Bhagavad Gita Ch16 part 08 on 11 September 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananem Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Mohur Om Vasudevasutam Devam Kamsa Chanuram Ardhanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Sarvopanishadogavo Dogda Gopalanandana Partho Vatsah Sudhir Bhokta Dugdam Geetam Ritam Mahat Mookam Karuthi Vachalam Pangum Langhayate Girim Yath Kripatamaham Vande Paramananda Madhavam We are studying the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita called Daivasara Sampad Vibhagayogonama Shodasho Adhyayaha wherein the divine and the diabolical types of people have been elaborately discussed. In our last class, we were talking about all the characteristics that comprise of a divine personality. Of such qualities, 26 qualities are mentioned in 3 verses. We have just completed the 13th such characteristic which is called Tyagaha or renunciation. So Tyagaha means renunciation of what? Renounce Anatma, everything that is non-godly and know that Aham Brahmasmi. I am the God, no less than that. We move on to the 14th characteristic called Shanti. All these characteristics, all these 26 are very very important but some are more important than others. So here we are in the 14th called Shanti. Shanti means what? A peace that passes all understanding. There are varieties of peace that is there. Peace is a mental condition but heavily dependent upon our old impressions, samskaras, outside circumstances, our physical health, climate, desires, fulfillment of desires or non-fulfillment of desires, friends, family members, interactions and many things. But predominantly it is what we call a mental condition. To succinctly put the essence of this peace, Shanti, we can put it this way that when a person's desires are removed not by fulfilling but by controlling them and obtaining God himself, then that mind has the knowledge that excepting God nothing exists. That state of mind is called Shanti. Jesus Christ observes it stating, A peace that passeth all understanding. This is the statement we get in the Bible. There is a beautiful story and very often it is associated with a marvellous song that was composed by Girish Chandra Ghosh in his specially written drama called Uddha. The Bengali song of course goes like this, Judai te chai, kothai judai, kotha ho te ashi, kotha bhishe jai. The meaning is extraordinarily beautiful that I am in search of peace. I am peaceless. Where is that peace? Where from have I come? Where am I going to go? Who has brought me here? Why someone has brought me here? I am in deep darkness. I do not know anything. This probably equates to the Saint John of the Cross, the dark night of the soul. It's not a negative state of mind but it is a state of mind which has left everything worldly that is belonging to the sense organs and not yet reached God but stuck in between. That is called darkness means depriving voluntarily of all sensory knowledge. This is what we call Aparavidya, worldly knowledge, lower knowledge and then the soul is about to break into that world of light and before that everything appears to be dark means the whole world as it were appears to be dark. What it means is just as in dense darkness we cannot see, we cannot have any knowledge including we can't see our own body but in a spiritual sense we have voluntarily become blind to the entire world which is Shri Krishna again in the second chapter towards the end. यानिशासर्वभुतानाम् तस्याम् जाग्रतिसम्यमि इस्याम् जाग्रतिभुतानि सानिशापश्यतो मुनेह So beautifully describes that is the darkness of the soul means the soul is completely bereft of any worldly smell, touch and is about to become united and that separation is unbearable and that unbearable separation called विरहा in Vaishna literature that is called the dark night of the soul that is called peace that passeth all understanding. Holy Mother says everybody wants peace but my child I tell you if you want I tell you one thing if you want peace of mind she is not talking about a peace of mind that one gets when you are hungry you get your stomach full of food for the moment you are in peace you are thirsty you are tired you require something everything depends upon fulfillment of that desire but once the desire is removed for a second for a moment the mind is not obsessed by other desires no desire is there for that one moment because of the fulfillment that is the state that is called the peace that passeth all understanding it is like for one moment the curtain is drawn over the entire world the soul is left alone to be with itself and that is the type of peace the knowledge of God that is being referred by Holy Mother if you want peace of mind but it also applies to worldly peace of mind a lot of peace of mind can come if we follow even in a worldly wise way the advice of the teachings of Holy Mother so what did she say she condensed the way to the peace into four statements do not find fault with others rather try to see your own faults no one is a stranger my child the whole world is your own learn to make the whole world your own peace is one of the most important spiritual quality it is impossible to make progress not only in spiritual life not to speak of spiritual life in any field of life without attaining some degree of peace peace, concentration and happiness and memory are closely linked without peace one can never attain happiness so that is what Bhagavan Krishna is telling where is happiness for a peaceless man asks the Lord in the Gita we have studied it in the second chapter by divine grace comes the peace in which all sorrows end and the intellect of such a person of tranquil mind