To surrender in
spirituality and
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
means that a believer completely gives up his own will and subjects his thoughts, ideas, and deeds to the will and teachings of a
higher power
Higher Power is a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other twelve-step programs. The same groups use the phrase "a power greater than ourselves" synonymously. The term sometimes refers to a supreme being or deity, or other conceptions of G ...
. It may also be contrasted with
Submission
Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
. Surrender is willful acceptance and yielding to a dominating force and their will.
Christianity
![Christian Flag etc Covenant Presbyterian Long Beach 20050213](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Christian_Flag_etc_Covenant_Presbyterian_Long_Beach_20050213.jpg)
In Christianity, the first main principle of surrender is "Dying to Self", or "The Carrying of Your Cross" allowing Christ to reign and rule in the order of how one's life is carried out, illustrated in the following passages:
Another principle central to the Christian concept of surrender is the concept of surrender to
God's Will
"God's Will" is a song written by Barry Dean and Tom Douglas and recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in December 2004 as the fourth and final single from McBride's 2003 album '' Martina''.
Music video
Th ...
. Surrendering to God's will entails both the surrender of our will to His, in His sovereignty over all things, in which His ways of operating and thinking prevails over humanity's and Satan's. Secondarily, the surrender of one's will is evidenced by the acknowledgement of God's will for our personal lives in even the smallest decisions. This is done through putting personal desire aside in favor of God's perfect will for our lives. This includes the reality of an acceptance to a calling or purpose. The precipice or essentiality of this personal surrender is obedience, and obedience to God is an indication of bringing about His will. Which, having lasting effects through generations, and in kingdoms/nations, is often associated with earthly and heavenly blessings.
The ultimate surrender; the surrender of Christ, which is a fully submitted will to God's Divine plan, is seen in Christ's birth as well as His final three prayers, in Gethsemane, before His crucifixion. The coming into the world as God incarnate and then the surrender to the Cross/His life in the act of sacrificial atonement, breaking the curse of sin and death from the
Fall
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
.
This is evidenced in the following:
Surrender is also noted in Christian doctrine as one of the three columns of victorious living, or Christian victory: the Blood of the Lamb
hrist
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse ''valkyrja'' "chooser of the fallen") is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's ...
their Testimony of the Word of God
cripturesand their lives, and Loving not their own lives to death; that Christ's life may be shown.
The
Christian Flag, which represents all of
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
, has a white field, with a red
Latin cross
A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
inside a blue canton. In conventional
vexillology
Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...
, a
white flag
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.
Contemporary use
The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...
is linked to surrender, a reference to the Biblical description
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
' non-violence and surrender to
God's will
"God's Will" is a song written by Barry Dean and Tom Douglas and recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in December 2004 as the fourth and final single from McBride's 2003 album '' Martina''.
Music video
Th ...
.
Hinduism
According to the
Bhagavad Gita,
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
said the following to the warrior
Arjuna, who became his disciple:
Several
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
s teach their disciples the importance of surrender to God or to themselves, as part of the guru-disciple relationship. For example, the ''Sri Sai Satcharita'', the biography of
Sai Baba of Shirdi
Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime.
According to a ...
says that surrender to the guru is the only ''
sadhana''.
Prem Rawat
Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji, is an international speaker and book-author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal re ...
, formerly called Guru Maharaj Ji, was quoted in 1978 "But there is nothing to understand! And if there is something to understand, there is only one thing to understand, and that is to surrender!"
Contrary to the notion of surrendering onto God, Krishna in Bhagavad Gita also advises his followers to question everything in pursuit of absolute truth.
Islam
The concept of surrender is when a person abides by the five main
Pillars of Islam.
following the faith means surrendering or submitting one's will to
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. This means that Muslims in their daily life should strive for excellence under the banner of God's will.
Living Allah's way
BBC-Religion and Ethics Retrieved on 22 September 2009. Every single action in a Muslim's life, whether marriage or building one's career, should theoretically be for the sake of God.
See also
* Saranagati
Sharanagati (Sanskrit: शरणागति; IAST: ''Śaraṇāgati'' ) or Prapatti (Sanskrit: प्रपत्ति; IAST: ''Prapatti''), is the process of total surrender to God (Narayana-Krishna) in the tradition of Vaishnavism. The process ...
* Ibadah
''Ibadah'' ( ar, , ''‘ibādah'', also spelled ''ibada'') is an Arabic word meaning service or servitude. In Islam, ''ibadah'' is usually translated as "worship", and ''ibadat''—the plural form of ''ibadah''—refers to Islamic jurispru ...
References and notes
{{reflist
Religious practices