Compassion – The Basis for Peace and Understanding
A short talk for the European Congress and Centenary of the Finnish Section
17th July 2007.

Friends,

I was asked to give a short talk about Compassion – The Basis for Peace and Understanding. I would like to start by talking a little about peace and understanding. When we look around us in the world today, the situation does not seem very peaceful and there does not seem to be much understanding either between people of various cultural and religious backgrounds. What came first into my mind thinking about this subject was a sentence at the beginning of the well-known book The Religions of Man by Huston Smith. There he says: “When historians look back upon our years (1958) they may remember them not for the release of nuclear power nor the spread of communism, but as the time in which all the peoples of the world first had to take one another seriously.” As has often been mentioned the progress of technology in recent years has made the world smaller, so to speak, so today in any country we may find people of several different nationalities in the same room. We have all seen this and know it for a fact. But as Prof. Smith implies, this invites problems, and we of course hope people will take one another seriously. Unfortunately this is not so – not yet.

Words by another well known man also came to my mind, words in a preface to a book by the historian Arnold Toynbee where he says: “It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.” And later: “The survival of the human race is at stake. Yet even the strongest and most respectable utilitarian motive is only a secondary reason for taking Ramakrishna’s and Gandhi’s and Ashoka’s teaching to heart and acting on it. The primary reason is that this teaching is right---and is right because it flows from a true vision of spiritual reality.”

Here Arnold Toynbee is refering to the Vedanta philosophy which attracted the attention of quite a few intellectuals by the end of the Second World War, such as Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Gerald Heard and others. Coming from upperclass families, they had become disillusioned by socialism as it then appeared in Germany and the Soviet Union, and they became convinced of the importance of pacifism. Looking for a philosophical basis for it they discovered the principles of the Vedanta philosphy. What was of value to them in the Vedanta philosophy was that it recognizes various spiritual paths to the same goal, it´s wide outlook therefore makes a strong ground for both peace and understanding. This same way of thinking we find reflected in the first object of the Theosophical Society (TS) which in turn went a lot further by aiming at a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.

We could understand the words of this first object in an ordinary way, but they could also be understood in a much deeper way. Namely, that in the first place we should not only show tolerance and understanding towards people belonging to whatever race, religion etc. but also form a friendly relationship with them. In the second place it could also mean a psychological transformation of the individual by which he will experience real compassion and be free of any kind of predudice and narrow-mindedness, but instead manifest love and kindness to others. The former could also mean tolerance and understanding towards other members of the section of the TS that we belong to, wherever we happen to live. We know and probably agree that we ourselves must be the first to show understanding by our own example. In the same way in regard to society and the world, the TS can be our first experimental ground. The structure of this society is unike that of most others; it is very special. As members we do not belong to the same spiritual tradition. In the TS the members have the opportunity to show how people with different spiritual or philosophical backgrounds and interests can work together in peace and harmony. The TS is not a sect. That is not it´s nature. It´s scope is wide, big enough for many views and where each member can develop in his own way and at the same time respect others. Those who have studied the history of the TS know that there have been moments, even periods of time when there was the danger of this special characteristic changing, developing towards one way of thinking, even towards a kind of religious sectarian way of thinking. It certainly was not the intention in the beginning to make yet another sect! But we have been fortunate to have wise leaders that prevented this happening. It is very interesting to study the various writings in the early days of the society. The motto of the the TS “There is no religion higher than truth,” was bold at that time and still is. It is very important for us on the one hand not to forget some of the thoughts of the original leaders and on the other to be aware of what is happening today. Regarding some organized religions that are threatening peace today we have to show tolerance, but I think that at the same time we have to try to understand their nature. I think we agree that some truth can be found within each religion, but at the same time we realise that they can also separate man from man. In the second object of the TS we are in fact encouraged to study comparive religion, philosophy and science. It does not say one religion alone, but to compare religions and therefore to gain an understanding of them. Do they reflect spiritual values and are they anywhere near to truth? In that regard I would like to read a few words from a remarkable letter on this matter written way back in 1882 by the Master K.H. There he says: “Ignorance created Gods and cunning took advantage of the opportunity. Look at India and look at Christendom and Islam, at Judaism and Fetichism. It is priestly imposture that rendered these Gods so terrible to man; it is religion that makes of him the selfish bigot, the fanatic that hates all mankind out of his own sect without rendering him any better or more moral for it. It is belief in God and Gods that makes two-thirds of humanity the slaves of a handful of those who deceive them under the false pretence of saving them.” And later: “For two thousand years India groaned under the weight of caste, Brahmins alone feeding on the fat of the land, and to-day the followers of Christ and those of Mahomet are cutting each other throats in the names of and for the greater glory of their respective myths.” Then he says that human misery will never be diminished until “the better portion of humanity destroys in the name of Truth, morality, and universal charity, the false beliefs.”
He could in fact be describing the situation to-day! These are remarkable words in a letter from 1882 and in harmony with our motto: “no religion higher than truth.”

