by Swami Ramananda

As the month of March begins, many of us in the northern hemisphere eagerly anticipate the arrival of Spring. Along with longer, warmer days and the flowering of plant life, Spring holds for us the potential for personal growth and awakening creative energies. But winter is not quite over and the global pandemic has not yet loosened its grip on our lives. We cannot yet break out of the contracted and isolated lifestyle we’ve adopted.

In some traditions, this season is one of self-reflection, making sacrifices for a higher purpose and purifying oneself in preparation for new growth. I believe this is what we are called to do at this moment to lay a foundation for a healthier world. We have the opportunity to see ourselves more than ever as an interconnected global family, and turn the sufferings and losses caused by COVID into compost for growing new forms of collaboration to solve the crises that threaten us all.

At the most basic level, we need to continue to sacrifice some of our personal freedoms to protect each other. The word sacrifice may conjure up images of killing animals on an altar or dogmatic religious practices. Understood in a spiritual context, it is the willingness to renounce some personal desires in order to serve a higher purpose. It means dedicating our time and energy in ways that serve the greater good instead of individual preferences.

In a way, all of our spiritual practices are a form of sacrifice—using our energies to heal the body, purify the heart, and quiet the mind in order to awaken to the spiritual ground of being we share with all of life. A clear example of this is fasting.

Fasting is practiced this time of year in the Christian tradition and later in Spring in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It involves limiting what we eat and drink in mindful ways that allow the body to cleanse itself. Fasting also enables us to reflect on how dependent we are on those forms of pleasure, and it aligns our consumption with our intention to experience ever more fully the Divine Presence within. It develops willpower and brings a fiery clarity to the mind that deepens meditation.

Sacrifice can take the form of a small self-discipline, like letting go of a plan to watch a movie one evening in order to get enough rest for the next morning’s meditation. It is not meant to be a repression of our impulses or a denial of genuine needs. It becomes easy to say no to many things when we have a greater yes, a higher purpose in our hearts.

During this pandemic, we’ve had a good look at the dysfunction of our worldwide community. Our inability to truly work together has come at a high price—2.5 million deaths—many of which could have been prevented if we weren’t so busy fighting with each other. 

Humanity is an ocean comprised of individual drops. At least as individuals, we can make small sacrifices to build bridges between ourselves and others instead of staying entrenched in our views. We can look deeply to see the unexpressed needs behind others’ disruptive behavior and find mindful ways to speak our truth without condemning others.

When things open up again, it will take a real effort and commitment not to slide back into the old habits and divisions we participated in before. The next few months are crucial. Many people are tiring of isolation and may become frustrated and careless or fall into depression. Now is the time we need the conviction to stand strong and clear in the face of this lingering adversity we all face, to sacrifice some comforts in order to adhere to our values when others may not. Our eyes have been opened–let’s not close them again.

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.

He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.