Atma Nivedanam

What is Ātma Nivedanam?

In a very generic term "Ātma Nivedanam" can be simply translated as "Surrender."

Is that sufficient? No. Let us dive deeper into it.

It consists of two words. Ātma and Nivedanam.

Let us first look into the second word - Nivedanam. Nivedanam means an offering. When we offer something to someone, we ensure that it is clean, prepared in a very sacrilegious manner, untainted with any inharmonious vibrations and while offering we also ensure that we offer it with 100% willingness without any expectations.

Let us look into the first word - Ātma. The general meaning is soul or spirit. Now the spirit or soul is ever pure, untainted, unbiased, unprejudiced, non-judgmental. There are no thoughts to the spirit. It is eternal. However, every Atma / soul / spirit is associated with a body or if not the body some identifications with any thought processes where it gets tainted.

Now the term Ātma Nivedanam is not a noun, instead it is a verb - an action, a process where the intensity can vary from 0% to 100% based upon the conditional thinking of any individual soul. It all depends upon the extent and intensity of the entanglement of that soul with its thought processes or the conditional thinking.

Hence, Ātma Nivedanam involves a process of offering of our thoughts, thought processes, ideas, opinions, identities - all unto the Absolute without any anticipation in return. It includes even the thought of offering also.

In actual practice when the process of Ātma Nivedanam happens 100%, the soul enters the realm of Nothingness and merges with the Universal Spirit. 

A metaphor of wave and ocean is being used to further explain this. Let us say the wave keeps thinking that it is a wave and not the ocean, then, what it all has to do is stop thinking that it is a wave. Because, it is never separate from the ocean. What all the wave has to do is stop thinking. The wave has to offer its thought process of thinking that it is the wave, then the Ātma Nivedanam happens and it will realize that it is never separate from the Ocean. What is stopping the wave is the thought or the thought process. Letting go the thought process is Ātma Nivedanam. As long as the wave has it itself as its reference point, it will think itself as a wave and it will be in the delusion that it is a wave. The moment it changes its reference point to the ocean, then it will see itself as a part of the ocean and not separate from the ocean. Ātma Nivedanam helps us changing our reference points from body and mind (thought processes) to that of the Spirit.

Human beings live 99% of the time "a life of comparison." This is the main problem of so many wants and desires. If one can anchor onto the soul, then 99% of worries vanish just like that. Then, Ātma Nivedanam can happen or else it is again an identity which would be directing in fulfillment of a wish that has arised in comparison with someone else's life. When the unnecessary and false reference points are avoided, then it becomes easy for Ātma Nivedanam to happen.

Surrendering into Silence

In between the thoughts when you are forcibly thrown into the Silence just be in that Silence. There will be moments of unknowingness and nothingness. Enjoy those moments. Become a child who does not know anything and who leaves everything to the Cosmos. Just rest in that infinite cradle of innocence.  Just be there. Surrender to those moments and then... and only then you lose your self and you can be your Self. If you are trying to deviate from this Silence then it may take a lot of time to get back, may be sometimes thousands or millions of life's. So respect, acknowledge the Silence that is present in every moment. Pause from the busy-ness of this worldly life even if it is for a moment and just merge into that Eternal Silence.

Inspiration - 6

Inspiration - 5

Inspiration - 4

Inspiration - 3

Inspiration - 2

Inspiration - 1

Spiritual Questions - Part 9 (What is devotion?)

Q. What is devotion?

A. The non-emotional form of Emotion of True Love is Devotion.

Q. Can you cultivate devotion?

A. No

Q. Why?

A. Because, anything that you try to create or cultivate will be with the I and that will be ego driven. So, in reality it cannot happen. Because, anything that is created based on ego will be emotional in nature and it will bind you to that concept. Devotion is not like that. Devotion has to happen all by itself. Then, how can anything happens all by itself? It is not possible. That means it has to be present already. So, Devotion is the same-thing as Silence which is ever present. Only thing is we should make ourselves aware of that. That is why it is called as non-emotional Emotion of True Love. Because, in Devotion you will love everything unconditionally. Actually you will love your True Self in it. Since your True Self is the One which is present everywhere, you will love everything. Because everything is a projection of that True Self. Anything that is projected is projected as a thought only. That means in reality it does not exist. It is a dream only. When any-thing does not exist, what will exist? Only Nothing-ness exists. So Devotion is that kind of non-emotional Emotion of True Love that reveals that Nothingness. All this happens only in surrender. In fact, in   Devotion lies surrender. In Devotion there is a complete surrender in it. Surrender means nothing. There is no I in it. When there is no I, is there a You? No. Surrender is a state where there is neither I nor You. Just it is. Surrender is the state where everything is happening all by itself. There is not even a process of thinking that whatever is happening is done by Him. It is a state where you may want to say to explain someone "it is happening all by itself", but underneath at the substratum you know that even that is not happening; it is only a projection of mind and it is an illusion. In fact nothing is ever happening. You are in that Nothing-ness state.

So Devotion or surrender is a state of neither I nor You. It is a state of Emptiness. Just it is!

Spiritual Questions - Part 8 (What is ego, etc?)

Q) What is ego?
A) It is the identification with a self created identity.

Q) How is identity created?
A) Identity is created because of attachment towards a thought process.

Q) How to forego the identity?
A) By foregoing the attachment to thought process.

Q) How to forego the attachment to thought process.
A) By entering into Silence.

Q) How to enter into Silence?
A) By letting go the attachment towards all thoughts.

Q) How to let go the attachment towards all thoughts?
A) By becoming effortless and choiceless.

Q) How to become effortless and choiceless.
A) By surrendering.

Q) To whom we have to surrender?
A) We have to surrender to our own Self.

Q) What happens when we surrender to our Self?
A) We become choiceless and effortless.

Q) What happens when we become choiceless and effortless?
A) We will be always peaceful and be in the awareness of Self.

Actually the Awareness Itself will be aware of Awareness.