Spirituality
Compassion - The Art Of Rising Above Yourself
“Compassion and kindness towards all living beings play a major role in helping one live a life of highest quality. ”
Let me to share an ancient story of The King Of Elephants And A Rabbit. Once a terrible forest fire broke out and all the animals went running to take refuge on a stretch of land which was used by the elephants. The elephant king raised his foot to scratch his body because of an itch. At that very moment, a rabbit was pushed into that space by the pressure of other animals present there. As the elephant tried to put the foot back, he felt the presence of the rabbit and decided to hold the foot up in order to save it.
The fire raged for two and half days during which the elephant continued to hold the foot up out of compassion for the rabbit. At the end of the fire the animals retreated, the elephant tried to lower his foot, however, it had stiffened so much that he could place it down, thus he lost his balance and fell on the ground. He felt intense pain and could not get up. And after facing three days of agonising pain he died. It is said that elephant due to his compassion for the rabbit was born as King Shrenik in his next birth.
Stories have the power to communicate messages powerfully. Don’t they? Now, let’s understand the virtue of Compassion from different aspects.
Compassion is a feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. It refers to both an understanding of another’s pain and the desire to somehow mitigate that pain. The practice of compassion is about going from self to others – it’s about moving from ME to WE. It is a spiritual quality.
Compassion is something that you can develop with practice. It involves two things: intention and action. Intention is simply opening your heart to others and action is what you do about it.
Try the 3 big ideas and get started on the journey of compassion.
1. Start with Self-compassion
Its requires taking a balanced approach to your negative emotions. It means being gentle, kind and understanding with yourself. Accept that you are not perfect. Learn to forgive yourself instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself. Make peace with your inner critic, increase your self-awareness and make a genuine attempt to get better every day.
Remember that you will encounter frustration, losses will occur and unforeseen challenges will test you. This reality is true for all human beings. When you begin to accept this reality you will be able to feel compassion for yourself. When you begin to feel centred and peaceful – you can then shift the focus from self to others.
2. Develop Compassion for others
A good start point is to be concerned about others irrespective of your own situation. When you find a way to mentally or emotionally connect with the world of others, you will be able to imagine what they are experiencing and therefore become present to their realities of life and support them.
You can also perform a random act of kindness for a friend, colleague or stranger or the next time you encounter a difficult person or circumstance, try responding with compassion, do not harbour ill feelings towards others and let go of negativity to make room for more love; value people and experiences over money, indulge in charity, donate money and help others in as many ways that you can.
3. Aim to master Ultimate Compassion
Compassion is the quality that takes us closest to the Divine within each of us. It is a prerequisite to opening the gate for higher energy flow in and lead you to advance on a spiritual path. The feeling of compassion can be natured with practice of meditation, being non-violent, following the law of inter-dependence, overcoming impurities such as anger, ego, greed and deceit.
Be mindful that every being’s ultimate need is to ‘live’ and to be ‘happy’. Assist them in all ways you can via your thoughts, words and actions. Aim to be a friend to all and enemy to none. Be kind not only to human beings but even to animals, birds, insects – in fact to all living beings.
Parting advice: Life is less about what you can take from others and more about what you can give to back to the world. So, rise above yourself and live a life that truly matters.
ADDITIONAL READ
Other Benefits Of Practicing Compassion:
- Brain-Imaging Study conducted on human beings suggest that ‘pleasure centres’ in brain get activated when someone gives charity or helps someone.
- An experiment conducted at Harvard Business School suggests that the act of ‘giving’ to others increases the ‘givers’ well-being significantly.
- Another research shows that depression and anxiety are linked to a state of self-focus and practicing compassion dissolves that state and makes us happier.
- The medical research revealed that people with compassion, altruism and greater meaning had lower levels of cellular inflammation – the root of cancer and other diseases.
- And finally, it has been established that practicing compassion enhances our social connection and strengthens our immune system, helps us recover from disease faster, and may even lengthen our life.