Compassion is the basis of human life. A life devoid of empathy is equivalent to that of a feral existence. Empathy nurtures divinity within man. A person becomes divine based on his noble virtues, appears like an animal due to lowly thoughts, and becomes devilish by embracing abominable and sinful behaviour.
A person can remain good so long as good sense prevails in him. If he cannot pull himself off the wrath of wisdom, he falls into the dungeon of darkness. Rishi Vishwamitra succumbed to temptation and was trapped by Apsara Menaka. Rishi Parashar could not resist the attraction to a fisherwoman. Lord Moon carried the burden of seeing his guru’s wife with impropriety while a god like Indra stooped to disgrace the piety of Sati Ahilya. Wise men like Bhishma and Dronacharya supported the immoral actions of Duryodhana.
On the other hand, when prudence or righteous intellect prevails, young children of Guru Gobind Singh named Jorawar Singh and Fateh Singh happily chose to be walled in alive rather than abandon their religion. Innumerable people decided to fight for Indian Independence, faced immense travails, and even walked bravely to be hung on the gallows while clutching Bhagawad Gita to their bosom. Animals like monkeys and bears joined Lord Shriram’s army, ready to sacrifice their lives. Even a tiny squirrel tried to help build the bridge across the vast ocean by repeatedly rolling its body in the sand and depositing it into the sea. All these are examples of what happens when righteous wisdom is awakened.
Prudence infuses the strength of thousand elephants in a weakling, while selfishness makes an army commander go weak on his knees. When Draupadi was disgraced in the royal court, Bhishma and Drona sat like impotent beings. Not a word of reproach escaped their lips.
Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi sought help from several capable rulers, but none of them came to her rescue due to fear of the British. Unfortunately, so many Indians helped the British and Mughals because of their selfish interests and continued to witness their motherland trapped in the shackles of slavery. While warriors like Rana Pratap and Shivaji led a life of self-respect, fighting for the freedom of their motherland throughout their lives, there were innumerable others who chose to trade their kingdoms in return for favors and leniency. Rana Sanga continued to fight in the war despite 84 injuries while others conspired with the enemy to fulfill their selfish needs.
Whatever happiness, peace, prosperity, and progress are present in the world are due to noble intentions and noble behaviour. On the other hand, whatever troubles, pain, and conflicts are seen are the poisonous consequences of evil nature.
So many historical monuments built thousands of years ago are standing tall, while the bridges, dams, and schools constructed by us are crumbling within no time. The quality of material and knowledge we have today is better than what was present centuries ago, but sincerity is lacking. In ancient times, even with lesser resources, they were able to build long-lasting structures. Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal, Jain Temples of Abu, Meenakshi Temple, Caves of Ajantha, Pyramids of Egypt, Wall of China, etc., are not mere testimonials of intellectual knowledge but also depict the zeal to create something exquisite.
Our peace and happiness cannot be increased based on industries, machines, dams, bridges, and highways. They can only contribute to a little increase in income, and that extra money can only invite troubles. It is seen that industrial workers and other laborers spend their wages on alcohol, tobacco, and movies.
People who earn handsomely look at ways and means of spending that money on unnecessary and frivolous things, and eventually, what they earn is never sufficient. The personal, familial and social life of rich people is filled with suffering and malice. Increased earning comes with an increased variety of bad habits, which become the cause for the deterioration of life force.
It is very important that financial growth is accompanied by increased prudence and noble virtues. If the latter part is ignored, then whatever efforts have gone into increasing your income will not be capable of solving your problems in life. Until and unless the workers are honest, no factory will thrive. Unless there is quality in the products, consumers will not benefit from buying them. Until the sellers refrain from adulteration and profiteering, the state of any business will remain pathetic and beyond repair. Until government employees let go of their ego, tendency to take bribes and create scams, the government’s objectives will not be fulfilled.
The extent of noble tendencies that should be present in people is not there presently. This is the main reason for hurdles in the path of our progress. There is no dearth of resources. Peace and prosperity will prevail everywhere if the amount of knowledge, wealth, workforce and resources that we have today is utilized properly.
Progress of the self is only possible by nurturing good tendencies. Communion with God, attaining heaven, and liberation are possible only for those whose thoughts and actions are of the highest stature and centred around noble ideals. No religious rituals and worship can lead a person engaged in evil acts and thoughts to attain proximity to God.
God Almighty is aware of every atom of the creation, and hence he knows not only our actions but also our intentions and behaviour. We cannot bribe him by our ritualistic worship while being rotten inside. He shall shower his grace only when we hold ourselves to the highest ideals. He gives more importance to our emotions than the bhajans. A person endowed with noble sentiments will attain God even without doing bhajan, while a person devoid of humanity will not attain God even after the greatest of worships.
For worldly and otherworldly progress, for mundane and spiritual upliftment, it is essential to develop noble virtues. Since times immemorial, whenever disastrous conditions prevailed, it was primarily because of man’s selfishness and sinfulness; peace and prosperity prevailed when goodness was abundant in people. Compassion is the only basis for this.
Akhand Jyoti Magazine 2022 May-June
