We should first
faithfully surrender to a Guru (a God-realized Saint whom we have chosen to be
our Spiritual Master). We should wholeheartedly follow His every instruction
and teaching. This is the true beginning of Sadhana or spiritual practice. By
surrendering ourselves to a Guru, we begin our spiritual journey.
In the material world,
we gain knowledge by trusting the words of people with a higher intellect. Let
us suppose that a person without any knowledge of law visits an advocate. The
advocate teaches him how to tackle questions in a court to escape penalties. If
the person does exactly as told by his advocate, he might win the case. We see
that by having faith in the advocate's words, the person overcomes his
challenges.
Similarly, when we are
sick, we completely trust a doctor for our treatment without having any
knowledge of medicine. We follow his instructions with full faith to get well.
If we take medicine according to our wish, then it could be harmful to us. Even
at school, we follow the words of people with a higher intellect (teachers),
and complete our education.
We have to apply the
same principle in the spiritual realm also. First, we have to search for a true
Saint. Till we find a true Saint (God-realized Saint) we have to keep searching
for Him. Once we find and accept such a Guru, we must stop searching and
visiting other Saints. We have to surrender our mind to that Guru and do
exactly as He instructs, without any questions or arguments. This is true or
complete surrender - surrender of the mind.
