________________ -20 20 It is also known as Saranagati or seeking God as the sole refuge, as implied in the Gita verse: 'mamekam Saranam vraja'. This is not the place to go into the details of this doctrine. We are only concerned here to explain how the observance of self-surrender to God is regarded as Sadanga-yoga, a six-fold yoga discipline or upaya to attain the Supreme Goal. Before we outline the six components of Saranagati, we should take note of two important conditions of eligibility to be fulfilled by an individual who resorts to this pathway. These are akincanya and ananya-gatitva. Akincanya means absolute inability on the part of the individual to adopt any other upaya for moksa such as bhakti-yoga aided by karma-yoga and jnana-yoga, as taught in the Bhagavad-gita. Ananya-gatitva means the deep conviction that no other person or Deity other than the Supreme Being (Visnu) can protect the individual and secure moksa. Both Yamuna and Ramanuja have emphasized these points by imposing on themselves these qualifications, in their ardent prayer for Saranagati The six components of Saranagati as stated by Vedanta Desika on the authority of the Pancaratra treatises are: 1) Anukulya-sankalpa: That is, a determined will on the part of the aspirant to perform only such acts as would please God. 2) Pratikulya-varjana: That is, to refrain from acts which would cause displeasure to God. 3) Karpanya: The feeling of humility arising from the helplessness of an individual in resorting to other means of salvation. 4) Mahavisvasa: The absolute and unshakable faith in God as the sole protector. 5) Goptrtva-varana: To make a request to God, seeking his protection. 6) Atma-niksepa: That is, entrusting the burden of protecting the individual self to the care of God36 35 See Yamuna's Stotra-ratna verse 22.. akiscano ananyagatissaranya, tvad-padamulam saranam prapadye. See also Ramanuja's Saranagati-gadya.....anantakala samiksayapy-adrsta santaropayah 36 For details see S.M.Srinivasa Chari - Vaisnavism, its Philosophy, Theology and Religious Discipline, Chapter 13
