{"id":4335,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:17","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4335"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:17","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:17","slug":"30-apendix-sympathy-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/30-apendix-sympathy-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-30_Apendix _Sympathy.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nSixteen <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\nSympathy
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>                W<\/font><\/span>hen is
\nsorrow accompanied by sorrow? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When one heart feels it and our heart feels it
\nat the same time. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Duryodhana, the famous warrior, fell on the
\nplain of Kurukshetra and his friends were so full of grief that when he lay on
\nthe ground and died, all Nature seemed in disorder. Headless creatures with
\nmany arms and legs danced dreadful dances over the earth; in lakes and wells
\nthe water was turned to blood; rivers flowed upstream instead of downstream;
\nwomen looked like men, and men like women. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Here the poet teaches us that the suffering
\nundergone by one being spreads through a wide, wide world. There was sympathy
\nbetween the fallen king and thousands of living creatures. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Is
\nthis sympathy shown only in sorrow? No, it is shown both in joy and suffering. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Listen to the story of Nandiya the deer who
\nwas kind to his parents in times of peace and contentment and also in times of
\ndarkness and peril. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nKing of Kosala often used to hunt in the forest where Nandiya lived with his
\nfather and mother in peace and mutual love. When he hunted, the King galloped
\nthrough a wide stretch of country and many people from Kosala had to follow him
\nas attendants; so many people were taken away from their work and they murmured
\nat the loss they suffered. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Therefore they made a park with fences and
\ngates and a pool in the middle, and went into the jungle to drive the deer into
\nthe park so that the King might have all the game at hand and would not need to
\ngo hunting with so many followers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Nandiya saw the people coming, armed with
\nsticks, as he was feeding with his parents in a little wood. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 270<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cStay here,\u201d he said to his parents. \u201cI shall
\ngo and meet these people.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\ncame out of the wood alone and the people, assuming that there were no more
\ndeer beneath the trees, took him away and passed on. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>All
\nthe deer, except the two old ones who had stayed in the wood, were now gathered
\nin the park. The King was pleased, and from time to time he shot one of the
\nherd with his bow and arrow. Nandiya’s turn, however, did not come for a very
\nlong time. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When at last it did come, Nandiya stood still
\nbefore the king and did not try to run away. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nKing was so struck by this unusual behaviour that he did not shoot. Lowering
\nhis bow, he paused. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cShoot,
\nO King,\u201d said Nandiya. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\ncannot. There is merit in you, O deer. I grant you your life.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWill you not, O King, give freedom to the
\nrest of the deer in this park?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nwill.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd will you not, O King, show your favour to
\nthe birds of the air and the fish in the water?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nwill.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This deer, the old story says, was the Lord
\nBuddha; he spoke to the King and taught him the Law of Mercy for all living
\nthings. And afterwards the King sent a messenger with a drum throughout the
\ncountry to proclaim his protection for deer, birds and fish. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You
\nwill readily agree that Nandiya was right to protect his parents. It would also
\nbe good to help a brother or a sister. But you will notice in the next story
\nthat a noble Arab spoke of a man as his brother, even though he was not really
\nhis brother. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\ncaravan was crossing the desert, and water ran short. The Arab travellers were
\ncompelled to measure out the water so that <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 271<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

each might have a small but equal share. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For
\nmeasuring they used a cup with a stone in it. They poured the water from a
\nwater-skin until it covered the stone. This was the share of each one. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Only the chief men in the caravan had a share
\nof water. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nfirst time that the water was measured out like this, Kab-ibn-Mamah was about
\nto take the cup when he saw a man of the Namir tribe looking at him longingly.
\nKab said to the man who was giving out the water, \u201cGive my share to this
\nbrother,\u201d and pointed to the man of Namir. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nman drank eagerly. Kab had no water. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nnext day, the time came again to share the water. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Once more the man of Namir looked on with
\nlonging. Once more Kab gave the cup to the \u201cbrother\u201d as he called him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nwhen the caravan was about to move on, Kab no longer had the strength to mount
\nhis camel. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nremained lying on the sand. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nothers dared not stay lest they should all die of thirst. They covered him with
\nblankets to protect him from beasts of prey and left him to die. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You
\nwill have noticed that when sorrow is felt, it is soon felt by the heart of
\nsomeone near. When Duryodhana fell, at once Nature grieved. When danger
\nthreatened his parents, Nandiya went out to protect them. When the man of Namir
\nlooked on in his thirst, the noble Arab chief immediately offered him his
\nwater. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sorrow quickly follows sorrow and joy goes
\nwith joy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When sympathy is slow to arise we do not value
\nit so highly. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nfamous poet Firdausi wrote the history of the kings of <\/span>Persia<\/span> and recited it to Sultan Mahmud; the
\nSultan was delighted and for some time he held the poet in great favour. The
\npoem Shah-Namah was the work of thirty years, and the Sultan had <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 272<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

romised to give the poet 60,000 pieces of gold on its completion. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Firdausi was disliked by the Sultan’s Vizier.
