by Swami Ramananda

The month of September contains two of the most important holy days in the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah begins a 10  day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement. These holy days remind us that seeking forgiveness and offering forgiveness to those that have offended us, are two of the most important ways to free our hearts from the past and the psychic knots that can restrict our ability to give and receive love. With this in mind, we decided to practice forgiveness for the month of September.

I am going to write here about the process of forgiving others, which can be very difficult, but can also be very healing. If we have been deeply hurt, we may have no interest in forgiving someone or it may seem impossible. But an inability to forgive usually means carrying inside a toxic energy of anger and ill-will that darkens the heart and keeps us connected to the very person from whom we may wish to be free.

Correctly understood, forgiveness is a conscious process of releasing resentful feelings. It frees us from being emotional victims of others, allows our hearts to breathe, and moves us one step closer to experiencing the natural flow of compassion that arises when blockages are removed.

Forgiveness does not mean condoning someone’s behavior, allowing them to be irresponsible or abusive, or letting them back into our lives. It does not mean being nice to the person you forgive–or even talking to them. Because it’s primarily an inner process, we can practice forgiveness and still take appropriate action to correct someone, set boundaries to protect ourselves, or even press charges.

A significant obstacle to forgiveness is the presence of anger, rage, grief or fear that may prevent us from acting skillfully. We may be more comfortable directing our fury toward someone than facing those painful feelings within ourselves. Inflicting suffering on others may feel good or justifiable temporarily, but it won’t heal our wounds or offer real peace to our hearts.

Resolving painful emotions requires that we acknowledge them without shame or self-judgment. Emotions are meant to move through us. In order to feel safe enough to experience them, we may need support, particularly if our own mindfulness is not strong enough to be fully present to our pain without getting lost in it. As we untie these emotional knots, we recover our perspective and clarity, and often see the hard lessons that our suffering has taught us.

This effort to reflect on and release painful feelings lays a foundation for the process of forgiveness. As we learn to face our own impulses and reactions, it becomes easier to understand the actions of others. Forgiveness then becomes a practice of looking beneath the surface of a person’s behavior to acknowledge the deeper spiritual essence that is worthy of our respect.

Looking deeply, we may recognize that many of our interactions with each other are unconsciously based on protecting our self-image, trying to control the ever-changing world around us and win the acceptance of others. We can practice having compassion for the ways that we all suffer from our attempts to arrange for happiness, reminding ourselves of the innate goodness within, like the light beneath a lampshade. We can also acknowledge the ways we may have hurt others when we’ve been preoccupied with our own safety and desires, and in this spirit of compassion, forgive ourselves for these mistakes.

Forgiving ourselves is a significant step toward understanding the actions of others that have hurt us. We can practice looking with eyes of compassion and releasing bitterness from our hearts, seeing both someone’s behavior and their deeper spiritual Self. It may help to envision such a person as a child, full of hopes and dreams and shaped by the various traumas of human life.

Forgiveness might become easier when we understand that those who made us suffer are no doubt suffering themselves. And we may need to practice numerous times breathing into our hearts, letting go of our anger and trusting that their own suffering will bring them the lessons they need to heal and be whole.

As we make this effort to forgive, we move from responding to another person’s ego-identity to acknowledging their true nature. We begin to erode the confines of our own ego and release the armor around our hearts, accepting ourselves and others as we are.  We begin to experience a deeper source of happiness—one that comes from knowing our connection with all of life–and to feel the natural impulse to love and give that engenders a profound peace.

You can join Swami Ramananda & Swami Asokananda for Satsang: Awakening Our Hidden Strengths Sat. SEP 9 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT.

Or, join Swami Ramananda for A Study of Yoga & Eckart Tolle a 3-part workshop Mondays: SEP 11, 18 and 25th @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PT , or his new monthly series called Tuesday Tea Time starting on Tue. SEP 12 @ 11:15 am – 11:45 am PT.

Swami Ramananda C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, 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 all levels of Yoga teacher trainings and programs around the globe. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program and has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings. He a founding board member of Yoga Alliance and is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative 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.

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” —Abraham Lincoln.

The Practice of Mettā by Luang Por Sumedho

by Swami Ramananda

It seems like any birthday that ushers us into a new decade​ brings with it a whole spectrum of feelings, and that is what happened for me last week. Turning 70 gave rise to that culturally influenced feeling​, “OMG​! I’m getting old.“ But I’m grateful that I also found it easy to see through that thinking by marveling how I feel so much the same. Isn’t it true that ​in some core place inside​, we sense ​something, maybe just vaguely, that​ is unchanging even as we acknowledge the passing of time. I plan to keep tuning into that timeless presence within as I explore this next decade.

The other major theme that has emerged for me in these past few weeks, is a feeling of profound gratitude for all the blessings I have received in these 70 years.  First of all, I think of the transformative teachings of Yoga that completely changed my life, and my guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda, for the way he made those teachings accessible and practical. Then, there is the opportunity I have had to meet and share these precious teachings with so many fellow teachers and students of Yoga all over the world. In this past week, I have received so much love and support from the vast network of our international spiritual family.

Reflecting back, I was fortunate to have the support of my loving family that I’m still very close to. At a very young age, I had the opportunity to live at Yogaville in the years that Satchidananda Ashram and the LOTUS shrine were first being built. The 20 years I spent at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York taught me so much about the importance of regular spiritual practice and a supportive community to keep one’s spiritual life in focus when surrounded by all the temptations of modern life. The past 12 years living here in San Francisco have equally contributed to my personal growth, giving me a tremendous opportunity to experience the joy of serving with a loving and dedicated spiritual family.

I am also grateful for the teachings and practices of Integral Yoga that have gradually transformed the way I understand myself and interact with the world around me. Gradually and organically, I have deepened my connection to an internal source of contentment and peace. By looking deeply within with compassionate and accepting awareness, I have been able to shine light into the dark corners of my psyche where old, unconscious beliefs have compelled me to seek happiness in unhealthy ways. Exposed, these old mental patterns that were etched into my mind have dissipated, leaving me much freer to experience joy and rest in an inner sense of oneness with the whole web of life.

Getting older has also inspired me to refocus on what is really important – how best to use my time and energy since they obviously are limited. It’s become clearer to me that I want to dedicate myself to that which is of utmost importance to me – sharing the teachings of Yoga in any way that I can. For example, it’s been suggested to me for some years now that I write a book about one of my favorite topics – how to integrate the teachings of Yoga into daily life. In the past, it has never felt like the right time. But now, a few things have fallen into place and I feel inspired to undertake this effort, sharing as best I can how Yoga can become a way of life. A good friend from my time in New York, Chandra Sgammato, has helped me submit a book proposal to Integral Yoga Publications.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my life over the last 30 years has been to travel and share the profound teachings of Yoga to spiritual aspirants all over the world. By reducing the time I spend on administration and running the day-to-day operation of the Institute, I hope to be more available to lead graduate level teacher training programs, workshops and satsangs, and to support Yoga centers and sanghas wherever there is a need. While I am not adept at navigating the ever changing technology that we are compelled to employ these days, I feel it is my dharma to share the timeless teachings that have the potential to transform our daily lives. This is how I intend to focus my energies for the remainder of my life.

Join Swami Ramananda in celebration of his 70th trip around the sun for a Birthday – Brunch Potluck, in-person Saturday, August 12, 11am – 1:00 pm.

In lieu of gifts, we ask that you donate to Ramananda’s GoFundMe page to help raise funds to support him in shifting his focus from daily administrative tasks to sharing Yogic wisdom to a broader community. Read more

Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, C-IAYT, 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.