________________
Rays of Dharma
If he gets a boil on the body, he would make a hue and cry, but he would have no concern for others suffering from even acute pain. If he enjoys lying in the bed of roses, he would not mind causing distress to the roses; the idea of avoiding violence to the delicate flowers would not occur to him.
It is therefore necessary to cultivate empathetic approach towards all species. One should have the sense of unity with every living being. There was a domestic servant working in a wealthy family. He worked very sincerely and had developed much affection for a young girl of the employer. Once he had to go on a long leave. Meanwhile the girl died. The parents lamented for the loss, but they got reconciled to it. A year later when the landlady gave birth to a son, they got busy fondling him and forgot about the loss of the girl.
Three years later, the servant came back to work and learnt about the death of the girl. He was overcome with grief and tears flowed from his eyes. When the landlady asked for the reason, he could barely utter 'loss of the girl'. The landlady thought that he might have lost his daughter and tried to console him. He had then to point out that he was referring to the loss of her daughter. On hearing it, tears came in her eyes. She had no feelings when she thought that the servant had lost his daughter; but on getting reminded of the loss of her own daughter, she also started crying.
This incident shows the sense of belonging and affection that the servant had developed for the girl. Such sense arises when one transcends the attachment for self and extends it to others. Here 'others' stands for all others; affection and compassion thus need to be extended to every one without exception; they should become universal. The Aryan philosophy puts it as "Ätmavat sarva bhooteshu, sukhduhkhe priyäpriye". It means that we should treat every being like us in happiness or unhappiness.
Universal compassion is the third dimension of compassion. When one realizes it, he would not undertake or be a part of any activity that involves violence to any living being. He would make
92
