Saranagathi: The Final Boat

The soul is drowning in the ocean of samsara, and no stroke of its own will bring it to shore. Saranagathi is about the boat the Lord Himself sends. It begins with akinchanya and ananya-gatitvam, the poverty and the having-no-other-refuge that qualify us, and walks through the six limbs of prapatti, the purushakaram of Sri Mahalakshmi, and the three sacred secrets: the Ashtakshari, the Dvaya and the Charama Sloka.

It then turns to the acharya, the boatman who brings us to the boat, and to the life of a prapanna after surrender: kainkaryam, fearlessness, conduct in the world, and the final journey by the path of light. It closes with the great surrenderers, Vibhishana, Draupadi, Gajendra and the Alwars. Written as one tired swimmer telling another where the boat is.

What is inside

1. Invocation
2. Preface
3. How to Read This Book
4. The Foundation: Understanding the Need for Grace — The Ocean and the Drowning Soul
5. The Foundation: Understanding the Need for Grace — Akinchanya — The Sacred Poverty
6. The Foundation: Understanding the Need for Grace — Ananya-Gatitvam — No Other Refuge
7. The Foundation: Understanding the Need for Grace — Bhakti and Prapatti — The Monkey and the Kitten
8. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Surrender Has a Shape
9. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Anukulyasya Sankalpah — The Resolve to Please Him
10. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Pratikulyasya Varjanam — Turning from What Displeases Him
11. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Rakshishyatiti Visvasah — The Great Faith
12. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Goptritva Varanam — Choosing Him as Protector
13. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Atma-Nikshepa — Laying Down the Soul
14. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — Karpanya — The Fragrance of Humility
15. The Anatomy of Surrender: The Six Limbs (Shad-Anga Prapatti) — The Six Limbs as One Body
16. The Divine Mediatrix: The Role of Sri (Purushakara) — Why We Do Not Go to the Father Alone
17. The Divine Mediatrix: The Role of Sri (Purushakara) — The Compassion of Mahalakshmi
18. The Divine Mediatrix: The Role of Sri (Purushakara) — Nitya-Yoga — Never Separate in Protection
19. The Divine Mediatrix: The Role of Sri (Purushakara) — The Mother as the First Acharya
20. The Rahasyatrayam: The Three Sacred Secrets — Why Secrets?
21. The Rahasyatrayam: The Three Sacred Secrets — The Ashtakshari — The Mantra of Who We Are
22. The Rahasyatrayam: The Three Sacred Secrets — The Dvaya — The Mantra Gem
23. The Rahasyatrayam: The Three Sacred Secrets — The Charama Shloka — The Final Word
24. The Role of the Acharya: Acharya Abhimana — The Boatman
25. The Role of the Acharya: Acharya Abhimana — Sambandha-Jnana — Knowing the Sacred Connection
26. The Role of the Acharya: Acharya Abhimana — The Grace of the Guru
27. The Life of a Prapanna: Post-Surrender Existence — The Morning After Surrender
28. The Life of a Prapanna: Post-Surrender Existence — Kainkaryam — Life as Loving Service
29. The Life of a Prapanna: Post-Surrender Existence — Nirbhaya — The Fearless Heart
30. The Life of a Prapanna: Post-Surrender Existence — Conduct in the World — Seeing Him in All Beings
31. The Life of a Prapanna: Post-Surrender Existence — The Final Journey — Archiradi Gati
32. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — Why Stories?
33. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — Vibhishana — Surrender from the Enemy's Camp
34. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — Draupadi — The Surrender of Empty Hands
35. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — Gajendra — The Cry That Chose God Over Life
36. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — The Alvars — Surrender Become Song
37. Illustrations of Grace: The Great Surrenderers — Conclusion — The Open Door