Surrender
The devotional path. When effort is exhausted, letting go remains.
There is another way.
The texts speak of effort: practice, discipline, perseverance. But they also speak of letting go. Of surrendering. Of trusting something greater.
Or through surrender to Īśvara.
īśvara-praṇidhānād vā
"Or through surrender to Īśvara."
A single word — vā, "or" — opens a door. After describing personal effort, Patañjali offers an alternative.
Īśvara here isn't a creator god. It's pure consciousness that can guide the devotee.
From surrender to Īśvara arises perfection of samādhi.
samādhisiddhirīśvarapraṇidhānāt
From surrender arises the perfection of samādhi.
The devotional shortcut. Other methods purify the mind gradually. Total surrender dissolves the ego in one stroke.
When "I" stop striving, the main obstacle disappears.
The Gītā develops this as a complete path. Kṛṣṇa instructs directly.
Fija tu mente solo en Mí, establece tu intelecto en Mí. Entonces vivirás en Mí, sin duda, de aquí en adelante.
mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṃ niveśaya | nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṃ na saṃśayaḥ
Fix your mind on Me. Establish your intellect in Me. You will live in Me.
Not just the emotional aspect. The discriminative too. Surrender is total.
Mejor que la práctica mecánica es el conocimiento; mejor que el conocimiento es la meditación; mejor que la meditación es la renuncia al fruto de las acciones — de esa renuncia surge la paz inmediatamente.
śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṃ viśiṣyate | dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram
Better than mechanical practice is knowledge. Better than knowledge, meditation. Better than meditation, renouncing the fruit of actions. From that renunciation, peace arises.
Renunciation transforms every moment into practice. It's not intermittent like meditation — it's continuous.
Haṭha Yoga also recognizes this principle. The fourth chapter opens with devotion.
Salutations to Śiva, the Guru, whose nature is nāda, bindu, and kalā. Whoever is eternally absorbed in Him attains the immaculate state.
namaḥ śivāya gurave nāda-bindu-kalātmane | nirañjana-padaṃ yāti nityaṃ tatra parāyaṇaḥ
Whoever is eternally absorbed in Him reaches the immaculate state.
Nityam — constantly. Occasional experience isn't enough. Continuous absorption is required.
All the technical work of previous chapters prepares for this absorption.
Effort has limits. There comes a point where pushing harder doesn't work.
Yoga Sūtras: Surrender is an alternative to effort.
Bhagavad Gītā: Renouncing the fruit is superior to meditation.
Haṭha Yoga: Technique prepares for devotion.
When the ego tires of trying, trust remains.