~~OM~~
Swamiji on Atma Samarpana
When we surrender the object of our desire, we surrender our souls. We make atma-samarpana. When we yield, we free ourselves from bondage. Every time we try to be victorious, we lose. Whenever we demand our way, even if we get what we demand, we lose, because kamabandham jivabahvam, the individual soul is bound by desire. If you get the fulfillment of a desire which breeds the strength of individuality, then your individual existence is bound by even greater desire. Jesus said something of a similar nature when he said, "He who would be first will be last, and he would be last will be first. The greatest among you will be the servant." These types of statements from the Bible depict victory through humility. Anything other than that is defeat, regardless of whether you make the point or score.
From Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess, p 26
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With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered over 970,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of July 31st 2008 are as follows:
| Ambika |
17,280 |
| Ananda Kaanta |
312,228 |
| Aparna |
25,272 |
| Brindavanshakti |
8,856 |
| Devi |
138,240 |
| Eric |
35,046 |
| Janitri |
10,036 |
| Jebani |
13,176 |
| Jennifer |
25,596 |
| Jun |
18,576 |
| Kalachandra |
6,264 |
| Kaliananda |
20,960 |
| Kanda |
19,548 |
| Karen |
1,296 |
| Leela |
9,936 |
| Morningsong |
22,248 |
| Nanda |
1,080 |
| Parvati |
22,248 |
| Ramya |
14,654 |
| Rosario |
24,732 |
| Sivakumar |
21,600 |
| Srini |
21,924 |
| Tapomayi |
8,016 |
| Usha |
187,098 |
| Total | 979,430 |



