Sharan

In the context of Sant Mat, sharan means taking shelter with a Master. The concept of sharan runs like a thread through the teachings of the Masters, and all the Masters underline the importance of sharan for a disciple of Surat Shabd Yoga. Whoever takes shelter with a Master submits himself unconditionally. But surrender and loving submission relate not to the human person of the Master as such, but to the divine Word that has taken human form in him. According to Sant Mat, the will of God and the will of the Master are one and the same.… While obeying the instructions of the Master, a disciple recognizes the will of God and becomes its executor. Whatever the disciple does, he does in the name of the Lord, and the Lord works through the disciple.

Surrender to the Master is a gradual process. A certain measure of faith and confidence in the Master is necessary to take the first, perhaps hesitant steps on the way to surrender and devotion. As disciples progress on the spiritual path, willingly and sincerely devoting themselves to the Master’s spiritual guidance and surrendering to him, their faith and confidence in the Master becomes deeper. The more perfect the disciple’s loving submission to the Master becomes, the more his faith turns into certainty. Every disciple on the path of the Masters can learn from experience that sincere surrender saves much suffering and helps to avoid many mistakes, whereas each attempt to push through his own will always ends in disappointment and pain.
_{Shradda Liertz, Adventure of Faith}