It's quite interesting to go a little deeper into our thoughts and intentions to understand "where are we coming from". When we have sympathy with a beggar and give him a note of ten rupees, where are we coming from? Do we feel "guilty" after seeing that beggar? We are having money while so many are dying of hunger, and just want to get rid of that guilt by paying that note to him? Or we have a deep desire for recognition as a "good human being," and we donate to get that recognition in the eyes of the people with us. Or are we deprived of the "respect" and when we give that ten-rupee note to the beggar, do we get that "reward" in the eyes of that beggar? If he refuses to take, and we can watch our reactions, that will reveal the truth about ourselves. Often, that does not happen in our lives, and we live under an illusion of being compassionate. Even if there are one or more such instances, we conveniently ignore them because knowing the "mess" we are in may be quite uncomfortable. We conveniently decide to ignore the disease and get it treated to avoid the pain of treatment.
Compassion does not come from a desire to get something in return, whether tangible or intangible. Compassion comes from the understanding of "oneness behind all the divisions". When somebody tries to visit a different country, the borders appear so real. He has to get a visa, and the culture and language of the other country are quite different. Even geographical conditions, architecture, and climate are different. It appears to be a different world altogether. However, when we rise above the Earth and look at different countries from outer space, all the countries seem to merge. The boundaries are not real. From a greater distance, the Earth appears to be just a sphere where all of us are residing together.
Understanding of oneness requires zooming out. The problem with the present-day world is that we have no occasion to zoom out. Our minds are busy with one or the other thing 24*7. We have 24*7 electricity, we are busy on the screen. We have to put in more hours at the office since we want more money in our bank accounts. We spend more time making the choices because there are so many products available with different features. We spend more time in shopping malls. We spend quite a lot of time in socialization. Our minds are constantly occupied with one or the other thought. We will spend 2-3 hours in socialization and then brood over that for the next few hours. Where is the occasion to zoom out and connect to that oneness? We are constantly busy either running some race, or celebrating our victory, or preparing for the next race, or enjoying the comforts and pleasures, or just passing time in meaningless discussions and comparisons.
There is no space for that love and compassion. It's all about "me". The "me" that's isolated. This "me" tries to win this world. This "me" tries to be comfortable. This "me" sometimes expands to a few people around. But, at the end of the day, there is always "me and mine" and the "rest of the world". That's why when this "me" interacts with "others", this "me" always seeks something in return, whether tangible like money or intangible like respect, name, approval of self-image, powers, confirmation of beliefs, etc. That is where we come from. Love and compassion come from very different worlds. That comes from the realization of oneness. Looking at a beggar, a compassionate person feels the pain and urgency to act. He does not want to get rid of the guilt by paying a ten-rupee note. That urgency drives his life, and he realizes the futility of the comforts and luxuries, and even the insatiable greed for the intangibles. All of these drop like dry leaves falling from a tree. That love and compassion become the guiding force of his life in each and every action, in each moment of his life.
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