Here’s a beautiful story from the Buddha’s time: A rich man is initiated into sannyas by an enlightened master. He travels with the master and thousands of disciples. They rest at a guesthouse but there isn’t enough space, so some monks sleep outside the rooms. This rich man gets a spot on a pathway and can barely sleep. Miserable and agitated, he wants to revoke his decision to become a sannyasi.
Next morning, he informs his master. The master tells him about his past life, about how he became a human. He says, “Let me remind you that you were an elephant in your past life. One day, you were in a forest that caught fire. You stared running to escape, like all other animals. You rested under a tree that was not burning. As soon as you lifted a leg to walk on, a hare scampered under it for shelter. Your heart was full of compassion and you didn’t put your foot down, for that would have crushed the hare. You kept one foot up and soon the fire burnt you. That compassionate act helped you evolve into a human. Now, wouldn’t you like to evolve further into an awakened one, a Buddha?” This story awakened the rich man’s consciousness, and he continued on his journey of a sannyasi.
Compassion is the fragrance of awakened consciousness. A fully awake person is naturally compassionate, he doesn’t practice compassion as morality. He shares whatever he has. It is his joy. His bliss.
Osho explains: “Suffering makes people hard, dulls their sensitivity, makes them thick. To protect themselves, they grow a hard crust around their heart. If they continuously feel for every body who suffers, it will be impossible to live. Suffering is all over. People invent beautiful theories to protect themselves, like karma. Karma has nothing to do with the person who suffers but it gives good justification to he person who wants to avoid compassion. It is psychological armour.”
He adds: “Only bliss makes a person compassionate. If he has known joy, he’ll feel compassion for those who suffer. If he hasn’t known any joy, he’ll ask why he should feel compassion… He has suffered, so everybody will suffer!” When one discovers innermost joy, when one knows something of god, of love, of meditation—then a great compassion arises. One would like to share all that one has. One would like to pour one’s whole being. One would like all of existence to get enlightened. One would like everybody to celebrate.
“So,” says Osho, “I make bliss a prerequisite to compassion. I teach not compassion but bliss. Compassion comes of its own. Teaching people compassion is not the right way. Unless they taste joy, they’ll never be compassionate. It they’re convinced rationally, their compassion will be an obligation. So I teach bliss, and compassion comes as a shadow.”
- Swami Chaitanya Keerti
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