The Power of Kindness
In the East, being kind to one another is synonymous with living from Atma or Soul. Jung termed the Soul or the Self, the deeper, wiser, more divine aspect of who we are that does not have the needs of the Ego. It is our essence, our True Nature. Living from the Self in the East is termed, living from ‘dharma’. Dharma implies we live from Soul, always behaving towards others with empathy and kindness.
When we live without relatedness, we cannot access empathy. In the East, relationships are a way to access our Soul. It is a way of realizing our True Nature, also called, Self-realization. If we do not value relatedness, we cannot align with our True Nature. This leads to ‘adharma’, the opposite of dharma and results in living from a way where ‘might is right’ or ‘survival of the fittest’, which shuts down our empathy for each other. What is normalized in Western society (and corporations) would be termed adharma in the East, because of how much relatedness is valued there and how deficient it is here.
When we live from a place of dharma, we live from Soul, from empathy and kindness. Our cultural collective is deficient in these qualities because of what we have normalized. Could it be that our foundational platform with each other has not yet evolved to value relatedness and relationship? Could it be that we have valued materialism in favor of relationships and have disconnected ourselves from each other in the process? Or could it be that we consider technology, such as email and texting as a convenient substitute for real interaction? We must know by now that this is merely a cosmetic substitute for experiencing the essence of relationships. It is impossible to be in each other’s presence or fully present with each other through text and email.
We must become aware of the unintended consequence of how we use technology as there can be no substitute for human to human interaction.
Our True Nature cannot be shared unless we are authentically present with each other. We need to return to our humanity, to empathy and kindness. To experience this, we need to reorient ourselves back to Self and have more authentic relationships. This is one way we can live from kindness rather than to merely do ‘kind things’.
So next time you are in another’s presence, (even a stranger’s), align with your heart and treat them with kindness like the Sikh man did with me in India. Offer them a ’Namaskar’ if only in your mind. It means, ‘I honor your True Nature with my True Nature’. Notice how sacred this feels. I promise you it will be healing for both you and the recipient of your kindness.
Since we are in the season of reflection and gifting, it may be worth reflecting on what it would mean to live a dharmic life, to live from Atma, Soul or Self.
Gifting another with our True Nature is ultimately the greatest gift of all.