soon becomes firmly established in God but an undisciplined person who has not controlled the mind and senses can neither have a resolute intellect nor steady contemplation on God for one who never unites the mind with God there is no peace and how can anybody has happiness who lacks peace of mind so what is human life consciously or unconsciously everyone longs for peace and happiness to be healthy, to be happy and to be peaceful the natural state of all beings once somebody went to Ramana Maharshi and asked him Bhagavan, what is peace? and immediately there came the instantaneous intuitive reply peace is another name for God call it Samadhi, call it Mauna call it by any name you like Dhyana, Mauna, spiritual practice worship of God all that can be synonymous with this word peace peace means the knowledge that I am completely full I am infinite, I do not require anything so there are, this consciously, unconsciously we all want no, I want happiness, I want pleasures, I want to eat food no, you don't want to eat food you want to get that state of mind which you can get only by eating, fulfilling, removing by fulfilling your desire thereby removing that desire permanently at least for the moment permanently means completely for the moment and that state of mind that is what we all long but there are levels of Shanti at the lower level, if an organism is ensured of survival and security it lives a contented and peaceful life and this is true of the majority of all human beings but separated from animal, lower, non-human life man has higher needs and you know what are they called? they are called values and these values cannot be satisfied with biological needs only man seeks higher values like Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram truth, goodness and beauty and he won't have peace or rest until these values are realized so what is peace again? peace is not the negative state of the mind mere calmness it is a state where the mind is not hesitated with desires it is full of contentment and happiness it is a state where man feels fulfilled because he has found meaning in life it's only when man realizes God that he finds true meaning in life peace is that state of mind in which the potential divinity within us becomes manifest of course, very few experience real and abiding peace the peace that posses all understanding it can be attained by everyone because everyone is potentially peaceful but it is a pearl of great price and few are prepared to pay the price there is a tradition in India of chanting thrice the word peace you know, at the end of every prayer every ritual, every worship every good thing that we do we say peace, peace, peace at the end of Durga Puja Shanti Jal the waters of peace are sprinkled all around that's something very extraordinary as far as we are concerned so this peace can be attained because in fact it cannot be avoided because it is our true nature potential divinity means our true nature and every other nature that we think I am born, I am going to grow up I am going to become old I am going to suffer from diseases I am going to die all these things are not our nature that's why they are called anatma non-atma so we understand troubles can come sufferings can come from three sources not four sources not two sources but exactly three forces what is it? physical, mental and spiritual called adhyatmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika I won't dwell longer upon these two because I have discussed about these things sufficiently in my various not only in this Bhagavad Gita class in various classes so physically it means our body and our present circumstances they can bring us trouble indeed they do bring us trouble we are living in 21st century just imagine how nations are behaving how fanaticism and these terror groups springing up like mushrooms at the drops of rain everywhere they are springing up not only they are behaving like demons which will be described in this very chapter so whenever you remember this 16th chapter you compare these people that not only the terror groups but even more than that the non-terror groups that is one is manifested terror another is non-manifested demons manifested demons and non-manifested demons in spite of so much of psychological scientific knowledge we are unable to focus our mind that is why the Upanishad categorically states avarutta chakshuho amrutattva miccham amrutta means immortality immortality means peace really so a person seeking peace he sought it everywhere outside externally he never got it the more he sought the more was his failure then at last he understood there is no peace outside so he closed his eyes that means he turned towards his real nature he started seeking his real nature and manifested it and at last he said that aham purnaha aham manoh abhavam so physical body can give us our mind is the greatest troublemaker terror if you only study history even the greatest monarchs princes princesses how much they suffered at their beck and call infinite power infinite wealth infinite number of objects to fulfill them and yet they behaved like dogs they suffered terribly misery only seems to be their only eternal companion anyway is it good or bad? according to holy mother that is the best gift of God we will come to that so that which we create through our body is adhyatmika physical that which comes from droughts wars terrorists etc. that is called adhibhautika from external causes but the most important is spirit that which comes from spiritual causes adhyatmika adhidaivika that is the interpretation is there so of these three we have no control over the family over the society