Compassion, Defined By Three Faiths

What is compassion? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as a “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” I think that compassion has a much more powerful meaning than this. I believe that compassion is true embodiment of the human heart and spirit and its urge to help people. I also believe that this embodiment drives us to unite as one, setting aside our differences, be it in religion, politics, or other worldly conflicts, to master our divine purpose, the betterment of humanity and nature. The three Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, among other religions, exemplify the qualities of compassion and love clearly reflecting these ideas in their scriptures and teachings. In fact, if one delves deep into any religious philosophy or teaching, he/she will find that all strive to promote peace, tolerance, and compassion between one another. However, in our modern world, these teachings have been twisted and manipulated for man’s personal gains. I believe that it is our purpose to impart upon the present world, and the future generations, a feeling of compassion, love, and unity that will ultimately lead to worldwide peace.

In ethical terms, as has been handed down to us by the Abrahamic tradition, compassion could mean, ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you.’ We can trace, conceptually, a much broader approach to this emotion, for example in the Buddhist, Jain and Hindu traditions, dating back to earlier periods, say somewhere between 500 and 2000 B.C. ‘Abstinence from an intention to harm coupled with an intense desire, a transcendental movement of one’s heart, to share the pain of the other, variously described as ‘ahimsa’, ‘daya’, or ‘karuna’ were the corner sto...

... middle of paper ...

...ticipate in activities that give a fillip to their urge to live and be part of a compassionate living mode. Soup kitchens, blood donation camps, voluntary services in hospices and many more such activities can be co-ordinated through students and other youngsters on a larger and wider level and with global linkage and understanding. Such an embodiment, on a global level will, without doubt drive us, peoples of the world to unite as one, setting aside our differences, be it in religion, politics, or other worldly conflicts, to master our divine purpose, the betterment of humanity and nature. The three Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, among other religions, exemplify the qualities of compassion and love clearly reflecting these ideas in their scriptures and teachings can substantially aid this process and will ultimately lead to worldwide peace.