Hare Krsna,
In BG 18.66, Lord Krsna famously declares ‘Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.’
The deeper meaning of ‘Do not fear’ can be seen in these teachings of Lord Kapiladeva. Here the Supreme Lord is giving assurance to all His devotees not to worry about being promoted to the heavenly planets or to become happy in this world or to be delivered from the entanglement of this material world. Krsna is saying, “Do not worry. I will take you to the other side of birth and death. All you have to do is just engage in My devotional service unflinchingly.”
SB 3.25.39-40: Thus the devotee who worships Me, the all-pervading Lord of the universe, in unflinching devotional service, gives up all aspirations to be promoted to heavenly planets or to become happy in this world with wealth, children, cattle, home or anything in relationship with the body. I take him to the other side of birth and death.
It is not so easy to be worry-free in our dealings in this world – even in bhakti. The restless mind always gives us anxiety and fear. We tend to worry about the present and future. What will happen during the old age? What will happen if a financially-draining medical expense comes up? Devotees may worry what will happen to them if they think they have not performed bhakti well enough to be assured a promising next life or even liberation? I have seen seasoned brahmacaris in ISKCON leaving the institution after many years of service being overcome with the fear that they haven’t made any financial arrangements or savings for their old age. One of them confided in me once that he will be discarded by his family if he tries to return to them because he left home at a very young age and haven’t fulfilled his family responsibilities. And in old age, ISKCON will not take care of him because he cannot do any more service. With this fear, they leave ISKCON endeavoring to earn and save some ‘money’ for old age. I understand their sentiments. I have heard of many sincere Srila Prabhupada disciples who gave their life to the movement in their younger days (forsaking higher education and means of livelihood) but struggling to make ends meet in their old age. Thus, fear is natural for anyone with a material body. Therefore, I say that Lord Krsna’s assurance ‘Do not fear’ has deeper meaning.
We need to learn how to have deep and unshaking faith in Krsna. Srila Prabhupada explains beautifully in BG 18.66 purport:
“One should be confident that in all circumstances Kṛṣṇa will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Kṛṣṇa will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Kṛṣṇa the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature. There are different processes of religion and purificatory processes by cultivation of knowledge, meditation in the mystic yoga system, etc., but one who surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa does not have to execute so many methods. That simple surrender unto Kṛṣṇa will save him from unnecessarily wasting time. One can thus make all progress at once and be freed from all sinful reactions.”
Elsewhere Srila Prabhupada again explains the meaning of saranagati or surrender.
“Sometimes when we hear that great sages and devotees go to the forest and engage themselves in devotional service or meditation, we become surprised: how can one live in the forest and not be taken care of by anyone? But the answer, given by a great authority, Nārada Muni, is that such persons are well protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śaraṇāgati, or surrender, means acceptance or firm belief that wherever the surrendered soul lives he is always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; he is never alone or unprotected.” (SB 4.8.68 Purport)
A pure devotee, therefore, never worries about anything. A pure devotee does not pray to the Lord for liberation from this material bondage. Actually, the pure devotee never thinks that he is fit for liberation. A pure devotee is not anxious to elevate himself in his next birth. Such a pure devotee does not care for what is going to happen in the next life or in this life; he does not care even for family, children, or society. He fully engages in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (SB 3.25.39-40 Purport)
It is indeed a beautiful assurance by the Lord that without the knowledge of the devotee the Lord arranges for him to be immediately transferred to the Lord’s transcendental abode just after he leaves his body.
BG 12.6-7: For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Prtha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.
We must continue the surrendering process to Krsna. Just as a child is completely cared for by his parents, a devotee is and will be cared for by Krsna if he is fully surrendered to Krsna and has faith in Krsna’s love and protection. If Krsna can take care of unlimited living entities all over His creation, how difficult would it be for Him to take care of us if we take His shelter. We just need to perform our bhakti unto Him with love and devotion and expecting nothing in return. Krsna knows what we need more than we do.
As Srila Prabhupada beautifully writes, “Let everyone take shelter of the supreme omnipotent Godhead Krsna. That is the highest perfection of life.” (BG 12.6-7 Purport)
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 