Giving and Sacrifice

Everything in this life gives. Sacrifice is the law of life.
Sri Swami Satchidananda (translation of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2011); page 26)

Over the week I spent away from you, I began rereading the Yoga Sutras and really tried to grasp what the words and concepts expressed meant.  Satchidananda does a wonderful job explaining.  I came across the above quote as if for the first time (this is my third time through the sutras) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

We are Here to Give

We are all...every single one of us on this earth, be we sentient or non sentient...here to give, to sacrifice our being for the survival, growth and expansion of all. How cool is that?

Plants live to give us oxygen, beauty, food and materials necessary for our survival.  Animals live to give us materials, companionship, food and comfort.  Candles burn away to nothing to give us light and warmth. Everything in life gives.  Why would the purpose of humanity be any different?

Humanity's Sacrifice.

Why do Christians worship the cross?  Because it symbolizes the ultimate of all human sacrifices.  Jesus gave His very life for the sake of humanity.  Are we not meant to follow that supreme example , at least, to a much smaller degree? Are we not here to live for the sake of others?

So why then do we live such selfish lives, attached to our personal desires so much so we are at times willing to destroy life in order to keep them? Why are we so attached to our tiny lives as "little me"...when we are here for something so much greater?  Why do we fight to gain, own, possess, achieve, flaunt, and have all the petty things of the world when our existence calls for so much more?  How can we expect to find true happiness doing that when it goes against our very nature?  We are here to give and sacrifice...only then, according to Patanjali will we find peace.

"By renouncing worldly things, you possess the most important sacred property: your peace." ( ( Satchidinanda(2011); page 24)

Small Offerings

I want to devote my life to Life in general.  That is not easy, lol.  I am still very much attached to the things of this physical world.  I fear because of that attachment and find myself far from peace, where I so want to be. But I am willing and I keep trying.

  I give myself away in my work, with my family, friends etc.  I give myself away with my creative pursuits. I offer this blog and my sloppy videos as meager tokens with the hope and intention that they will have some benefit, somewhere to someone. I give the little I have in resources away to those who need it more, as my father taught me to do. Yet...I have a long way to go.

What about you?  What parts of you do you give away without reluctance?  Why don't we make a list of what we are presently giving away...and what we could give away to bring peace to ourselves and to the world?  Even contemplating that should do some good, should it not?

We need to look after ourselves, to care for our bodies and minds, to love ourselves in a healthy way in order to give in a healthy way.  That is so true.  But do we need to have everything? Let's be at least willing to let go of those things on our list; to become detached.  Can we do that?

All is well in my world.

Suggested Reading

Sri Swami Satchidinanda ( 2011). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.Buckingham;Integral Yoga Publications.