over our body over our external world but the only choice which upon which we have control is to deal with ourselves that is what Bhagavan Krishna specifically refers to in this particular verse chapter happily there are shining examples of men and women who in spite of adverse circumstances almost insurmountable obstacles rose above them and enjoyed abundant peace and happiness there may be few but the world never lacks them that's why the lives of saints the lives of mystics that is the greatest thing anybody can have it so what is the secret? the secret how we can obtain peace the secret is self-control and spiritual life they are synonymous now we will discuss some ways of attaining peace in the physical mental and spiritual areas physical the body is said to be the first instrument of peace hence it is to be kept healthy and strong through proper diet and exercise same thing can be said of the mind also it is called mental peace the mind is said to be the cause of both bondage and liberation mana eva manushyanaam karanam vandhamokshayoh it is true very true that we experience both happiness and unhappiness according to the state of our mind when our minds are agitated with uncontrolled thoughts we feel restless and desires are the root cause of this restlessness therefore we have to try to gradually bring this turbulent mind under our control by controlling desires though difficult the mind can definitely be brought under control through dispassion discrimination and daily practice of prayer meditation scriptural study and above all keeping holy company this question was asked by Arjuna to Bhagawan it is very difficult to control the mind it is like the wind how difficult it is to catch the wind so difficult it is to catch this monkey mind but Bhagawan says abhyasena tu kaunteya vairagyena cha grihyate abhyasa constant vigilant practice but that is not the only one it must be accompanied by vairagya that is important so here it is one thing we have to understand it is impossible to attain perfect peace without self-knowledge without realizing our true nature each soul is potentially divine and spiritual practice is the way of manifesting this potential divinity within here Shri Ramakrishna says that the goal of life is to attain God he says you will get peace of mind only when you have seen God you will enjoy bliss and again gain strength only when you have talked to him man attains liberation therefore by piercing the wheel of maya and rediscovering his total identity with Brahman knowing himself to be one with the universal spirit he realizes ineffable peace the nearer you come to God the more you feel peace peace peace peace supreme peace the nearer you come to the Ganges the more you feel its coolness you will feel completely soothed when you plunge into the river Shri Ramakrishna is nothing but echoes the words of the Upanishads just as Swami Vivekananda did so Swamiji says the nature of the soul is bliss and peace unchanging just as he said each soul is potentially divine here he is telling it is the very nature of the every soul to be full of bliss and peace and peace unchanging we have not to get it we have it let us wash away the dross from our eyes and see it in the midst of the manifold he who sees that one in the midst of this infinite death he who sees that one life in the midst of the manifold he who sees that which never changes in his own soul unto whom belongs eternal peace unto none else unto none else so now the question comes how now to realize God to see the one amidst the manifold to have the self-knowledge is not an easy task it is very difficult task superhuman effort is required even then it may take a long time to reach our goal so what then is the way Swami Vivekananda says surrender wholeheartedly to the divine mother to God the eternal unquestioning self-surrender to mother alone can give us peace love her for herself without fear or favor beautiful very meaningful words Swami Vivekananda had composed a most marvelous poem let Shyama dance there and that there he says that if you want true peace of mind let Shyama dance and erase all the desires in your heart make it into the greatest graveyard and then only you will be able to see the divine mother love her for herself without fear or favor love her because you are her child see her in all good and bad alike then alone will come sameness and bliss eternal that is mother herself when we realize her in that way until then misery will pursue us only resting in mother are we safe sincere self-effort makes us realize that complete surrender to the divine is the only way with this understanding comes peace and happiness so that is the only way and all these ideas have been put so beautifully by holy mother which we discussed amply but let us remember as a summation how to cultivate how to obtain peace of mind first stop finding fault with others and second try to find your own faults third there is nobody else other than you whomsoever whatsoever you see is none other than your own self in a way of speaking finding fault with others means you are finding fault with your own self everyone everything is except only you in that particular form in that particular name and learn my child to make the whole world your own now this teaching of holy mother is expanded is compressed in the next characteristic fifteenth which is called Apayushanam Apayushanam Pashubhava is called Apayushanam animalness living like beasts and what is the beastly nature really speaking a beast is not a inferior animal that is its nature a donkey is a donkey a horse is a horse a tiger is a tiger now or say it is a cruel tiger now or say it is a