First: Surrendering The I.

Surrendering the 'I' is surrendering the ego, the mind, the root thought patterns, the mental setup. This is surrendering your conditions, your cognitions.

When you really, intensely offer your mental setup, or root thought patterns at the feet of the Master or God, it gets totally disintegrated. The mind in itself is a pattern, a habit. Your 'I' is a set of habits. Your ego is a set of conditions.

If somebody criticizes you, you immediately choose to react. You become disturbed. After that, you criticize him in return or you rebuke him. If somebody praises you, you choose to be flattered. You give him a good smile and feel great. Even this choice is your root thought pattern. It is your mental cognition. When you surrender the 'I', your root thought patterns, to the Divine, you can't choose. When you really surrender, even if somebody criticizes you, you can't choose to be offended or feel disturbed. Whenever you bring in your root thought patterns, you react in accordance with your mental patterns. When this is still the case, you cannot say you have surrendered. Real surrender can and will transform your life.

When you surrender your ego, your mind becomes alive and spontaneously joyful. As of now, every moment you are preparing to live tomorrow. When you surrender, you move without a script! Whenever you move like that, in such a simple way, tremendous courage and trust walks through you. When we really surrender the 'I', the ego, we surrender the mind that continuously prepares the script for our life. We will live in the space of completion with tremendous spontaneity and courage. We will trust our intelligence. We will live our life as it is. We will accept, welcome and enrich life as it flows into us.

To have the freedom to choose between suffering and joy comes from dropping the 'mine' and 'I.' It does not result from possessing the 'mine'. Even if you enjoy your possessions, underneath the enjoyment and joy, you have a deep fear. It is the fear, 'I do not know when it will be lost.' The fear of losing your possessions will not allow you to enjoy those things or relationships. I have seen that the man who is not possessive enjoys the same object more deeply because he does not fear when he might lose it. The person who continuously possesses it, who feels it is 'mine', will only own it, never enjoy it.

Ninety-nine percent of your worries, fears and greed never come true. Whatever one percent comes true is always good for you! When you surrender your 'I,' your suffering is transformed into the space of completion bringing intelligence, love, joy, and ecstasy. When you surrender your 'mine,' your richness becomes the space of creation for wealth, power, and celebration.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 - Lesson 19 of 19_English_part_2.md

You start really living to enrich others and yourself with your possessions. You enjoy and celebrate whatever you have. You start living it, and really feel ecstasy and joy from the things that you have. You go beyond the fear of 'When will I lose them?

Listen. When I say both 'I' and 'mine,' I mean surrendering your whole life unconditionally, completely.

Surrendering itself will do the miracle. Surrender has the energy and the capacity to transform you and to bring completion to you. Don't bother about which form or name you surrender to. It does not matter.

Whenever you relax and complete, you transform your life from mithya (illusion) to nitya ānanda (eternal bliss). You transform your suffering to a space of bliss. You move from depression to expression, from self-doubt to Self, from 'me' to 'you' , from worrying to wondering. The genesis of identity is transformed with the process of completion.

First just decide consciously to be complete and surrender. Surrender everything at the feet of God who runs this world. You don't even need to have any name or form in your mind, 'Oh, I surrendered to this god. So what will happen?' Don't worry. Just surrender to the energy that runs the whole world. Then everybody is included under that title— God, Guru, Divine, energy of this whole Universe. Just decide to let this run your life.

Surrender your doubt also. Then you will see the transformation happens in you just as you are. Don't think, 'First I will change, and then I will surrender.' No. You cannot do that. Surrender as you are, consciously, totally. Whatever is in your hands, whatever 'mine' is in your hands, whatever position is in your hands, surrender completely. Your being will be flooded with a new feeling, a new life, a new energy and a new bliss.

So, may you surrender at the feet of the Divine. May you enter the space of completion. May you be in the energy. May you enter into the Divine energy. May this happen to you. May you be in and may you become eternal bliss, Nitya ānanda.

Helping the students understand the levels of surrender. Helping the students transform their lives from mithya (illusion) to nitya ānanda (eternal bliss).

• ❖ What is the lesson Kṛṣṇa taught in these chapters and verses?

• ❖ What are the three levels of surrender?

• ❖ What should you do about your doubts?

• ❖ What happens when you surrender your "I" and your "mine"?

• ❖ How does the completion process help us transform?

• Big posters

  • Markers
    • Pens
    • Paper
  • Scissors
    • Glue
    • Ruler

• Eraser, etc.

❖ Ask the students to create their own poster representing the three levels of surrendering.

❖ Ask them to draw or write down the changes that happen through each level of surrender and to give examples from their own lives.

❖ Then, ask them to present their understanding to the class.

Just decide consciously to be complete and surrender. Surrender everything at the feet of God who runs this world. You don't even need to have any name or form in your mind, 'Oh, I surrendered to this god. So what will happen?' Don't worry. Just surrender to the energy that runs the whole world. Then everybody is included under that title— God, Guru, Divine, energy of this whole Universe. Just decide to let this run your life.

❖ Eyeband

Tell the students they will be sitting for 21 minutes and tell them to close their eyes (they can wear an eye band if they want). Once everyone has their eyes closed, guide them through the meditation. Start by telling: Allow any thought, person or situation to come to your mind. If it is a positive thought, a person you love or a situation that you cherish, feel deep gratitude for it and see it go away. If it is a negative thought, or a person you don't like, or an unpleasant situation, feel gratitude for that too and bless it. Anything that comes to your mind, bless it with deep gratitude.

Allow 11 minutes to pass then tell the students that they can slowly, very slowly open all three eyes.

You will see that in a few days, your whole attitude becomes soft and compassionate. You will start seeing things with great compassion and receptivity.

Invite each student to share out loud: Their understanding of what living enlightenment is How they can now live an enlightened life How they can help others live enlightenment

Once everyone is done sharing, ask each student to write a gratitude letter to the Divine in the form that they connect with (to Swamiji, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the lineage of Gurus, etc.) for all the enlightening teachings that they have received. Finally ask each student to write a testimonial of how their experience learning Bhagavad Gita Decoded has been to inspire others

Here ends the ultimate teaching of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and here starts our enlightened life! May you surrender at the feet of the Divine. May you enter the space of completion. May you be in the energy. May you enter into the Divine energy. May this happen to you. Go with this Kṛṣṇa consciousness and you will be in Nityānanda, eternal bliss