110. Surrender, love, compassion, *Sannyas*

Sannyas is saying 'yes' to Existence. Saying 'Yes' is surrender. Saying 'yes' is love and compassion.

The human mind is trained to always say 'no'. Saying 'no' boosts the ego. 'Yes' makes the ego vulnerable, so the mind continues to say 'no.' Sannyas is saying 'yes' to Existence. Existence created you. It is waiting to express its divine play through you. By saying 'yes,' you allow the divine play to happen through you. When the divine play happens, things happen exactly according to the flow of Existence. Then, everything becomes auspiciousness! That is the meaning of dropping the mind, becoming sensitive to the flow of Existence and working in tune with it. That is surrender. That is obedience to Existence.

In the effort to say 'yes,' you start softening. Sannyas is about becoming soft. As long as you say 'no,' you remain hard. When you make an effort to say 'yes,' you start softening. When you make a conscious decision to say 'yes,' it starts. That is where the master plays a role. Sannyas is saying 'yes' to the master without asking for an explanation. When you start trusting the master completely, sannyas starts happening in you. Somewhere you get the click that the master knows better than you. Then you start letting go of your hold over your mind and start holding the hands of the master. The master's hands are always stretched out, but you were not ready to hold them. Once the 'yes' starts happening, you hold his hands.

Then a space is created where love starts happening. Love happens only when you start saying 'yes.' By saying 'yes,' not only do you start loving, you allow the other person to love you as well. Then your inner space that was like a rock earlier, starts becoming like cotton! It becomes soaked with love. The love is not just towards one person or for any reason. It is an overflowing energy. It is towards the whole of Existence for no reason. You start communing with the trees, with everything around you. You feel that life is a song, the song of Existence of which you are a part. You are in a deeply resonant mood with everything and everyone around you, including yourself. Your actions simply become an outpouring of the joy and ecstasy that is enveloping you all the time.

A small story:

A Zen master arrived at the meeting place of the Cambridge Buddhist Society. He found everyone dusting and cleaning the whole place in anticipation of his visit.

They were surprised to see him because he was not supposed to arrive until the following day.

He simply tied back the sleeves of his robe and joined the preparations. They could not believe that he wanted to help. He asked, 'Why can't I also prepare for the grand day of my arrival!'

When you are resonating with Existence, you enjoy everything, including yourself. You don't see yourself as separate from anything else. You see no separate reason for anything. There are people who commune with nature but fail miserably when it comes to people. Then, even their communion with nature is not real communion. Feeling only for nature is not a scale by which to measure love.

People tell me that they are already communing with Existence. Trees and animals don't create trouble for you. That is why you claim to commune with them! They keep quiet. You can simply express anything to them. You can thrust your feeling on them, pull it out, and feel good, that's all. It is just an ego trip. The essence is in the ability to always commune with the whole of Existence. If you can create that space of love under those conditions, then you are communing.

A poet once wrote a love song and sent it to his friends. A few days later, he received a letter from a lady to whom he had sent the poem.

She wrote to him saying, 'I am so touched by your poem. Please come home, meet my parents, and ask them if you can marry me.'

The poet was surprised. He wrote back to her, 'That was a poem of love from my heart that I wanted to sing to a few souls. It was nothing more than that!'

She replied, 'You are a hypocrite. Because of you, I will never again entertain a poet in my life.'

The problem is, everything happens with the reason of the intellect. Love has been reduced to mere lust for the other person's body. That is the problem. Real love is an expression of the overflowing energy that starts happening in you when you start saying 'yes' to Existence.

The master happens in your life with just one intention to destroy your ego and allow the attitude of sannyas to flower in you.

The famous poet Kabir says that when love possesses you, don't even think twice. Just dive into it. If you start

thinking, it is like arranging your pillows when deep sleep of rest has come to your eyes. He says, 'Even though the head itself must be given, why should you weep over it!'

The master waits many lives for you. But you have to say 'yes'. Remember: the master is a gentleman. He gives you the freedom to remain in bondage. He waits. Once you say 'yes,' he takes you in his arms. The master is the only one who can show you the power of love.

A small story:

Sadashiva Brahmendra was a great saint from South India. He lived just like a child. He never wore clothes. He was always in ecstasy.*

One day he was walking in deep ecstasy when the Nawab , the Muslim ruler of that territory, went riding past* him. He was in such deep ecstasy that he did not notice or pay respect to the Nawab . The angry Nawab* cut off his hand with his sword. Sadashiva Brahmendra* continued to walk, not reacting in any way to what had happened.*

One of his devotees saw the scene and was struck very deeply. She started weeping, 'O master! You have lost your hand for not showing courtesy to the Nawab!'

He was surprised and asked the devotee to bring the severed hand. He then put it back on, and it became whole again. The devotee was dumbstruck when she saw this.

Sadashiva Brahmendra explained, 'The Nawab's hatred destroyed my hand, your love healed it!'*

An enlightened being's love and compassion is boundless. Sannyas is living like an enlightened being. It is living enlightenment.

A sannyasi is one who is established in love and compassion in the inner world, while being established in concentration and precision in the outer world. A real sannyasi has the precision of a sword. When he closes his eyes, the outer world

Nawab - A noble of the Moghul empire.

Sadashiva Brahmendra - 18th century Tamil saint and music composer.

is no more. When he opens his eyes, his work is perfection, perfection not only in work, but in relationships also! He is a father, a mother, a brother and a friend, all at the same time.

He moves guided by inner intelligence. That is why he is in the present moment all the time. He responds to the moment. That is the ultimate sense of responsibility, responding to the moment spontaneously. True love and compassion are spontaneous responses to the moment. That is why they surface irrespective of people or situations.

