It was a chilly afternoon. We were all warmly clothed and cozily seated,
watching a television show. Suddenly my
mother got up and went outside. After a
few minutes she came in and sat again. Curiosity
got the better of me and I went out to see what had distracted my mother.
Just outside the window was a ledge where
a kitten lay huddled. It was now covered
by a small quilt. I was overwhelmed by
emotion. My mother’s compassion had encompassed
the kitten in its warmth. Such a
thoughtful gesture it was! Being
unsolicited it was all the more appealing.
The incident showed that she cared! She was filled with compassion.
Open-mindedness is also an interesting
aspect of compassion. There are no
boundaries drawn here. Partiality is a
stranger to compassion. One cannot be
compassionate to one and dispassionate towards another. A compassionate person always wishes well for
everyone. His generosity in thoughts as
well as deeds invokes admiration and inspires others to emulate his endearing
trait.
Even tolerance to the needs of others
means compassion. A compassionate person
avoids hurting people by being sensitive to their needs when they want it the
most. Thus my friend Jyoti always sees
to it that the volume of the radio is lessened when her husband comes home
after an exhausting day at work. She
anticipates her husband’s need for some quiet moments of relaxation. She lets him sit for sometime without
immediately nagging him to go and have a wash.
She has her priorities right and yes, she is compassionate!
“To err is human, to forgive divine!” How rightly said! Indeed it takes a lot to forgive and
forget. The will-power to rise above
petty thoughts of hatred and vengeance is another manifestation of
compassion. Hence a convict sentenced to
death can be pardoned by the President of India, overruling the verdict of the
Supreme Court, the ultimate Court of Law in our country. Such a pardon will of course be governed by
compassion, more than anything else.
The love and compassion that we feel for
our near and dear ones is compassion.
This affection becomes an endearing quality when it extends to strangers
too. It’s compassion which urged Mother
Teresa to make a home away from home, in India. Her life had been dedicated to the cause of
the suffering people. A splendid example
of simple living and high thinking! She
had shown the world how compassion can be put into practice and can be made a
way of life.
Compassion need not necessarily be shown
only by actions. Though actions speak
louder than words! A few words of
encouragement or cheering to a depressed soul, a kind look at a tired husband,
even an indulgent glance towards a boisterous kid can spell compassion.
When one understands the trauma of an
anguished person, who is undergoing tremendous physical or mental strain and
empathizes with him, becomes one with his suffering, he is being compassionate;
even if he doesn’t verbally express his sympathy for him.
An employee, who has been unjustly fired
by an irate boss, often finds solace in a mute glance of empathy by a
colleague. Isn’t this a good example of
compassion? Can anyone miss the simplicity
of expressing compassion here?
We may therefore infer that though compassion
must be palpable, it needn’t be overt.
One need not go out of the way to be compassionate. It must essentially come from the warmth of
one’s soul. It must be made a way of
life. This is precisely what the essence
of all religions is. It’s more important
to be humane than human.
It’s this sentiment which compelled Lord
Gautam Buddha and Lord Mahavir to renounce material comforts and spend a
life-time of search for salvation. Their
lives were enriched by compassion. No
wonder they founded religions based solely on compassion.
Again it was this virtue which urged
Mahatma Gandhi to work for the upliftment of the downtrodden, the social
reformers to strive for the betterment of society and social-workers like Baba
Amte, Vinoba Bhave and Mother Teresa to dedicate their lives to the suffering
populace. Thus sacrifice of worldly
pleasures and selfish considerations enhances commitment. This commitment to a cause, to a cherished
ideal, is a garb of compassion.
Compassion is that power of one’s soul
which can transform hardened criminals into loving people and also pull people
out of the clutches of vices like drug addiction, smoking and drinking. Comforting reassurance is all that is needed
to give a new direction to aimless or misguided lives.
A word of caution would do well here. Compassion should never be confused with
mercy. When one helps another out of
pity, the helper sub-consciously assumes a superior position, which might
conceal arrogance. The fact that you
can; and have actually helped someone out, itself gives a ‘high’, which
obliterates the nobler sentiment of compassion.
So one’s intentions must be pure and there must be no ulterior
motive.
Compassion is a virtue which must be
innate. It need not be taught. It can’t be enforced. It must spring from the need to genuinely
show one’s consideration for another, who may be a fellow human-being or any
other living creature.
This emotion stems from the necessity to
be good and do goodness. One must mean
well. Such compassion draws strength
from its own existence. It does not care
for awards or rewards. It follows the
dictum of the Bhagwat Gita ‘Do your duty without bothering about the rewards’.
Compassion is therefore a winning
combination of Caring, Open-mindedness, Mindfulness, Pardon, Affection,
Sincerity, Simplicity and selflessness, Innate behavior, Open-heartedness and
Necessity of being good and meaning well.
We may aptly conclude that compassion is
a virtue which will undoubtedly win many hearts and consequently make our life
more worthwhile.
The copyright of this article is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