\nThis man persuaded his master that the treasury was depleted and that it would
\nbe only sensible to give the poet silver instead of gold. Mahmud heeded this
\nadvice and sent Firdausi some bags containing 60,000 pieces of silver. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Firdausi was at the bath when the bags
\narrived. He was so infuriated by the Sultan’s avarice that he would not even
\ntake the gift. He gave 20,000 pieces to the messenger who had brought the
\nmoney, 20,000 to the proprietor of the baths, and 20,000 to a beer-seller who
\nhappened to be there. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Mahmud
\nwas informed of this insult and ordered the poet to be trampled to death by
\nelephants. Firdausi was warned and fled to a distant city; at last he settled
\nat Tus, his birth-place. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Soon the Sultan felt sorry that he had treated
\nFirdausi so shamefully and wished to regain the poet’s respect. He sent a
\nmessenger to Tus, bearing him many presents: 60,000 pieces of gold, silks,
\nbrocades, velvets…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Alas! The presents arrived too late. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As
\nthe king’s messenger passed through one of the gates of the city, leading
\ncamels laden with Mahmud’s costly gifts, a bier with the remains of the poet
\npassed out of another gate, carrying them to the resting-place of the dead.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOur Emperor is a just man,\u201d said the people
\nof <\/span>China<\/span>, \u201cfor he is always ready to lend an ear
\nto the complaints of the poor.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\na day came when the ear could hear no more. The Emperor suddenly became deaf.
\nHe could no longer listen to the song of the birds, the murmur of the wind or
\nthe voices of men. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nEmperor wept, and the nobles and officers who met with him in council made
\nsigns to him and wrote him words of consolation begging him not to be so sad. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 273<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cDo
\nnot think,\u201d he told them, \u201cthat I am sad for myself or for any trouble that
\nthis infirmity will cause me. I am sad because now I shall no longer be able to
\nhear the prayers of the afflicted.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>There was silence, for no one knew how to
\ncomfort him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAh,\u201d he exclaimed suddenly, \u201cI have found a
\nway. Order my people to stop wearing red clothes unless they have need of my
\nhelp. So whenever I see a man or a woman dressed in red, I shall know that it
\nis an appeal to me; my deaf ears will hear it and I shall take care that help
\nis given to the distressed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nkind-hearted Emperor did not cease to do his work when he became deaf. He immediately
\nthought of a new way of seeking out the poor and the needy. To seek them out \u2013 for
\nthe noble man does not wait for suffering to come to him, he tries to seek it
\nout.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\nnumber of Hindus formed the Dev Samaj Association in order to do good works. In
\ntheir monthly journal, things like these were reported: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>From <\/i><\/span>Peshawar<\/span><\/i>: Two ladies taught Hindi to women and
\nchildren two hours a day. Some men looked after sick people at home or in
\nhospital, took care of cows and picked up pieces of broken glass from the road.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>From Moga<\/i>: Two ladies taught Hindi to
\ngirls. Men fed animals and planted trees. One member of the Samaj gave free
\nlessons to a poor working-man. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>From Ferozepore<\/i>: Eight ladies cared for
\nthe sick. Boys went about helping old and crippled cows, guided the blind, and
\nwatered plants. Another member found a friendless man lying in the road,
\nseriously hurt in a carriage accident. He took him to the hospital. Another
\nmember visited villages and taught poor people of low caste how to be more
\nclean. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>From <\/i><\/span>Sialkot<\/span><\/i>: A widow visited another widow who had
\nlost <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 274<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

her only son, read to her and spoke comforting words. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You
\nwill notice that in some of these cases kindness took the form of teaching. The
\nheart of a teacher is moved by ignorance: another being needs knowledge and he
\nis ready to give it. And knowledge, like bread or water or clothing, is a gift
\nthat can be transmitted from man to man.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Lord Rama was strong and skilful in hunting,
\nand strong and skilful in the art of teaching. When he set out to hunt animals
\nin the jungle, he took one of his brothers with him as a companion. When he
\nrested and ate, his younger brother sat at his side and shared the meal. When
\nthe hero went to the house of his Guru to study, he learnt the four Vedas as
\nothers might learn a game or a song. Having filled his mind with the Vedas and
\nthe Puranas, he had no wish to keep the sacred words in the secrecy of his
\nheart. He taught them to his brother. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Just as kindness loves to share good
\nknowledge, it also loves to share good news. For example, how great was
\nHanuman’s joy when he could give joy to others. Listen: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Noble Bharata, Lord Rama’s brother, waited
\nfourteen years while Rama was in exile from the city of <\/span>Ayodhya<\/span>. Rama, the all-beautiful, wandered in the
\nforest and knew the perils of war. But Bharata did not know his brother’s fate.
