POSITIVE POSSIBILITIES
POSITIVE POSSIBILITIES
COMPASSION, PITY AND EMPATHY
Image credit: Alice Popkorn
A
s we evolve spiritually, we cannot help but feel moved by the suffering we see in the world.
An impulse to help alleviate pain is a natural reflection of our inherent humanity. Sitting
on our meditation cushion often gives rise to a greater sense of how connected we are, and
as such, that our compassionate actions can serve
the world. Through compassion, we rest in our underlying sense of oneness. We are humbly no better
than or worse than others, but feel connected to all
through love.
“Our world is
desperately hungry
for more love
and true
compassion.”
We must remember, however, that compassion is a
sophisticated state of being. As the Buddhists say,
its ‘near enemy’ is pity, which is very different than
compassion. When we feel pity, we are positioning
ourselves as separate from another, usually somehow above them. In compassion, we rest in the understanding of our inherent oneness.
Along the road to compassion, we learn to empathize. We can open our hearts to others’ suffering. In compassion, “no-self” exists. This is a beautiful and profound state, something we can aspire
to, but most of us experience less frequently than
we may think. It does not
mean we should not strive
for such! We need to. Our
world is desperately hungry for more love and true
compassion. We simply
must not mistake our good
intentions with true compassion. We must make
sure that we are not acting from ego when we are
doing “good deeds”.
The ego is a tricky thing
and will find any window
to slip through and express
itself. We have all heard
the popular aphorism, “the
road to hell is paved with
good intentions.” Perhaps
some of our good deeds
are this, an aspect of our
ego, our human shadow,
feeling a self-righteous,
self-inflated sense of “me”
because we perceive ourselves as “right” over the
“wrong” that “they” are
doing “over there”. No
love can come from such
divided thinking.
I leave you with two quotes
from a realized master who
embodies compassionate
action. Her guidance is an
inspiration for us all to learn
to live in compassion:
“There is love and Love.
You love your family —
your father, mother, sister,
brother, husband, wife,
etc. But you do not love
your neighbour. You love
your son or daughter, but
you do not love all children. You love your father
and mother, but you do
not love everyone the way
you love your father and
mother. You love your religion, but you do not love
all religions. Likewise, you
have love for your country, but you do not love all
countries. Hence, this is not
Love; it is only love. Transformation of this love to
Love is the goal of spirituality. In the fullness of Love
blossoms the beautiful, fragrant flower of compassion.”
“The common expression
is ‘I love you.’ But instead
of ‘I love you,’ it would be
better to say, ‘I am love —
I am the embodiment of
pure love.’ Remove the I
and you, and you will find
that there is only love. It is
as if love is imprisoned be-
tween the I and you. Remove the I and you, for
they are unreal; they are
self-imposed walls that
don’t exist. The gulf between I and you is the ego.
When the ego is removed
the distance disappears
and the I and you also
disappear. They merge to
become one — and that
is love. You lend the I and
you their reality. Withdraw
your support and they
will disappear. Then you
will realise, not that ‘I love
you,’ but that ‘I am that
all-embracing love.’”
- Mata Amritanandamayi
Devi (Amma)
To help you cultivate more
compassion in your life,
practice the Meditation
EVERYONE WANTS TO BE
LOVED in the February
2015 issue.
Wishing you much compassion and joy.
Parvati
Parvati Devi is the editor-in-chief of Parvati Magazine. In addition to
being an internationally acclaimed Canadian singer, songwriter, producer
and performer, she is a yoga teacher and holistic educator. Having
studied yoga and meditation since 1987, Parvati developed her own yoga
teaching style called YEMTM Yoga as Energy Medicine. Her current shows,
“YIN: Yoga In the Nightclub” and “