donkey's brain they are designed by God perfect in their own creation and their function is completely fulfilled just being what they are but when a man behaves like a donkey he is called a donkey Gadha when a man behaves cruelly he is called a cruel but now or say a donkey is a bad animal a tiger is a cruel animal now or say that because they don't know what is cruelty they have no idea what is cruelty if they kill they kill because of the survival instinct just they want to live they want to be happy they don't say like human beings I hate you and that's why I will kill you I will create misery for you no animal ever does that even if it gets angry and tears you to pieces it is not doing out of beastliness it is doing out of fear out of self-protection etc. in that sense these animals are far superior to many human beings who behave worse worse and we should never compare them to animals etc. so to behave like a idiot ignorant person to be what is called a complete foolish person a deluded person that is called apaishunam so pishunathvam pishunam is the bhava apaishunam not to have pishunathvam not to behave like an animal that is called apaishunam and Sri Ramakrishna is telling what is the most important manifestation of the apaishunam first of all to look upon others with indifference secondly to look down upon them thirdly however good they are not to see their good fourthly to find all their faults to the extreme ninth degree what they call and fifthly never forgiving them all these belong to this particular 15th characteristic and a spiritual person is one who doesn't have a trace of this what is called fault finding quality mainly fault finding because first as they say in English language give a dog a bad name and then beat it so this is what first find fault and then you try to create kill him punish him or torture him do everything whether they find fault in is in the name of religion in the name of scripture in the name of God in the name of so many things that is all completely unacceptable inhuman behavior so Sri Ramakrishna let us see what he says don't find fault with anyone not even with an insect as you pray to God for devotion so also pray that you may not find fault with anyone holy mother used to say I used to pray looking at the moon Oh God even there is a spot in the moon that's why it is called Chandrakala but let me not be even a trace a shade of such a fault within my mind let me be a pure person that is why Swami Abed Anandaji composed that beautiful hymn Pavitram Jeevanam Pavitrata Saroopiniyai her life is pure her deeds are pure her whole character is pure she is an embodiment of purity there is not the slightest stain in holy mother that is a very important verse we have to remember so Sri Ramakrishna is advising it doesn't simply come by wishing let me become pure pray to God Oh Lord I have so many impurities within me please purify me so one of the deadly sins Sri Krishna advises us to avoid is Paishunam in this 16th chapter this word Sanskrit word Pashupishunatham is meaning slandering fault finding spreading scandals about others backbiting culminating betraying being harsh cruel low vile wicked malicious etc. even in the world context such a type of behavior can be very unprofitable unwise and even can endanger life in a spiritual context it means what means means to have this worst quality called beastliness what is it? talking shop gossiping etc. and is harmful in the extreme degree I remember Aldous Huxley has written a beautiful book taking all the sayings from every religious scripture and then he says he quotes there was a what is called a convent and the mother superior or the master of the novices mistress of the novices she advised people to read the life of great saint and one of the saints there came to know about it and said my goodness to teach this kind of highest truths to these novices it is horrible what does she mean? she meant that even these novices they have to develop much greater degree purity before they are even allowed to read such beautiful books which talks about perfection no and then this is what he quotes in a beautiful article Aldous Huxley has written in one of our magazines called Vedanta and then he writes there that there is our greatest enemy is not many spiritual obstacles but what is called this dissipation through empty talks gossip etc. etc. so most of our devotees behavior is only we don't talk we may not talk bad but we talk only rubbish how are you? where is your uncle? what is this? what is that? so that is what that is very unwise so in a spiritual context what in English language we call talking shop what is it? talking about the world gossiping etc. it is harmful to a very sincere aspirant in the extreme degree unfortunately we live in an age of sensationalism there is a saying no news is good news no news may be good news but hardly anyone wants to hear or bear good news can you bear good news? you think oh we are all tired of hearing this bad news everywhere we want to hear good news no we want to hear sensational news supposing everyday the news here is nice orphanages are built here hospitals are built here schools have been started free education is being given free food is being given everybody is getting a house everybody is getting electricity everybody every village has roads all good good next day most of us will stop but let there be one sensational news there is a murder ah this is this is called news so nobody wants no what is called no news or good news not only that we can't bear good news you take a good movie see how many people are going to attend that good movie it will be a flop from the very