The three-day workshop guided participants through the inner movement from sacrifice to psychic-centered surrender, illuminating how Integral Yoga prepares, purifies, and finally crowns this shift.
The workshop opened in silence and inward poise, setting the intention to explore the transition from sacrifice to complete self-giving. The central teaching introduced sacrifice as an early movement in sadhana—painful only when entangled with ego and attachment. Sacrifice becomes transformative when purified into joyous offering, gradually preparing the being for surrender. Integral Yoga’s three branches—Knowledge, Works, and Devotion—were framed as distinct yet convergent means through which surrender becomes possible. Essential emphasis was placed on discovering the psychic being, the true inner guide whose emergence alone makes full surrender possible. Two practices brought participants into contact with their attachments, the felt vibration of resistance, and the inner quietude of the psychic space, offering all to the Mother as raw truth rather than concept.
The second day highlighted Tapasya—steady, sustained, disciplined effort—as the indispensable partner of surrender. Tapasya purifies the instruments and deepens the capacity for self-giving, while surrender, in turn, strengthens Tapasya. Participants examined the fragmentation of personal will and reflected on integrating the will around the psychic center so that the aspiration becomes unified and sincere. The practice emphasized continuous remembrance—calling the Mother inwardly, offering every movement as it arises—and allowing offering and remembrance to become simultaneous. Quotes from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother reinforced that Tapasya prepares the ground but the very act of offering dissolves the illusion of separation: “All belongs to the Divine.”
The final day explored service as both a mode of self-giving and an inquiry into humility: Are we truly ready to be servitors of the Divine? Early service still carries doership and separation; surrender dissolves both, expanding the being beyond egoic limits. James explained the evolution from self-consecration to the crowning of surrender, where aspiration melts into the Mother and individuality is reshaped around the psychic consciousness.A deep practice with the breath helped participants experience self-giving in the pauses, call the Mother with each inhalation, and feel her presence permeating the subtle physical. This method was offered as a lifelong tool for integrating surrender into daily living.
James closed by stressing that sustained practice and inner honesty allow the Mother’s presence to guide, purify, and ultimately lift the being towards the summit of surrender.