\nAs the end of the fourteenth year drew near, he pined in grief, fearing that he
\nwould never see Rama’s face again, for he had no news of him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>One
\nday more and the fourteen years would have passed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Bharata was sitting on a seat of sacred grass,
\nhis hair was braided, his body was thin, and he was sighing to himself: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cO
\nRama, Rama, Raghupati!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then there stood before him the monkey-king Hanuman,
\nnoble Hanuman who had served the hero Rama so faithfully in the wars. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nbrought good news, and he was so happy to bring it <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 275<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

that his eyes were full of tears and in his heart he felt a world
\nof joy at being able to change Bharata’s sorrow into joy. He said: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe one for whom you mourn day and night has
\nreturned safe and sound. He has conquered his enemy in battle and heard the
\ngods singing hymns in his praise, and now the Lord is on his way home with Sita
\nand his brother.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Bharata thought no more of his past sorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWho are you, who bring me such glad tidings?\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nam Hanuman, the son of the Wind, and though I am a monkey, I am a servant of
\nRaghupati, of Rama.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Bharata embraced Hanuman. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cTell me more,\u201d he said, \u201cyes, tell me all.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nHanuman told him all, and he was happy beyond words to be the bearer of good
\nnews, and to see the life come back to the haggard face of the once sorrowful
\nBharata. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 Does the human heart show mercy only to
\nhuman beings? No, it feels sorrow for the sorrow of an animal and joy for its
\njoy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>People passed by a certain woman in scorn.
\nThey called her a sinner. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This sinner saw a dog whose tongue hung out in
\nterrible thirst. It was dying. Without a cry, the poor creature was begging for
\nsomething to drink. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nsinner took off her boot and let it down into a nearby well; in this way she
\nbrought up a little water and gave it to the dog, and so its life was saved. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>People changed their minds about her. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe Lord,\u201d they said, \u201chas forgiven this
\nwoman’s sins.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>She
\nmay have been a sinner, but she understood the meaning of human kindness. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 276<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nagain: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\nman came to the Prophet Mohammed and showed him a nest full of young birds
\nwrapped up in a piece of carpet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nfound these birds, my Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cas I came through the wood. Hearing the
\nchirps of the nestlings, I looked into a tree and found this nest.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cPut the nest on the ground,\u201d said the
\nProphet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then the mother bird swooped down and perched
\non the edge of the nest, delighted to have found her children. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cPut the family back where you found them,\u201d
\nsaid Mohammed. And he added: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBe
\nkind to animals. Ride them when they are strong enough to carry you. Dismount
\nfrom them when they are tired. Give them to drink when they are thirsty.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In the
\nrecords of Islam it is said that one day the angels of heaven said to God: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cO
\nGod, is there anything in the world stronger than rock?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d God replied, \u201ciron is stronger, for it
\nbreaks rock.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIs
\nthere anything stronger than iron?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes, fire, for it melts iron.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd is there anything stronger than fire?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWater, for it quenches fire.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd what is stronger than water?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWind, for it can move the waves.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd is there anything even stronger?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes, the kind heart that gives alms in
\nsecret, not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Not
\nthat today giving alms is the chief way of being kind. Of course, we may help
\nour neighbour with a kind-hearted gift. But the story means that, by a gift or
\nin any other way, the power of kindness is the greatest power in the world for
\nwinning the affection and friendship of others. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Suffering is aroused by the suffering of
\nothers, and joy by their joy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Such is the glorious nature of sympathy. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 277<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixteen   Sympathy   \u00a0                When is sorrow accompanied by sorrow? \u00a0When one heart feels it and our heart feels it at the same time….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","wpcat-123-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}