It is the penultimate stage of sadhana, somewhat like Sri Krishna’s final injunction to Arjuna, sarvadharmanparityajya, to give up all Dharmas and take refuge in Him alone. Give up trying is not the same as do not try. It means that one has tried, possibly tried hard, but nothing much, or at least decisive happened. It is then that one must remember these mighty reassuring words, ‘give up trying…..Let Thy Will be done.’ That does the magic. It is a reminder that it is not our efforts but the Divine Grace that brings the experiences and the realisations. As the Upanishad also says, Nayamatma pravachanena na medha na bahuna shrutena. Yamvaise vrunute….’ It is not by effort and intelligence nor speaking and hearing that the Self reveals itself but by Its own Will, its own Grace. Yet, the Upanishad and the Gita also advice effort. So does The Mother advice effort. But the final result comes not by effort but when we have done what we must do, we have reached our limit of sorts, and then we give up everything in the hands of the Lord and leave it all to Her Will. That is when the final decisive moment comes for which we waited and for which all effort was only a poor preparation rather than the cause of the result.
One may ask why then try at all. Why not simply sit and do nothing and let things happen as and when they will. Well, the effort is necessary to prepare us to receive the Grace rightly. It prepares our mind and heart and body for the Divine to act decisively, provided we surrender everything to His Will in all sincerity.
Affectionately,
Alok da