A small story:

One man went to a Zen monastery and told the master, 'Master, I wish to practice Zen for the rest of my life but I have never stuck with anything for very long. I always look for shortcuts to everything. Is there a shortcut to enlightenment?'

The master told him, 'You are accepted into this monastery for two days. In these two days, you will be taught the shortcut to enlightenment. Is there anything that you like to do in particular?'

The man said, 'Since I don't stick to anything for a long time, I am unable to tell what I like to do most. But I like to play chess.'

The master called for a young disciple who was supposed to be a good chess

player. He asked the two of them to sit down The master moves, guided by inner intelligence.

and placed a chess board between them. He then took out his sword and placed it in front of the two of them and said, 'Both of you have to play. The moment one of you loses, the loser will have his head cut off.'

They concentrated on the game like they had never done before.

Initially, the young monk made good moves, and it looked like he was going to win. Then suddenly he made a mistake. The man took the opportunity and took over the game. Soon, he was clearly on the way to winning.

Suddenly, he looked at the young monk and thought with what dedication and devotion the monk lived his life with the master at that young age. Then he thought about his own life and how he had wasted it. Suddenly he decided, if at all anyone should die, it should be himself. He deliberately made a wrong move. The young monk saw that and took over the game again.

The master was watching the whole thing. At that point, he took the board

Sannyas is nothing but finding out exactly where you are going wrong. That exact place is known as nothing but the ego.

away, and the coins fell in the air. He said, 'Nobody wins. Nobody loses. The game is over. There are only two things needed for enlightenment:

concentration and compassion. Today, you learned both. Stay with me and study the way you have played chess today. Enlightenment will be yours!'

Sannyas is bringing together concentration and compassion. With concentration, you never forget the goal of life, enlightenment. With compassion, you are ready to sacrifice your very life so that the other may reach the goal! When both are there, both you and the other will reach! That is the greatness of sannyas. That is the space of sannyas.

The greatest quality of a sannyasi is his immense trust in Existence. Society trains you to always protect yourself from everything. That is the problem. You are made to believe Existence is the enemy from which you have to protect yourself. You apply the same rule and protect yourself from the master also. The master happens in your life with just one intention - to destroy your ego and allow the attitude of sannyasto flower in you.

Sannyas is nothing but finding out exactly where you are going wrong. That exact place is known as nothing but the ego. If you understand this, you will simply open up to the master and allow him to strike the ego. You will simply drop all your defenses and open up. Being closed to the master's presence is like closing your nose with your fingers when there is a fragrant breeze blowing. When you open up to him with trust, you will see miracles happen all around you.

A small story:

There was a man with a few disciples. He was not enlightened. He was just guiding the boys. A new disciple joined the group one day. He was so humble, so pure and authentic, that the other disciples became jealous of him. They felt he would be the master's successor. There was a lot of politics and they tried to kill him.

One day they said to him, 'If you really believe in the master, can you jump off the cliff? If your trust is true, no harm can happen to you.' The disciple readily jumped off the cliff.

The rest of them rushed down almost three thousand feet below into the valley. They went to pick up his scattered bones. But he was sitting there in lotus posture looking very happy.

He opened his eyes and said, 'You are right, trust saves!'

They thought it must be some coincidence and they created another plot to kill him. A house caught fire one day and people were trying to rescue those who were trapped inside the house. They told him, 'If you love our master with trust, go in and save the woman and child who are trapped inside.'

The disciple rushed in and after a few minutes came out with the woman and child.

They still did not give up. One day they were going somewhere, and they had to cross a river. They told him, 'You need not go in the boat. You have such great trust, you can walk on the river.'

The disciple entered and started walking on the river! They were simply shocked.

That was the first time the master saw him. He was not aware that he had been told to jump into the valley and told to go into the burning house. He saw him walking on the river and asked him, 'What are you doing? It is impossible!'

The disciple replied, 'It is not impossible at all! I am doing it by your power, master!'

The master thought, 'If my name and my power can do this to this ignorant man, then imagine what I can do!' He got up and tried to walk on the river and drowned!

Trust has amazing power. It works beyond logic. Anything that works beyond logic is the direct truth. It never fails. When you trust the master, when you surrender to the master, you are giving him the responsibility of you. He never fails! It does not mean you can surrender to him and then do foolish things. No! The first thing to realize is that when real surrender happens, it will never prompt you to do foolish things. Only surrender in the name of surrender will attempt to do foolish things. Real surrender is a consciousness, not a concept for trial.

Sannyas is a consciousness that flowers in groups of people in the presence of the master. Over the years, sannyas has always happened in groups. All the great masters have ordained groups of sannyasins. When a group of people start dissolving in love, when a group of people start melting, sannyas starts happening. Suddenly, so much beauty radiates. Suddenly, Existence appears to be profoundly mystical and beautiful. The power of coincidence becomes a way of life. Tremendous energy starts flowing. For no reason, life looks tremendously beautiful. Everything seems to be perfect. There is an inexplicable Sannyas is moving one step closer to god, and god is the ultimate creator. The very energy of sannyas is creation.

feeling of blossoming all round.

It is not that Existence has become more beautiful. Existence is

always the same. You have started responding to it, that's all. Your own human qualities have enriched tremendously. That is sannyas! When you start responding to Existence with enriched qualities, when you start melting into Existence, when you start yearning for it, sannyas starts happening to you.

When sannyas happens, you automatically add more beauty to Existence. You become a creator. People think sannyas is renouncing creativity. No! Sannyas is moving one step closer to god, and god is the ultimate creator. The very energy of sannyas is creation. This is a little known fact about sannyas.