Full Surrender 149
overcome all difficulties of material existence.

After the Battle of Kuruksetra ended and the Pandavas were estab-

lished in their kingdom, Krsna, before going back home to Dvaraka, was
taking leave of His aunt and bidding her farewell. It was at that time that

Kunti offered this prayer. Now she directly asks, ‘‘Is it a fact that after
finishing Your duty You are going away and leaving us alone?”’ This is
the devotee’s position. Kuntidevi says, yesam na canyad bhavatah padam-
bujat: ‘‘“We have no means of protection other than Your lotus feet.”
This is full surrender.

In the process of surrender (sarandgati) there are six items. The first is
that one should completely depend on Krsna, and the next is that one
should accept everything favorable for Krsna’s service (dnuktilyasya
sankalpah). Anukiilyena krsndnusilanam bhaktir uttama: a symptom of
first-class bhakti, devotional service, is that one accepts everything
favorable for that service. Another item of surrender is pratikulya-vivar-
janam, rejecting everything unfavorable to the procedures of Krsna con-
sciousness. Sometimes the spiritual master says, ‘‘Don’t do this,”’
forbidding something unfavorable, and he also recommends that which
is favorable: ‘‘Do this. Chant Hare Krsna.’’ Full surrender, therefore,
entails giving up unfavorable things and accepting that which is favor-
able (dnukiulyasya sankalpah pratikilya-vivarjanam). Furthermore, one
should believe with full faith, “Krsna will give me protection,’’ and one
should count oneself as one of the servants of Krsna. These are some of
the items of saranagati, full surrender.

Now Kuntidevi says, ‘‘My dear Krsna, if You think that we are well
established now that we have our kingdom back, and if You therefore
want to leave us, that is not a very good proposal. We are not free yet. Be-
cause we have killed so many kings, all their friends and relatives are
planning to come fight with us again. So don’t think that we are free from
all dangers. Weare not. And we have no protection other than Your lotus
feet. That is our position.’’ Thus she indirectly says to Krsna, ‘‘Do not
leave us. Don’t think that we are now safe. Without Your protection, we
are always unsafe.”’

This should be the position of a devotee. We should know that we are
actually in danger in this material world. Maya, illusion, may catch us at
any time, as soon as we are a little inattentive, thinking, ‘‘Now I have
done my duty. Let me take a little rest.’’ No, there is no rest. We must be
always alert.

There is a verse in which Srila Ripa Gosvami says, avyartha-
kalatvam: a devotee should be very much careful to see whether his
