Isvara Pranidhana: Moving beyond ourselves

Isvara Pranidhana is the fifth of the Niyamas, translated as self-surrender. This can be practiced in a few different ways, such as committing to serve your community, surrender to a higher power by letting go of attachment to the fruits of your labour or through surrender to the flow of life by accepting that this higher power is directing our path.

This last Niyama, likely the hardest, is the beginning of egolessness. Through practicing self-surrender we gradually begin to chip away at our own selfishness, greed & entitlement, instead replacing it with a pure & open heart.

One way we may begin to do this, is by engaging in acts of service, by dedicating our actions to our community, we are able to transcend self-serving tendencies & instead surrender self interest for the greater good.

Similarly, by choosing to let go of our attachment to the fruits of our labour, we begin to move away from goal oriented thinking & instead learn to completely give ourselves to the process, seeing each action as a place for enjoyment, a place for meditation & an end in itself.

In doing so, we cultivate happiness in the present moment, rather than attaching our happiness to an imagined future outcome (a job, a relationship, a car, a holiday, etc.), we learn to love the process of creation & offer this creation up as divine labour.

Another aspect of this practice is opening to life through the complete acceptance of what is.

Through meditation & practicing being completely with the present moment, we begin to cultivate acceptance of what is. We may start this through simply watching sensations within the body, without trying to change them whether pleasant or unpleasant.

Later on we may find ourselves able to do this with our own emotions & eventually situations within our lives, rather than running away from the reality of what is, we can sit with the fullness of the present.

From here, we are able to make meaningful change, we can look to find the lessons within the situation & move forwards from a place of love & acceptance.