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Compassion, contentment are two very valuable words, because the whole life of the seeker can be contained in them. Contentment within and compassion without must be balanced. Be always satisfied within your own self and ever-compassionate towards others, never contentment based on others nor compassion for one's own self
Unrest and turbulence follows in the wake of dissatisfaction. Your mind will concentrate on all that you do not have and see only insufficiency and misery.
When there is satisfaction towards one's self, then you begin to feel and notice all that you have. And when you begin to realise all that you have, you are filled with gratitude towards existence that has given you so much.
Contentment towards oneself, and compassion towards others: give happiness and peace, whether others receive it from you or not, and don't worry or be discontented on that account -- it is your own affair. So keep it to yourself if you tried your best and could not relieve a person of his pain or suffering. Let it not dishearten you; don't reproach yourself, but maintain your contentment.
The words compassion and contentment are priceless; only change their direction and they become dangerous. If we are satisfied with our own lot we enjoy infinite peace and tranquility in life; we become wholly fulfilled. If we can be compassionate and sympathetic towards others, we shall wipe out poverty and misery. Kindness and compassion develop into a sense of service to others that fills you with prayer and worship, because it then becomes the path that leads to godliness.
If you are kind to others but dissatisfied with your own self, you will end up being a social worker; you will never become religious. If you are satisfied with yourself but have no compassion for others, you become a lifeless holy man. Having lost all that is precious and meaningful in life, such people run away to the jungles. They are satisfied with their own selves but without an iota of compassion. They succeed in finding their own happiness but they are the ultra-selfish people. If you look into their eyes there is no sign of pity, only a ruthless stare.
He who embodies both compassion and contentment -- in right proportion and direction -- attains the supreme comprehension of life. He will then know what religion is; he becomes truth incarnate. The ideal is: satisfaction within and compassion without; meditation within, love and kindness without.
Buddha describes a similar ideal utilizing the words compassion and wisdom: wisdom within, compassion without. Until such time that both of these are present, whatever the knowledge, it can only be false. The lack of either leaves knowledge incomplete.
By merely being compassionate to others you do not reach anywhere; you have to do something within yourself also. No matter how many difficulties you endure to serve the downtrodden and the sick, if you do not cultivate contemplation within, awaken your remembrance and meditate, you can reach nowhere.
Just as you walk on two feet and birds need two wings to fly, just as you need two eyes to get a proper view of the world that surrounds you, in the same manner you need two wings for the ultimate journey. The True Name, Courtesy Osho International Foundation, www.osho.com
Solitude is an attitude. A man who adopts an attitude of detachment towards the external environment is always in solitude. It is possible that despite being involved in all sorts of worldly activity, a person may maintain perfect equanimity. That’s solitude. Another may stay on a hilltop, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, yet he may not be able to experience serenity of mind. Therefore, even though this person is deludes him.
The state that transcends much better placed to experience peace of mind, solitude speech and thought is mouna; it is meditation, the total absence of mental activity. Overcoming the mind, said Ramana Maharshi, is meditation; but deep meditation is eternal speech. Silence is the perennial flow of ‘language’. It is interrupted by speaking; for words obstruct this mute language. It is quite possible that lecturers may keep the audience involved and amused for hours without transforming them. Silence, on the other hand, is permanent and benefits entire humanity in a subtle manner. One may therefore conclude that true silence is unceasing eloquence -- it is a state when words cease and powerful thoughts of the sage begin to penetrate the depths of the seeker, bringing about a change in his thought patterns.
Thought moves with tremendous velocity. Those who entertain sublime and pious thoughts help others who are in the vicinity and at a distance also. A saint who has overpowered his mind through meditation sends out into the world thoughts of harmony and peace. They travel with lightening speed in all directions and enter the minds of persons and produce in them also similar thoughts of harmony and peace. Whereas a worldly man who harbours thoughts of jealousy, revenge and hatred sends out discordant thoughts which are like wireless messages broadcast in ether, and are received by those whose minds respond to such negative vibrations.
According to the Maharshi, preaching is simple communication of language; it can really be done in silence only. A man, who after listening to a religious sermon for an hour, might go away without being even marginally influenced; he has wasted his time. In comparison, a man who sits in a holy presence and goes away after some time with his outlook on life radically changed, is much better off. Which is better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending out positive vibrations?
Again, how does speech arise? From abstract knowledge emanates the ego; this, in turn, gives rise to thought, and thought gives rise to the spoken word. So it would not be wrong to say that the word is the descendant of the original source. If the word can produce effect, consider how much more powerful must be preaching through silence? But most people do not understand this simple truth -- the truth of their everyday experience. Rather, they are eager to know what lies beyond, about heaven, hell and reincarnation.
We may conclude with the following words of Ramana Maharshi: “Those who have discovered great truths have done so in the still depths of the Self. But really there are no others to be helped. For the realised being sees only the Self, just as the goldsmith sees only gold while valuing it in various jewels made of gold. When you identify yourself with the body, name and form are there. But when you transcend body-consciousness, the ‘others’ also disappear. The realised one does not see the world as different from himself”.
