Sri Ramakrishna in his own inimitable style brings out the concept of true self-surrender through the following parable.
Sri Rama, just a day or so before his coronation as the king of Ayodhya, was asked to retire to the forest and spend the next fourteen years there. Sri Lakshmana and Sita Devi also accompanied him. In the forest all of them were living a truly ascetic life. One day when Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana went to take bath in the Pampa Lake, they thrust their bows into the ground on the shore. Then they went into the water to take a dip. Emerging from the water, Lakshmana took out one of the bows and found its tip stained with blood. Sri Rama was shocked and he said, “Look brother, perhaps we have hurt some creature. Please find out the cause of this blood stain.” Sri Lakshmana dug the earth and found a big bullfrog. It was almost dying. Sri Rama asked the frog in a sorrowful voice as to why he didn’t make any noise. He added that had the frog croaked out, then they would have tried to save him. Sri Rama chastised him saying, “You croak lustily enough when you are in the jaws of a snake. Why are you silent now?” The frog replied, “When I am attacked by a snake, I croak calling your name and praying to be saved. This time I found that it was Rama himself who was killing me so I kept quite.”
The idea is that those who completely surrender themselves to the Lord accept whatever happens in life as the Lord’s dispensation. Even the instances which are apparently painful and sorrowful are accepted as God’s decision. Such people have the firm faith that whatever the Lord does is for their own good and they never complain about anything. This is the true spirit of self-surrender.