Not for trivialities

We should always strive to serve Lord Narayana in such a

way that He will delight in our service, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse. We must not perform Saranagati in the hope of getting our petty wishes fulfilled. While the Lord is capable of giving us whatever we ask, we have to pause to think whether anything in this world is worth

craving.

To think of Saranagati as a means to attaining worldly possessions, is to trivialise the whole concept of Saranagati. A poor man once came into possession of a rare and valuable pearl. He did not know the value of the pearl, and so he took it to a merchant. All that the poor man

wanted was some money for the pearl, so that he could use the money to buy some food. The merchant gave him some money. But the merchant had the pearl’s worth estimated and discovered that it was priceless. So he took it to the King and sold it to him, for a hefty sum of money.

The King wore the pearl in his crown, and would not part with it, for he knew its value. Those who see Saranagati as a means of attaining trivial things, are like the poor man who was content to receive some money for a rare pearl.

The merchant, who sold the pearl to the king knew the value of the pearl, and sought to benefit from it. But the king would not part with it. He did not see possession of the pearl as a means of getting something that he wanted.

God is a precious gem. Our only desire must be to serve

Him, but we must serve in such a way, that He relishes our service. His happiness must be our goal. Once we surrender to the Lord, we need no longer worry about our liberation. That will be taken care of by Him. But we must not think of Saranagati as a way of getting hold of worldly possessions.

It is an end in itself. It should not be seen as the means to anything other than service to the Lord.

A person who seeks to surrender must shun that which is undesirable and do only that which is right. He must be steadfast in his devotion and see the Lord as the means to liberation. He must not seek any worldly boons from

the Lord.