Gita 18.66
Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज | अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ||६६||
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja | ahaṁ tvā sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ ||66||
In essence: Abandon ALL dharmas and take refuge in Me ALONE - I shall liberate you from ALL sins. Grieve not.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "'Abandon ALL dharmas' - but you spent the entire Gita teaching me dharma! How can I now abandon it?"
Guru: "Dharma was the ladder to reach this point. Having climbed, you don't cling to the ladder. All the teachings - karma yoga, jnana, duty - were preparation for this moment of total surrender. The teachings weren't false; they were preliminary. Now you've arrived at the teaching that includes and transcends all others."
Sadhak: "But if I abandon all dharmas, won't I become adharmic? Won't I act wrongly?"
Guru: "When you take complete refuge in Krishna, Krishna becomes your dharma. You don't act wrongly because you're not acting from ego - you're being acted through by the Divine. The person who has truly taken refuge doesn't abandon ethics; they transcend the need for rules because their every action flows from divine alignment."
Sadhak: "'ALL sins' - even the greatest sins? What about those who have done terrible things?"
Guru: "'Sarva-papebhyah' - Krishna doesn't stutter, doesn't add conditions, doesn't make exceptions. ALL means ALL. The ocean of divine grace is infinite; no sin-pollution can exceed its purifying capacity. This is not permission to sin but assurance that no past can disqualify you from divine refuge. What's required is genuine surrender, not a clean record."
Sadhak: "Is this surrender a one-time act or continuous practice?"
Guru: "It begins as an act and becomes a state. The initial 'vraja' - go, take refuge - is a definite turn. But surrender deepens continuously. Each moment offers fresh opportunity to release control and rest in refuge. Over time, surrender becomes your natural mode rather than effortful act."
Sadhak: "'Do not grieve' - but my mind still grieves. How do I stop?"
Guru: "This isn't a command to suppress grief but permission to release it. You grieve because you think something depends on you - your effort, your worthiness, your success. But Krishna has taken full responsibility: 'I shall liberate.' Your job isn't to stop grieving by willpower but to recognize that the cause of grief - your imagined burden - has been lifted. The grief dissolves when the reality of surrender sinks in."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Begin each day with conscious surrender: 'I abandon all my agendas, all my dharmas, all my self-improvement projects - and take refuge in You alone. Whatever this day brings, I rest in Your promise: You shall liberate me. I do not grieve.' Let this set the foundation for everything.
When challenges arise and the mind scrambles for solutions, pause: 'I am trying to handle this through my dharma, my effort, my figuring-out. What would complete refuge look like right now?' This doesn't mean passivity but releasing the burden of outcome to Krishna while acting as guided.
Review where you held back from complete refuge: 'Where did I reserve a corner for ego-control? Where did I trust my effort more than divine grace?' Not as guilt but as learning. Then renew the surrender: 'I abandon all I've accumulated today - successes and failures both - and rest in You. Ma shuchah - I do not grieve.'