Surrender of Self  or atma nivedan

All Glories to HDG Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaj

All Glories  to HDG Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada

The meaning of atma nivedan is surrender to the Supreme Lord without any form of duplicity. Srila Rupa Goswami has mentioned the symptoms of this atma nivedanam in the Bhakti Rasmrta Sindhu as anukulasya sankalpam pritikula vivarjanam rakhsyati vishvaso goptatve varanam tatha  atma niksepa karpanya sad viddha sharangati meaning to accept what is favorable for devotional service and to reject everything that is unfavorable .Giving up of  fear understanding that He is protecting me from all types of fearful situations. The Lord being my maintainer means that there is no question of worry as to my maintenance in terms of food and clothing. Further being completely obedient to follow  His  instructions at all times and to stay in the temple in the mood of  a docile dog and acting humbler than the straw.  Hence Surrender means the devotee is rigidly  following of all these above stated principles according to the stipulated verse. One who is established in such surrender then his mindset will have the following characteristics as  I being  the most fallen  do not possess any qualification. Without receiving the causeless mercy of the Lord ,I do not have any other recourse for myself. I have surrendered myself to your Lotus feet ,You have to bestow mercy on Me. There is no sin that I have not indulged and because of this the reactions of such sins are tormenting me presently and  no body else is to blame. Let me justly suffer these reactions of my bad actions . May I be able birth after birth to have the association of Your saintly devotees and in their shelter to always think of Your Lotus feet!. Now I am surrendering my mind, body household to You and it is your prerogative whether to rightly save  or destroy me. I am not bothered about myself now having given myself to you.  With my brother ,friend ,wife, possessions, children ,I have given up my independence according to Your Wishes. My friend ,wife ,son and grand children are  all you servants. In that respect they are all my associates without any relation to my material body. I am your servant in that respect  that I am rightfully protecting your house ,wealth and servants. Everything is to be engaged in Your service. In that regard ,I will strive to qualify to be able to perform these  various tasks. I will never do anything to indulge in seeking my own happiness. Presently I in servitude  am striving to give up my false ego of me and mine .Please give me the strength that I may renounce easily this false ego of me and mine and establish myself in surrender to YourLotus Feet. All sorrow is  dispersed afar and finding solace in the refuge of Your Lotus feet that  can bestow fearlessness and joy. I am now in that position of being  freed from my  material covering  linked  to  my  fearful condition.. At present while staying in this material  world of fruitive actions and reactions, I will simply act according to your will for Your pleasure. I do not have any more worries. You will maintain this material existence of mine ,I am simply your filial servant, any loss or gain is neither my look out or responsibility. There is no necessity for me to attempt to maintain myself and if I were to strive for wealth then I have to follow Your instructions .In this form of surrender as stated above ,the devotee renounces all types of sorrow and in no way will the afflictions of material life affect him any further. Srila Sridhar Swami has commented on this word atmanivedan: just as a sold cow or horse does not bother about their maintenance ,in that respect in surrendering the body there is no question of trying to further giving enjoyment to the body. Srila Visvanath Chakrawarthi has commented on this same word ,The examples of Rukmini who was surrendered by her great devotion and that of Bali Maharaja who surrendered everything at the time of gifting the Supreme Lord are examples .In the case of Ambarish Maharaj there is a mixture of servitude with surrender .Srila Jiva Goswami in explaining  the commentary of Swamipad has remarked that surrender here refers here not attempting to strive in any way for one self as all one is attempting in devotional practice  has been fixed by the Lord himself .Everything is done For the sake of the Lord and by His Will.  Just as for a sold cow the seller has no more responsibility in the maintenance of that cow but only the one who buys the cow . The cow now follows the dictates of the buyer and not the seller. Similarly, in surrender one who has given up his body in service does not bother anymore  for himself but uses the sold body in the service of the master ,the Supreme Lord. In short ,at the stage that the  nine fold limbs of devotion is cultivated without the impediments of knowledge and work and if surrender is performed at that time before the ordained action then after performing that same action will surely entail greatest of spiritual rewards. On the other hand ,performing an action with desire for fruits but attempting later to offer the same gain  to the Lord will be in the realm of simply works and it is not considered pure devotion.