SARANAGATI

Krishna begins his teaching by saying that the sympathy and love of Arjuna for his enemies then are quite out of place and unbecoming of his valour. He advises Arjuna that it is his duty as a Ksatriya to carry on the fight, but in a spirit of detachment and with a feeling of dedication to God. That will be, not mere karma, but Karma-yoga the practice of moral discipline. That will lead him to the Jnanayoga, which will enable him to realize his Atma. That will take him on to the next stage viz. Bhaktiyoga which is the means for the attainment of Supreme Bliss. Krishna concludes his teachings, and towards the end of the last chapter of Bhagavad Gita advises him to take to Bhaktiyoga which was already taught to him in Chapter IX. Arjuna, who has a desire for the highest fruit is stricken again with sorrow at the thought of his incompetency and the obstacles to the practice of Bhaktiyoga. Seeing the flood of sorrow in the face of Arjuna. Krishna is moved and he immediately teaches the Doctrine of Saranagati. No doubt Saranagati is taught here as means for doing away with the impediments to the beginning of Bhaktiyoga. But that is not all that Saranagati can do. It is capable of yielding any kind of fruit. The statement here that it dispels the obstructing sins of fruits.

Bhagavad Gita declares that Bhaktiyoga can be practiced by four kinds of adhikaris or persons: (1) by those who are desirous of acquiring wealth newly; (2) by those who want to get back their lost wealth: (3) by those who wish to attain the realization of their own soul free from all its shackles; and (4) by those who want to attain the Supreme Goal, viz., God Himself. All the four kinds of fruits can be attained by Saranagati also. Because of this Saranagati is declared in the Sastras as an alternative to Bhaktiyoga. What is more, it can give Bhaktiyoga itself and through it Moksa.