The greatest book of knowledge covering topics such as reincarnation, karma, God, soul, material nature and time is the Srimad Bhagavad-gita and the summum bonum of this great book is that one should give up all other duties and simply surrender to Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead:
"Give up all varieties of religiousness, and simply surrender unto Me. I shall protect you from all sinful reactions, you have nothing to fear."
(Bg. 18.66)
This surrender however is not blind. Quite the opposite, the true surrender is the surrender by everything: the body, mind and soul. It is not that I show surrender to Krsna by my body, but in my mind I do not surrender. Such so-called surrender only leads to hypocrisy and deviation of the true religion. Still, one's mind is turbulent and flickering. One might think to surrender to Krsna at one time, when things are very nice, but when circumstances change and the Lord puts us into tests, one might think the opposite way. Such unsteady nature of the mind is confirmed by Arjuna who has heard the Bhagavadgita from the Lord directly. So we should particularly take note that superior to the mind is the surrender of intelligence, which is the next door neighbour of the soul. Unless one's intelligence is satisfied, why should we give up all our duties and simply surrender to the Supreme Lord?
For this reason the Lord has explained the science of self-realization in the Bhagavadgita and many other Vedic scriptures -to give a conditioned soul an opportunity to satisfy his intelligence by reasonable arguments and logic given by the top most intelligence of the Lord Himself. Just as in the Second Chapter Lord Krsna explains that although we had a body of a baby, then a young men, later on grown up persons and in the future old men, similarly we will have another body after death. This is logic, not a sentimental faith. If in the past I had a body, if in the present I have a body, shouldn't I have a body in the future also? Where is the reasoning of not having a body in the future coming from? So the Lord explains very nicely why we should surrender and at the end he says:
Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.
(Bg. 18.63)
Lord Krsna always respects your freedom: Do what you wish to do. If you would like to surrender to Krsna, it should be because it is something you wish to do. But unless your intelligence is satisfied by some reason and logic why you should wish to do what you wish to do, you will not wish to do it.
Many motivated persons do not surrender to Krsna because they wish to do it, but because they get something for it. This is not a surrender, rather it is prostitution and just as a man does not keep further relationship with a prostitute after satisfying his lust, similarly a motivated so-called surrendered persons do not practise the path of devotional service regularly because his mentality is to satisfy his senses, rather than think of the Lord's satisfaction. Krsna says:
Those, who on account of their envy towards the principle of Kåñëa consciousness, do not follow My injunctions regularly, are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their chances to reach perfection.
(Bg. 3.32)
They do not find pleasure in association of devotees, because the devotees' discussions expose their lack of surrender and understading of the process of surrender. The process of surrender is a long journey which starts with the humble admittence of one's utter foolishness at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. One should always feel foolish in front of the spiritual master as exemplified the best by Lord Caintanya in his conversation with Prakasanandi Saraswati. He said that his spiritual master found him a fool number one and therefore he has forbidden him to read the Vedanta philosophy. Lord Caitanya is the Lord Himself. Is the Lord a fool? No, He is not a fool, but just to show to the neophyte devotee how one should develop a humble attitude he submits to his spiritual master Isvara Puri. One who does not feel foolish before the spirtual master will hardly be able to take part in discussions about the process of surrender in the association of devotees, rather he will prefer the discussions pertaining to the ever-changing mundane character of material affairs, which simply agitate his mind further and further on the path to hell. A serious student of the bhakti yoga should not feel intimitated by such foolish men and should not give up the discussions about the process of surrender as recommended in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrta:
A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one's mind becomes attached to Sri Krsna.
(CC Adi 2.117)
One should not speculate but inquire about the spiritual subject matters from the spiritual master. Thus mind becomes solidified in Krsna consciousness by the help of intelligence. If there is any doubt, one should not surpress it, but immediately bring it to the attention of the spiritual master, so the doubt can be clarified. Surpressing one's doubts and making a show of surrender can benefit neither myself, neither the Lord nor the spiritual master is impressed by such a display of stupidity. By careful examination of the philosophy of Krsna conscioousness, one will ultimately attain a doubtless state of consciousness, where the further progress on the path is dictated from within the heart. In this way, one attains firm faith in the authority of the Lord and that of the spiritual master. By keeping firm faith in the statements of the Lord, namely that He will take care of all sinful reactions for one's misdeeds, one will not hesitate to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Lord and will have no fear. Culprit's mind is always suspicious, therefore fearful persons
who doubt the authority of the Lord and the spiritual master can never surrender to the Lord, nor to His devotee and are unable to appreciate their transcendental nature.
Fools, faithless and those who are doubtful when it comes to the revealed scriptures fall away from knowledge of Kåñëa consciousness. For the doubtful persons there is nothing good either in this world or in the next, nor any happiness.
(Bg. 4.40)