Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines the word compassion as - "Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it."
All the great masters starting from the Axial Age to the contemporary world have stressed on the importance to be compassionate. But, time and again, I find it so hard to be compassionate. On the whole I am fairly a forgiving and kind person. But compassion is of a different genre all together. I discovered that compassion is not just tolerance, kindness and forgiveness. Rather it is a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress. And it does not end just at that. It is also complemented with the desire to alleviate it.
All the great masters starting from the Axial Age to the contemporary world have stressed on the importance to be compassionate. But, time and again, I find it so hard to be compassionate. On the whole I am fairly a forgiving and kind person. But compassion is of a different genre all together. I discovered that compassion is not just tolerance, kindness and forgiveness. Rather it is a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress. And it does not end just at that. It is also complemented with the desire to alleviate it.
Now, in my daily life, I see myself most of the time concentrated with the daily chores concerning myself and my family. It might be work at office, or responsibilities at home. Even in the office or at home, mind always tends to think only about its own point of view. When I am distressed at work, or my personal life, what only appears to me are the faults of others, and my own tragic predicament. Mind never by itself goes to think about the distress of the others that I might be causing unknowingly. It always wants to simplify the the happenings like a child, segregating people, circumstances, etc as good or bad; as either the fairy godmother or the daemon.
I found that it is a very naive way to look at life, for myself. Mind, I have seen is always in an inertia. It tends to do thing good what it is used to. It is used to doing what it practices daily. So, if the mind is made to practice peace and compassion, it automatically does nothing both peace and compassion. If the mind is engaged into judging, hatred, violence, etc, it does nothing but the same automatically.
It is not just practice makes a man perfect. But rather it is practice what sets the mind to an inertia - an automatic avalanche of thoughts and imagery consistent to what is practiced.
I have seen this pretty consistent to my own personality. If I am in the mood of writing romantic poetry, I keep writing beautiful poems and imagery months after months. The mood overflows in my way of being, my thoughts, my preferences etc. Later, after an year, when I am deep into say Marx's Das Capital, I tend to go deep into every economic and social transaction, and try to link that with the means of production and labor. My writings reflect the same mood. And interestingly when I read those old romantic poems, I feel silly. If I am deep into Plato, I always relate to Ethics and what is that way to bring that invisible archetype to the living world. The point I am trying to make here, is that brain continues an inertia. We tend to do, act, behave with what we are actively engaged with.
I found that it is a very naive way to look at life, for myself. Mind, I have seen is always in an inertia. It tends to do thing good what it is used to. It is used to doing what it practices daily. So, if the mind is made to practice peace and compassion, it automatically does nothing both peace and compassion. If the mind is engaged into judging, hatred, violence, etc, it does nothing but the same automatically.
It is not just practice makes a man perfect. But rather it is practice what sets the mind to an inertia - an automatic avalanche of thoughts and imagery consistent to what is practiced.
I have seen this pretty consistent to my own personality. If I am in the mood of writing romantic poetry, I keep writing beautiful poems and imagery months after months. The mood overflows in my way of being, my thoughts, my preferences etc. Later, after an year, when I am deep into say Marx's Das Capital, I tend to go deep into every economic and social transaction, and try to link that with the means of production and labor. My writings reflect the same mood. And interestingly when I read those old romantic poems, I feel silly. If I am deep into Plato, I always relate to Ethics and what is that way to bring that invisible archetype to the living world. The point I am trying to make here, is that brain continues an inertia. We tend to do, act, behave with what we are actively engaged with.
The same beautifully applies to Compassion too. It is not just knowing the word, and being aware of the way of being of compassion. But rather, I try to actively practice compassion, every moment of my life. In the food I eat, in the dress I wear, in my communication, behavior, and dealings with people around me both at home and at work. Yes, I fail many times. Anger, impatience, ego, or many such psychological barriers come in the way, and blinds me from understanding the other person. But then, I try it over again. More I practice, I do a better job the next time. It feels good when I see myself improving.
There is so much antagonism prevailing in daily life, I feel the most important thing that I need to keep in mind is being compassionate, actively; not only towards others, but also towards myself.
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Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar
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