By sharing and using our inner virtues for others, we learn to value ourselves without comparing our contribution to that of others, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji
Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
As dictionaries define, kindness is the virtue of showing love as well as having the qualities of a sympathetic, affectionate, warm-hearted and considerate nature. For many of us kindness may be a simple thing like saying ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘excuse me,’ or ‘I am sorry.’ It could also be offering a helping hand, patiently waiting for your turn, returning a phone call or a favour, or even cheerfully responding to someone with a smile. As the Greek philosopher Sophocles said, kindness gives birth to kindness. Within each and every human is a mine of wonderful virtues and qualities, but they lie dormant in many of us. Valuing and using these virtues is the key to a fulfilled life. By reconnecting with and valuing these parts within us, we learn to see ourselves in the same way that divinity does. When we start sharing and using our inner virtues for others, we learn to value ourselves, without comparing our contribution to that of others.
Dalai Lama has said, “My religion is kindness.” If anybody has ever felt a deep sense of satisfaction while being unconditionally kind to another person, then the person would know what the spiritual leader means by that phrase. If you are compassionate to others and also, most importantly, to yourselves, you plant kindness in the atmosphere as well. There is a difference between sharing joy and providing materialistic satisfaction. One must understand that donating money is valuable, but it is limited in terms of the benefit it might bring to our hearts and to that of others. On the other hand, by sharing what is good and true — love, joy and a sense of lightness — even with those in our immediate vicinity, the feeling that our life is valuable to the world, begins to grow. Kindness is a well of sustenance worth diving into each day. The nectar of kindness is a sanctuary for the heart and a refuge for peace of mind no matter how large or small the gift is.
Time teaches us to view ourselves with harshness. But unlike family, we can choose our teachers. We could either listen to the stories of our past or to our precious, often silenced voice and with love we could rekindle that inner sparkle which was lost due to confusion and lack of self-worth. But how can we reconnect with the voice inside without retreating to an isolated mountain-top escaping the noise of the madding crowd? It is very simple indeed. By gathering strength in silence, while meditating, we could learn to forgive the pebbles and express the jewels within, choose to live honestly with confidence rather than out of duty and become liberated from the sorrow which comes with our old thinking and self-restricting behaviours.
Dedicating a few minutes to meditation every day is a meaningful expression of caring for yourself that can help you move through the quagmire of feeling unworthy. Meditation enables a person to discover or re-discover the self and to have a channel for heart-to-heart communication with the Almighty. It enables a person to penetrate deeply and progressively into deeper levels of the mind and peep into the hidden world of reality. It involves the turning of a person’s mind and the flow of their love in the direction of Almighty, giving them the hot-line to communicate with him.
Thus, it is a technique of self-exploration, leading to the experience of heightened and expanded awareness, reaching god and bringing him into the focus of the soul’s awareness. The principal object of meditation is to bring the self in conscious touch with Almighty, making it increasingly aware of its divine origin, destiny and peaceful nature. This practice of awareness opens greater orbits of being. One does not only get first-hand vision and experience of the ultimate truth and the reality behind all realities but also that one is not merely the creature but also creator of his environment.