocean of worldly cycle of birth and death, need Poorna Sharnagati of a taaranhar (liberator)!
For spiritual growth, one generally surrenders to God, Gnani or Guru he reveres the most! A person is referred to as a Guru when, upon the mere sight of him, our head bows down in reverence. And a person to whom we can surrender our mind, speech and body is referred to as a Sadguru. A Sadguru is the Gnani Purush, One who has attained the experience of the Self (the Soul)!
If You Want to Attain Moksha, Then Look for A Sajeevan Murti (Living Gnani Purush)!!!
Spiritual development can take place even through some great person who happened thousands of years ago (paroksh Gnani). But if you find a living Gnani, then you will attain salvation (moksha), which is the end goal of the spiritual growth, instantly, in just a few lifetimes.
Swachchhand Is A Serious Impediment To Spiritual Growth
Swachchhand means trying to attain spiritual growth by acting according to your own sweet will. This is the biggest impediment to spiritual growth. Without the guidance of a living Gnani, swachchhand will never leave. There lies the biggest value of the living Gnani! Hence, without a Living Gnani there is no salvation.
Shrimad Rajchandra has therefore said, “Do not seek anything else! Seek only a SatPurush (the Living Gnani), surrender all your inner intents in His lotus feet, and move on on the path of spiritual growth. After that, if you do not attain moksha, then come and take it from me.”
Gods (The Vitraag Lords) too have said, “There is nothing at all that needs to be done for moksha. Just seek the One who has become free Himself; the One who has crossed the ocean of worldly life Himself, and He has the power to help countless others attain the same. Seek such a liberated Gnani Purush and follow his footsteps without any fear. If you want to attain moksha, then you will never be able to do so without the presence of a living Gnani, without having surrendered totally (Poorna Sharnagati) to Him, without following His Agnas (spiritual directives).”
To Whomever You Totally Surrender Your Intellect; You Attain the Energies of That Person
Whoever you have totally surrendered to; you attain everything of that person. Just as when one water tank is connected to another tank with a pipe, then the other tank achieves the same level as the tank to which it gets connected. This is the achievement that Poorna Sharnagati brings!
So by surrendering everything to Him, our spiritual goal is accomplished!
To what level does Poorna Sharnagati take us to?
The real surrender is when you surrender all your wrong beliefs in the lotus feet of the Gnani. That is, whatever gives rise to wrong beliefs, the causes of those wrong beliefs, the wrong beliefs themselves and the result of those wrong beliefs; all of that is fully surrendered. And the Living Gnani fractures these wrong beliefs and helps you attain the right belief. Thereafter, you become the pure Soul.
One is considered to have taken the unconditional refuge in the Enlightened One when after taking shelter one does not have any worries or conflicts thereafter, worries or internal conflicts do not arise at all, under any circumstances. If one has totally surrendered, then would he have any miseries at all? He has surrendered to Gnani means that he follows Gnani’s directives. And hence he does not face any misery.
To conclude,
Poorna Sharnagati means that you have complete trust on whomever you have surrendered fully. In whatever he says, whatever he does, you do not use your intellect and you follow whatever he says with complete faith; and never ever become separate from him. That oneness, which is the most important criterion of spiritual growth, is Poorna Sharnagati. And when our Poorna Sharnagati is in the lotus feet of the Sajeevan Murti (Living Gnani Purush), the ultimate spiritual goal of moksha is accomplished!!!
To know more please click on: dadabhagwan.org/spiritual-masters/pujya-dadashri/young-adult/
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.