Global Interconnectedness in a Time of Crisis
Yoga is not a religion, but a science and spiritual discipline that can help people of every religion advance towards greater realization of their human potential. Historically, three different cultures—Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism—contributed significantly to yoga. It is best described as a philosophy, a science, a practice. It’s a science in that its overall effects are predictable if its ways are followed. As a practice, it seeks to unite all the aspects of our being and our living, including our inner, spiritual life. The very word “yoga” means to “yoke”, to unite the body-mind in harmony.
I recently saw an article whose title jumped out at me: Love Yoga? India's Covid Crisis Demands Your Attention. It’s author, Prachi Gupta, said that Western yoga influencers and brands have monetized South Asian cultural traditions for decades, and they now owe a debt to a country in crisis:
India’s health system—which supports 1.3 billion people—verges on the brink of collapse. Every day, the country breaks a grim world record of Covid-19 cases and deaths, and the reported death tolls are likely a massive underestimate. Patients are dying as hospitals run out of oxygen and crematoriums have overflowed into car parks. The situation is beyond dire, and getting worse.
Gupta noted that the western people who have commodified and profited from South Asia’s cultural traditions owe these communities aid as India faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The truth is that the pandemic will not end until every country, every person, has access to the vaccine, and America wields a significant power in making this a reality. There are many ways Americans and yoga influencers can help in this effort, said Gupta. Specifically, they can use their platforms to raise funds for organizations that are offering relief in India. They can donate a portion of profits to India. In so doing, they could make a significant impact in saving lives in India and giving back to a community that has given so much to them.
Within our own American context—from the COVID-19 pandemic which has disproportionately impacted people of color to a divided nation healing from a contentious election, to an awakening of the general population to the impact of white privilege and systemic racism—we are in a profound time in our country’s history. The challenges of the past year have given us the opportunity to chart a new path forward.
Within this context, both locally and globally, the theme chosen for the 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions is an appropriate one: “Opening our Hearts to the World: Compassion in Action.” As we just observed, the world has been through a lot in the past year, dealing not just with one but several “viruses”: the virus of racism, the virus of sexism, the virus of hate and bigotry, the virus of dishonesty, etc.
We are losing so many lives to these viruses, and we must acknowledge that this is the world that we are presently living in. That said, let us also recognize that each of our religious and spiritual traditions have continuously risen to be antidotes to these viruses. So the Parliament of World Religions gathering around the theme of “Opening our Hearts to the World: Compassion in Action” couldn’t be more timely. As people of faith, we can fix this world through compassion in action. We can be better, and the world can be better.
Along these lines, The World Council of Churches and the Vatican Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue co-published in 2020 a statement on Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond. In it, they ask: What does it mean for Christians to love and serve our fellow human beings in a world in which the COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting such widespread suffering?
They call upon the followers of Jesus Christ to love and serve our neighbors, and to do so in solidarity also with those who profess and practice religions that are different from our own. As a gospel reference for so doing, they relate Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus tells the story in the context of the command to love one’s neighbor. When a man is wounded and left by the side of the road, members of his religious community pass him by and leave him unaided.
The person who eventually stops and helps him—a Samaritan—comes from a community that has been in dispute for centuries with the wounded man’s community with regard to religious identity, the correct way to worship, etc. The story is an invitation to reflection on the need to transcend boundaries in one’s service to, and solidarity with, the suffering. It is also a call to overcome the negative assumptions we may hold and to recognize with humility and gratitude that the ‘other’ (the Samaritan, in this case) may show us the true meaning of service and solidarity.
The human misery associated with COVID-19 pandemic is taking place within the broader context of suffering on our planet. With the warming of the earth, we hear the cries of alarm of the entire community of life on it. The World Council of Churches and Vatican document makes us aware that, today, we need universal and shared ethical and spiritual values to inject a new hope into the pandemic-ravaged world.
And this new vision, it says, needs to be based on the unity of the human family as well as on a heritage of moral values common to all human beings:
“Today, there is a global interconnectedness that urges us to assume planetary responsibility based on common inter-religious and ethical values to serve and heal the post-Covid-19 world. We as Christians are called to this same healing “suffering with”, becoming channels of His love, at the same time as being dependent on it for our own healing. It is the compassion of the Good Samaritan that allows us to see him as an image of Christ, tending the wounds of the world. We recognize that the virtues of mercy and compassion for all who are suffering resonate in other religious traditions, which also have rich examples of generosity and concern for those most in need. ”
These reflections take us yoga practitioners back to Prachi Gupta’s article Love Yoga? India's Covid Crisis Demands Your Attention, containing her statement that “the western people who have commodified and profited from South Asia’s cultural traditions owe these communities aid as India faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”
Since our founding, Christians Practicing Yoga has acknowledged our indebtedness to India. We recognize that India is now in crisis, and we offer support to those who are laboring to heal India. To give back back to the country that nurtured this practice that nurtures us, CPY will donate a portion of the CPY retreat fees and classes to Manav Sadha's Project Karuna: Covid 19 Crisis Relief efforts. Please consider joining us, or donate directly here.
