Saranagati: In English Poetry

A MOVE TO SURRENDER (ŚARAṆĀGATI) usually conjures ideas of defeat and loss, as in surrendering to an enemy or surrendering one’s driver’s license. In spiritual life, however, surrender brings victoriesand gains. The victories include conquering the pride, lust, fear and anger that tend to dominate our minds. The gains of surrender include purpose, clarity and peace of mind.

The author of Śaraṇāgati, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (1838–1914), guides us through six triumphant stages of surrender as he experienced them in his own journey. By describing his own spiritual surrender, he guides us in ours, from the gain of humility to the loss of self-defeating addictions and behaviors.

The steps on this joyous journey, originally described in simple, poetic Bengali, are translated herein to simple English poetry. Through this work, my good friend and Bengali translator Swarupa Kṛṣṇa Prabhu and I seek to discover and share insights into the brilliant mind of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as he reveals to yet another new generation the deeply mystical and eminently practical teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.