The White Hindu
A friend of this blog who is both a non-Indian Hindu like me and also gay has written a heart breaking essay about his experiences of homosexuality and Hinduism. It’s a must read!
He urges us to have compassion for others and acknowledge their hurts even if the material world is not the ultimate reality. He asks us not to distance ourselves from the suffering of our friends and neighbors with philosophical platitudes.
It is my own personal theory that these kinds of people use their philosophical beliefs about the body to disengage from the reality of suffering on the material plane. Now, if I say that, they would retaliate with, “Well, that’s just what our scriptures say.” Let it be known that I’m not challenging Lord Krishna when He says that pleasure and suffering pass away like the seasons, or that the body is like articles of clothing which the soul discards at death– what I am saying is that we cannot allow these truths to stop us from viewing other human beings with compassion. When we reach for philosophy first, instead of coming down off of our pedestal and approaching others with compassion and a desire to understand and assist them, we are not practicing yoga, because Krishna outlined it in very simple terms: “The best yogi is one who regards every being like oneself and who can feel the pain and pleasures of others as one’s own, O Arjuna.” (BG 6:32) –Empty Without Empathy
The post includes practical advice about how you can help and what you can say. Please do give it a read!
“If meditation and sadhana do not bring about compassion and do not make you look at other human beings with sympathy, it has done nothing to you.” – Sri M
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