That brings us to compassion. As we understand it, there is no peace or understanding if there is no compassion. As compassion is a word much used in Buddhism I´m reminded of words the Dalai Lama said not long ago: “ Compassion makes one see the picture clearly; when emotions overtake us, the lack of seeing clearly clouds our perception of reality and hence the cause of many misunderstandings leading to quarrels (even wars).”
But what is compassion? According to the Oxford American Dictionary it is: “Sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others.” Characteristic of the Indian tradition is that knowledge, wisdom and compassion are not something that we gain from outside, but which exist in every human being. This view we find in the Vedanta and in Buddhism. The Bodhisattva ´s essence is compassion (karuna). But how realistic is it for us to-day, and is it possible at all for us to realise it? This is something we really have to work on, our main task. Without it there is no relationship between people, no compassion, no peace, no understanding.

We know that the paths are many and pursue one most natural to us. Still, perhaps most natural to modern man is simply to pay attention to himself, be more aware of his outer and inner environment and especially relationships. Being a musician allow me to look more closely at what sometimes happens in our work. In order to gain a better command of technique, not to mention interpretation, it not only demands clarity of mind but also insight. In such cases we need to be very sensitive, listen extremely well and be totally attentive to both the smallest details as well as the whole. I´m not trying to make this sound more important than it is. This simply is how it is. Being totally involved in this way, it sometimes happens that something inside you awakens, something you can´t explain, and that is full of harmony, beauty and compassion. When this happens the performance or teaching is at it´s best. Also in listening to music we can have a deep experience of unity. At such moments we have the feeling of touching some inner dimension that we might call compassion. It certainly is not an emotion. For those who have such experiences these are rare and precious moments.
In Krishnamurti´s discussions with Dr. David Bohm and Dr. Schainberg compassion is discussed at one point in connection with suffering. K is saying that if we can be aware of and sensitive to man´s suffering, not the personal suffering, but the universal suffering, man living in total ignorance about himself etc. that if we can be aware of all this, then compassion appears when thought comes to an end. Then there is the birth for the energy of compassion as he says. And also: “The ending of sorrow is the bliss of compassion.”

His main theme was: human transformation. Those who have studied Blavatksy´s Secret Doctrine know that besides all the knowledge, it is this transformation of human consciousness that is the main object. A real change in society is the inner change of each individual. If we are to realise the deeper meaning of “forming a nucleus of the brotherhood of man” we could say that a theosophist today is not someone who has certain beliefs, but rather someone who is concerned with transformation of consciousness. Prof. Raymond Martin of the University of Maryland, the first professor of the academic community to write a book on K´s teaching in a series of books on philosophers, sums up some of his teaching in the end of his book in this manner: If we each one of us will not get transformed psychologically as K talks about, three things will happen: 1) We will lead internally conflicted lives; 2) our internal conflicts will get expressed in our external behaviour and 3) our external behaviour will create serious problems for others. If on the other hand we will be able to transform fundamentally then each of us will live in harmony with ourselves, this harmony will be expressed in our external behaviour and we will thereby help others. We probably often wonder even if we would get transformed how would it affect people around us and benefit the world. A dear friend of mine interpreted morphic resonance in this way: “When you smile other people smile, and when other people smile there will be miles and miles of smiles.”

20.02 2007.
Halldór Haraldsson