Compassion is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate the suffering, to show special kindness to those who suffer. Thus compassion is essentially empathy, but with an active slant in indicating that the compassionate person will actually seek to aid those they feel for.
I would describe compassion as the crown of all virtues. I believe it is this quality that takes us closest to the Divine within each one of us. When we practice—not just feel—compassion, when we go out of ourselves to reach out to others and alleviate their suffering, we rise to the Highest Self in us. Need I say that at such times, negative feelings of strife and disharmony are totally nullified in our hearts and minds? And when more and more of us practice the divine quality of compassion, will our world not move towards lasting peace?
All religions, all cultures exalt compassion. Hindus see the Goddess Lakshmi as the very personification of Daya. The Lord is referred to as Dayallu, and compassion for humanity is His chief attribute.
There is a beautiful story told to us in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:
In the beginning of Creation, Prajapati’s (the Creator’s) children-gods, men and demons–completed a period of penance and appealed to the Lord for His counsel.
First, the gods (devas) approached Him and said, “Please instruct us.”
The Creator gave them a single syllable-“Da.” He asked them, “Have you understood?”
The gods said, “Yes, we have understood. You have said dama—you tell us to control ourselves.
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