“Somehow, we have to persuade the highest authority to favor us. We must invite the higher authority to accept us. It does not depend so much on our own ability, but on our submission and surrender, our hankering for mercy – not our positive capacity but our negative character, our surrender. As a subject, I cannot make the Infinite the object of my discrimination; He is always the super-subject. I cannot make God the object of my discrimination. He is super-subjective. My position, my attitude, must invite the higher authority to come down to my level and help me, favor me.
Real discrimination or knowledge should take us to self-surrender. Surrender is necessary to attract the attention of the Lord. Everything depends on His sweet will. He is an autocrat: His sweet will is everything. To attract His sweet will, to increase our negative side, our tendency for surrender, to attract His favor, this will be our real problem if we wish to progress in spiritual life.
And to attract the Lord’s attention, all our qualifications must be of a negative character: we shall require surrender, submission, humility. And then we can press our position by praying, “O my Lord, I’m in the worst need; without Your grace I can’t stand. I am helpless. I cannot endure without Your favour.” That sort of hankering, earnestness, and necessity for His mercy will help us. In other words, we are to improve our negative character, and in that way we shall attract the positive, Krishna.”
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
Source, Subjective Evolution of Consciousness
