With all these three, the sensations in the body are at a particular place, the heart, whether you are in fear, in deep love or in hatred. And they are interchangeable. One changes into the other. You love somebody and that love slowly changes into hatred or you love something very dearly and the fear rises, thinking, "Oh, I may lose it."
Whatever you love most you hold onto. So, the same love has changed itself to fear.
So, true surrender happens. You cannot do anything about it. If you love something, very deep, true surrender. Surrender is not a burden, not a fear, not something which comes out of force. It is a spontaneous happening. Only the strong can surrender, the weak can never surrender.
We seem to understand it the other way. We feel that if someone is weak they will surrender. I am powerful. How can I surrender? No. To surrender it takes great courage and power, strength and confidence. Only then can you surrender.
Surrender is always unconditional. It’s not that “I will surrender, so I can have peace of mind or bliss or whatever”. That is not surrender. If you love someone, because of what they have, then you don’t love them, you love the quality.
Love is a very deep, intimate phenomenon in your consciousness. It just flowers. It cannot but flower. There is no way you can meddle with it. You go near love, you dissolve, you simply don’t exist. That is the definition of love. Either you are there or there is love. You can never meet love or you can never love. Either you remain as love or you remain as somebody.
See, in conversation we say, “See, I love that because...” It is the most stupid thing. You love something and say "because"? "I love you because you are very good? I love you because you are honest?"
You are not loving that person, you love those qualities. And there is nothing great in you loving those qualities. And I tell you, you seem to love those qualities which you don’t have. That’s how people make ideals and they remain far away from ideals.
When we remain as a small pond, a stone will create a big ripple. If somebody says something, that can blow your peace off. So the peace is thrown off by people around you. But when you become an ocean, even a big mountain falling into it, does not affect it. Being an ocean, we behave like a pond – that is the wonder. The greatest wonder is man who is an ocean of peace and joy, behaves as though he is a little pond when he is disturbed by any little small thing.
You go crazy over little insignificant things and that worries you over and over again, day and night, for several years. Once you have surrendered, there comes a depth in you and nothing whatsoever can throw you off.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