beginning you take a bad movie the badder it is sorry about that language the badder it is the more box office hit it becomes the more evil the more terror striking the more fear scare it creates within you nightmarish movies and that is what hits the box office and earns billions of dollars for the makers so if the media TV radio newspapers were to broadcast only good news I wonder how many of us would get to see, read or listen to them so the simplest experiment you make suppose a friend comes to see you talk only about spiritual life first of all see how often that person is likely to visit you in the future next time secondly I am telling you make a little fun suppose you invite that person and you serve pure Sattvika food how many times that person is going to come and participate in your dinner or supper party he will if at all he comes he will come only when there is not even a smell of some snacks give him snacks pure dry and no salt no sourness and no taste at all and that is called Sattvika food mostly and nobody will come to you so anything smacking of Sattva whether it is news whether it is talk whether it is books whether it is movies whether it is newspapers whether it is jobs also I have heard so many people I want a challenging job what is challenging job? of course they have some validity in that I don't deny that one so I wanted to be my mind is bored of these routine jobs but it is paying you good salary and your job is steady job and your future is assured no the man wants higher salary but at the same time this kind of good routine jobs are called boring jobs so for most of the people spirituality is very boring thing and that's why it is very difficult to keep good friends the moment you become spiritual all your spicy friends will disappear because there is no more spice in you so only those who are intent on spiritual progress must take all care to avoid this undesirable quality so why should we avoid slandering fault finding etc. I have several reasons I am going to go one by one first of all it is a waste of time and time is extremely precious for all creative people and much more precious to spiritual people many people consider time as money and those who are intent on profit perennially or otherwise cannot afford to waste time certainly is not going to make those whom we are criticizing or finding fault with any better on the contrary they become our enemies they may become even worse because once they we find fault with them they start finding fault with us all the time not only our faults but our 14 generations faults and according to the law of karma we are sure to get back all that we give them with compound interest second there is a saying to err is human if we look around can we find even a single human who is free from faults third is a waste of not only time waste of energy every activity is an expenditure of energy and evil activities require even more expenditure of energy energy is limited and is a precious commodity if it is spent in wrong ways it will not be available for a higher creative spiritual purpose as it is we need all the energy we can muster but added with all this we can hardly advance in spiritual life four those who dwell on the fault of others will develop in course of time those very faults for we become what we think of intensely and constantly there is a well-known saying in India those who find fault with others do not know their own faults that is where the greatest teaching of the holy mother comes to our saying stop finding fault with others start finding your own faults she used to say again man is bound to make mistakes one should not notice them if one doesn't follow this rule it harms oneself alone by constantly observing the faults of others in the end one will become a mere fault finder to see the faults of others one should never do it I never do so that means what to stop finding fault start seeing the good qualities in others and will be shocked to see how many good qualities we can see in other people my personal experience I will not elaborate on it so once a devotee a new person came to me and she was she had many faults constant talking and non-stop talking I hardly had any time to even exchange a word in between but then she cooked some curries and brought and then I thought if this is the person what will be the quality of this but I found to my terrible shock rarely have I tasted such tasteful curries then I thought my god how many devotees equal to her in this cooking skill she has so much of goodness in her so many good qualities I don't know the other qualities I only judged by just talking with her for a short time so there is nobody without fault but everybody has got definitely some good qualities if we want to stop finding fault the opposite thing is the best thing find the good things Swami Vivekananda says never talk about the faults of others no matter how bad they may be nothing is ever gained by that you never help one by talking about his fault you do him an injury and injure yourself as well this is a psychological fact and it is the experience of many of us that those of us who find fault with others often suffer from those very faults perhaps in an even greater degree also very often finding fault with others is way of feeling that we are somehow better than others what is the main point such and such a person is bad that means I am better than that person much better than anybody else only those who are shallow and have no substance resort to this method so there is a a French writer's saying I forget his name maybe Victor Hugo or it may be Voltaire he had many enemies and then somebody told