Into The Great Unknown THE ART OF REMOVING AND CREATING HABITS

DAAJI continues his series on refining habits, this month sharing his insights on the final Niyama known as Ishwar Pranidhan, which is often translated as “surrender to God.” What does it mean? How can we understand both God and surrender? And why is surrender to God the ultimate habit?

- DAAJI

Yoga in action

Let’s start by reminding ourselves of the three Niyamas that make up Kriya Yoga, the Yoga of action – tapas, swadhyaya and the third and final one, Ishwar pranidhan, the most mysterious and puzzling of all. Ishwar pranidhan is generally translated into English as “surrender to God,” or sometimes “God-awareness.” It is puzzling, not the least because God is such an elusive principle to most of us, and also because the idea of surrender often suggests the removal of personal freedom.

Only in this last of the ten Yamas and Niyamas does Patanjali speaks of God – Ishwar. Up till now, the focus has been on self-awareness, self-improvement, behavior, and purifying consciousness. That has all been a preparation. Throughout this preparation, we have moved from self-centeredness and selfishness to selflessness, from “me to we.” Now we take the next step, from “we to Thou.” This is a significant shift in consciousness, a quantum leap into the realm of God where even “we” no longer exists.

God is the great unknown

You may be wondering what God we are talking about here, because God has as many meanings as there are people. In Yoga, God is the great unknown, beyond qualities, beyond comprehension. Everything that is describable or definable has qualities, and while God is also present within the world of qualities, the quality-less state that is beyond definition is really the realm of God. There are other words that are also used for the same divine principle – the Source, the Ultimate, the Absolute.