Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify Him!”
A third time he said to them, “Why? What has this man done wrong? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty.
Therefore, I will have Him whipped and then release Him.”
But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And their voices won out. So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
(Luke 23: 20–25)
Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with Him. When as they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes and cast lots.
The people stood watching, and even the leaders kept scoffing: “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked Him.
(Luke 23: 32–36)
“Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” This was what Jesus of Nazareth said in response to the excruciating and fatal pain he was inflicted. This was his reply to the injustice done to him. And, what happened next? “And they divided His clothes and cast lots.”
There, in the same picture, you have the two extremes of our world. On the one hand is the compassion of Christ demonstrating there’s no limit to how high you can rise above what you are subjected to, and on the other hand is the greed, ignorance and cruelty of the soldiers showing there’s no end to how low one can stoop.
Compassion is unreasonable – it is beyond reason.
Throughout the history of our race, good people have been ridiculed and mocked – they have been jeered at and spat at, they have been unjustly punished, beaten and even killed. Someone once asked me what purpose did it solve, such sacrifice.
“Well,” I said, “because Christ sacrificed his life, more than a billion people lead a life of inspiration today, even 2,000 years later. Because Buddha sacrificed his kingdom, more than 500 million derive the benefit even today.”
Compassion and forgiveness are simply synonyms of sacrifice. When you forgive, somewhere you sacrifice a part of your own existence, your respect, your dignity, yourself. However, by forgiving you also go beyond the shackles of ego. Moreover, sacrificing is not a trade, you don’t expect anything for yourself in return, it is philanthropy, it’s an act of charity.
Ask me not what if the other person doesn’t deserve your compassion or what if they don’t acknowledge it. Because if you still have these questions, you’ve not let the Passion of Christ sink into your heart.
Upanishads have a term for our world – Vashudhaiva Kutumbakam, the whole world is one single family. It’s one planet, one world, one family.
Compassion does not require a reason or reward, only a desire, a discipline. Forgiveness doesn’t even need discipline but only a big heart, big enough to absorb their mistakes. When your heart is as big as the ocean, their shark-like mistakes and tuna- like presence in your life will coexist without so much as causing a ripple in your mind.
When you choose compassion over any other choice, you naturally elevate your consciousness. When you sit down to meditate, after a random act of kindness or a show of compassion, you will discover that your mind is naturally quieter than usual. It starts to gravitate towards its natural state. This peace is already present in your heart like fragrance in rose.
Truthfulness
The great saint Kabir was a weaver who lived in Varanasi some 550 years ago. He was known for his frugal, simple and truthful conduct. He was spinning yarn once when a stranger barged into his home and fell at his feet.
“Please help me, I didn’t mean to steal” he said in a rushed voice. “I needed food for my family. I deeply regret it. The king’s men are after me. They’ll be here any moment…help me.”
Kabir looked calmly at the stranger’s eyes full of fright and paranoia. He was sweating, fear and anxiety was written all over him.
“Hide in that heap of cotton, quickly now.” Kabir pointed at a mound of cotton no more than a few feet away from where he sat. The thief did as told and Kabir resumed murmuring his famous couplets while spinning the wheel.
Jako rake saanyiyan maar sake na koye Baal na baanka kar sake jo jag bairi hoye…
Who can harm the one who’s got the protection of God, Even if the whole world turns against him, they can’t even make dent a strand of his hair.
Saanch barabar tap nahin jhooth barabar paap Jaake hriday saanch hai, taak hriday prabhu aap.
There’s no penance greater than truth and no sin worse than lying, God lives in the one who has truth in his heart.
“Have you seen him?” the king’s men shouted, holding naked swords, as they interrupted Kabir’s recital and work.
“Who?” Kabir said in a matter of fact tone without stopping his spinning.
“A thief just ran in this direction,” the sergeant said. “Do you know where he went?”
Kabir chuckled, continued weaving and said, “He’s hiding in that little hillock of cotton.” And he carried on singing the couplets.
The soldiers exchanged glances among themselves. Dismissing him as a madman, the men went away in search of the thief. After about five minutes, Kabir asked the thief to come out of hiding.
“Are you crazy,” the thief said. “You nearly had me killed!
Why did you tell the truth?”
“Because, my friend,” Kabir said stopping his wheel, “only truth could save you. Truth knows no fear whereas the king’s men would have seen through my lies.”
The thief went away transformed and legend has it that he became an ardent follower of Kabir.
In this day and age, it is not easy to be truthful. It has never been easy because truth is mostly punished. Most people don’t even want to hear the truth, they are happy living in a cocoon of lies. Sometimes, there’s no way of sugarcoating the truth. Especially in a situation where the other person doesn’t want to handle the truth, it doesn’t matter how gently you tell them, they will react unfavorably. This is the single most reason why most people tell lies countless times every day. It’s easier to get away with a lie than handle truth.
Someone calls you and you don’t take their call because you don’t feel like it. When you call back that person, you can’t say, “I didn’t want to speak to you.” You lie saying that you were either busy or the phone was on silent mode and so on. The other person knows too that you are most probably telling a lie but they don’t want to hear the truth either. Truth would hurt them more.
In walking the path of meditation, however, liberation comes from the strength that only truth can bestow. It’s a virtue unlike any other. On January 1, 2011, I vowed to never tell a lie again. It’s been one of the most rewarding and most difficult vows because most people around you don’t want to hear the truth, and you can’t always speak the truth because it hurts them. Sometimes, you have to choose whether you want to speak the truth and hurt the other person or wish to keep quiet and bear the brunt.
Between truth and compassion, I personally choose compassion.
That is not to say that I would tell a lie but I would rather hurt myself than hurt the other person. You may think it’s unusual but if you reflect on even your own life, you would find innumerable instances where you chose to hurt yourself out of compassion rather than hurting the other person. It’s not uncommon. Most of us do it. When you make a commitment to lead a virtuous life, you see yourself doing it more often. Putting the other person before yourself, that’s what compassion is. Truth on the other hand is putting your principle before the other person. Sometimes that is more important.