Compassion can be repaid only by compassion.

Nesar Ahmad Siddiqui

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3 min read

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Feb 24, 2024

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Compassion is as essential as the struggle for a reasonable living.

Yes, I am talking about compassion, which is roughly more than kindness. 
I am keen to understand why compassion is so close to human life in all epochs. 
Can humanity survive, keeping compassion aside? 
Long ago, I read a story that made me understand the depth of compassion in our lives: 
A person [say, Mr. Y] was stuck on the road as the fuel tank of his vehicle got empty. He asked many people going forward to help him, but every time Mr. Y was disappointed, as if it were a futile exercise. After hours, someone [say, Mr Z] stopped his vehicle and asked Mr Y what he wanted. Mr. Z met the urgent need for fuel, and both Y and Z moved forward in their vehicles. Both reached the next fuel station and got their fuel tanks filled. Mr. Y thought to pay bills for both vehicles, but Mr. Z politely refused to get the bill paid by Mr. Y. 
Mr. Z asked Mr. Y to help the person in distress (if that happens) in the future, as he had been helped when he fell into something unexpected and miserable. 
The message is clear. Any help in distress can’t be repaid in money. It can be done in the real sense only when you help someone in their helplessness at any place at any time. 
Do good to the people in need, as someone has done good to you at any time, anywhere. It is compassion.
When in crisis, we beg for a solution. Sadly, we forget when we are in a position to solve the problems of others, may they be friends, relatives, or strangers. 
With money in hand, we can do many things of our choice, but we can’t repay the kindness, compassion, or something equivalent to this. 
At times, we do something good even for those who are at odds with us all the time or have done us harm too. It is compassion plus forgiveness. Hardly a few can reach such a rank of humanity, as the profiles of generous people suggest. 
It is the power of compassion that is building a compassionate environment all around us. Without compassion, humans would just be like other living bodies. 
The core of compassion is "giving" without expecting anything in return. Helping someone and thinking of getting something in return is a worldly affair of low quality. 
When an ailing person is helped to be able to restore his health so that he can take care of his family, it is compassion. 
"No one has ever become poor by giving." Anne Frank. 
The state of consciousness creates an attitude of giving, particularly to the needy, but such an attitude is less common in many cultures. 
In the above story, just sparing two or three litres of fuel costs meagre currency, but it brings an instant smile to the person in helplessness standing on the road. 
"Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle," says Charles Glassman.
Looking at the conditions of a beggar is sympathy; helping him to take meals is empathy; and supporting him to earn his livelihood is compassion. 
Let us cultivate compassion in our behaviours to make this world a little better than what we are witnessing today. 
It is our responsibility to find out who is in need and how to bring about changes in their living conditions.