Surrender

Surrendering (and/or taming) the ego is an important theme in the mystical traditions of all the major world religions. In the Sanskrit, saranagathi connotes personal surrender in terms of acceptance of the Divine Will and devotion to God. It is not meant as surrender to another human being or as relinquishment of one’s own intellectual discrimination. Like asceticism, surrender fulfills the spiritual purpose of renouncing the cravings of the ego.

Psychologically, ego is important. According to Jung, ego is built up in the first half of life and performs very necessary functions as center of the conscious psyche. Spiritually, however, there comes a time when ego, with its many desires and propensity to control, must let go of the reins. As the slogan in the 12-step programs articulates it, the essence of the surrender process is to “let go and let God.” Mystics in all of the world’s religions have found that higher spiritual states cannot be reached until ego control is surrendered;...