him sir such and such people they are actually there was a person whom this person Voltaire thought he was his great friend because when he used to come to Voltaire he used to only talk highly of Voltaire but then some friend pointed behind your back he is criticizing you and then immediately Voltaire thought so he is finding fault with me and I am only for recognizing good things in him perhaps both of us are mistaken a very satirical statement it is but one thing is true greater great people are those who have no time to find fault because if that is their habit they will never become great greatness requires all the time energy and concentration love we can muster upon reject the thought that you are better than anyone else if you think such haughty thoughts God who knows what is in you will consider you worse than them this is a beautiful advice from the imitation of Christ let us hear more about it pride about our good deeds is pointless God has his own ideas regarding what is good and he doesn't always agree with us if there is anything good about you believe better things of others this will keep you humble the humble are always at peace it will be disastrous for you to consider yourself better than even one person in any case pride is a demonic quality and the sooner we get rid of it the better for every one of us fifth this habit of fault finding prevents us from looking into our own hearts and finding our own defects and weaknesses according to Vedanta we are already perfect but ignorance or avidya prevents us from the knowledge of our true nature ignorance manifests in the form of defects and weaknesses spiritual practice is meant only to remove these faults and when they are removed ignorance vanishes and the self manifests automatically Swami Vekananda says we do not look at our own faults the eyes do not see themselves they see the eyes of everybody else we human beings are very slow to recognize our own weakness our own faults so long as we can lay the blame upon somebody else men in general lay all the blame of life upon their fellow men or failing that on God or they conjure up a ghost and say it is fate sixth Vedanta declares again and again that each soul is potential so each soul is divine so spiritual aspirants are advised to look upon everyone and every object in this world as a manifestation of God the goal is reached when we can perceive God in everything for that hard and constant practice is necessary needless to say an aspirant should struggle to approve to this Vaishanatha fifteenth evil quality is evil habit of fault finding and slandering seventh lastly but not leastly it is not only fault finding but even gossip meaningless chatter that should be avoided assiduously by those who wish to progress in spiritual life for small talk disturbs the mind makes it restless brews undesirable thoughts and gradually turns the mind away from God if we do not take care in the beginning it will turn into an evil habit and may be harder to eradicate later avoid small talk as much as you can even sharp talk can be a great hindrance our chattering really is an escape from unwelcome deep thinking watch and pray so that you won't waste your time if you want to talk about something discuss a worthwhile subject now a few hints from the again from the imitation of Christ failing to guard your mouth is a very bad habit but reverent discussion of spiritual matters can help us all grow we will have much peace if we refrain from minding the business of others try to be patient with the defects and blemishes in others because you also have many things about you that they must endure if you can't make yourself what you want to be how can you expect to remake somebody else these are beautiful thoughts let us keep them in mind 16th quality Dayaa Bhuteshu compassion compassion love of God and renunciation are the glories of true knowledge who tells us? Sri Krishna tells us Bhagawan tells us that compassion towards all beings and a very important spiritual quality as we progress in spiritual life the capacity to feel sympathy mercy tenderness compassion etc. grows this feeling is the outcome of true knowledge and not any moribund emotion often Maya attachment and Dayaa compassion Sri Ramakrishna made a very sharp division between Dayaa and Maya so Maya means attachment Dayaa means compassion look alike but they are diametrically opposed it's very natural to feel compassion for one's own family relatives, friends, country, religion etc. more often than not this feeling is not compassion but attachment in disguise true compassion transcends rational, national religious, cultural and gender barriers Sri Ramakrishna clarifies remember that Dayaa compassion and Maya attachment are two different things attachment means a feeling of My-ness towards one's relatives it is the love one feels for one's parents one's brother one's sister wife and children compassion is the love one feels for all beings of the world it is an attitude of equality if you see anywhere an instance of compassion as in Vidyasagar know that it is due to the grace of God through compassion one serves all beings compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune it is accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering very often we label ourselves we give the title gracious title I am a very compassionate person it is feeling of deep sympathy is one side of it but expressing it by the accompaniment of an active help that alone deserves to be called compassion important point is compassion doesn't lead to concrete action it is worse than useless because the feeling that I am very compassionate person will only