Total surrender

It would not be an exaggeration to say that almost half of our lives are spent in trying to understand what life really means and what should be the best means to charter it in the right direction. It is not possible to say a final word on the subject, given the mysteries and complexities of life.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that almost half of our lives are spent in trying to understand what life really means and what should be the best means to charter it in the right direction. It is not possible to say a final word on the subject, given the mysteries and complexities of life.

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I am reminded of an Urdu couplet 'Umre Daraz Maang ker layae they char din , do arzoo mein beet gayey do intzar mein'.

These were the words of the last Emperor of Hindustan, Bahadur Shah Zafar, meaning, "God gave us four days ; two days were spent in nurturing great expectations and the rest two in waiting for their fulfillment."

Despite the craving for material gains and all that, we do realise that there is an eternal truth about life that it cannot be led to our complete satisfaction. That is why we find people crowding places where religious discourses are being delivered. I happened to come in close touch with a senior army officer whom I met in a temple. I was greatly moved by his ideas and simplicity. He always advised me to leave everything to God — total surrender. Every morning, he would stop for a few minutes and tell me something which I find difficult to forget. He used to often discuss epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. We used to debate on many points like the genesis of 'total surrender'. It owes its genesis to Bhagwad Gita. Lord Krishna told Arjuna not to be disturbed by the big question about God's existence but leave everything to Him (as Lord Krishna was Narayana himself) .