increase our egotism instead of decreasing it even animals are known to be kind compassionate and caring not to speak of human beings but our greatest clarification comes from the Chandi the divine mother in the Chandi tells us a divine mother is present in every being in the form of Daya or compassion so the divine mother as Daya is present not only in human beings but in every creature because of this love and compassion animals too tend their young sometimes at the cost of their own lives without this parental care existence of the offspring or babies becomes precarious then who kept it? it is God who has kept this tender emotion in the hearts of all beings echoing this teaching from the Chandi Ramakrishna confirms the love that you see in parents is God's love he has given it to them to preserve his creation the compassion that you see in the kind-hearted is God's compassion he has given it to them to protect the helpless it is not for man to show compassion but for God one feels compassion as long one has the ego of knowledge and it is God himself who has become the ego of knowledge qualities like compassion where from do they spring? they spring from Sattva Guna with the practice of spiritual disciplines one gradually develops Sattva Guna and Sattva Guna brings a great longing for God realization this longing for God in its turn brings spiritual qualities which gradually take us nearer to God Ramakrishna says what are the glories of that longing for God? their discrimination dispassion compassion for living beings serving holy men loving their company chanting the name and glories of God telling the truth and the light when you see those signs of longing in an aspirant you can rightly say that for him the vision of God is not far to see therefore one who is merciless and devoid of compassion can never hope to be spiritual however the practice of compassion needs deep understanding rationality and self-control the quality of compassion is nearer to truth love and knowledge than to a mere emotional outburst expressions of compassion like shedding tears and pushing oneself into unthinking actions etc. sometimes lead to very undesirable results though most of us do not like it certain acts like punishing criminals or disciplining children can very well be expressions of love and compassion spiritual teachers are frequently seen to be stern and harsh towards their students it's because they would like to help their students get rid of their defects and make them progress in spiritual life but here is the greatest expression what misery is a gift of God holy mother goes so far as to say that misery is a gift of God people complain about their griefs and sorrows and how they pray to God but find no relief from pain but grief itself is the greatest gift from God it is the symbol of his compassion it is maybe strange but it is very true how is it very true? because when we suffer more and do not find any remedy any help in this world invariably at first it may lead us to depression and disheartenedness but very soon we can go down only to that level but again we must go up this is the law of evolution it will take us to God because true compassion springs from the knowledge that we are all part of God compassion is not mere pity it is to feel our oneness with the others with the whole universe because all that exists is God Jeha Mai Dekha Taha Tu Samaya Jo Kuch Hai So Tu Hi Hai the beautiful song Tujhe Se Humne Dil Ko Lagaya so everywhere a wise person says only God it is this vision which prompts him to feel compassion towards all beings hence some great souls retain their bodies even after Samadhi and feel compassion for the suffering of others compassion inevitably leads to service of God in man one of the important tenets of Sri Vaishnavism is to show compassion to bound souls many misunderstand a deeper import of this tenet a feeling of compassion often makes us take pity and look down upon others it may produce a feeling of superiority but Ramakrishna advises us not to show compassion but to serve man as God this is the basis of the Karma Yoga as preached by Swami Vivekananda he says as Jeeva and Ishwara God are in essence the same serving the individual and loving God must mean one and the same thing our principle therefore should be love and not compassion ours is not the feeling of compassion but of love and the feeling of self in all this application of the word compassion even to Jeeva seems to me to be rash and vain for us it is not to pity but to serve now doing good to others out of compassion is good but service to all beings in the spirit of the Lord is better but there are some problems the practice of compassion however has its own peculiar problems though we are prepared to sacrifice much if it is for our own nation religion we find it is hindered by our hatred for other nations religions and cultures so we must not forget that the good Lord is everywhere in everybody so we need to be compassionate towards everybody else but above all towards ourselves also failure to understand this simple truth can bring much misery merciful towards others at the cost of being stern towards oneself is a self-defeating attitude so to be compassionate towards oneself is a most admirable quality we have to develop of course with awareness and with rationality it means to admit that we are also weak and we can also make mistakes the practice of compassion makes life joyful and creative undoubtedly it brings us nearer to God and helps us to develop other qualities also Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohur Mohur May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti Ramakrishna