Since my last post about Parikarma Maitri, I have been realizing the wisdom of this yogic teaching: how it can be liberating to let go of the resentment that we harbor; to take more opportunities to be happy even if that happiness is someone else’s. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate what we have and what others have; to partake of joy not of our own making! Another concept relating to Parikarma is that of Parikarma Karuna.
What is Parikarma Karuna?
The parikarmas are described as ‘purifications’ or ‘embellishments’ that a yogi must strive to achieve. If maitri is about cultivating a friendly nature and regarding the good fortune of others with joy and equanimity, Parikarma Karuna is about developing the positive trait of compassion and empathy towards others. In particular this is about acknowledging the problems of those less fortunate than us.
One can see in the portraits of the great saints and yogis – their expression of sympathy and understanding. According to one legend of a thinker and saint, he rescued even a scorpion from drowning – even though he knew that the poisonous creature may sting and cause grave harm. It is this sense of compassion that we can hope to emulate.
How to inculcate Parikarma Karuna
Lord Buddha explained karuna as the quivering of the heart – this is very close to the western concept of the heart being “moved” or spurred to do something positive. This quivering of the heart or sympathy should ideally translate into action as well. It is not enough that we can empathize with the suffering of others we should also be moved enough to do something about it. Helping the less fortunate in any way possible, taking action on behalf of the powerless and disenfranchised… these should all be what we strive for in order that we may better ourselves and work towards being more complete human beings.
Personally we can do much to inculcate the virtue of Karuna in ourselves. When we see someone in suffering, we could try and place ourselves in their situation and try to visualize the situation from their perspective. Even if that person has done something that you think is wrong, you should try to examine why they did what they did. Empathy goes a long way towards helping us understand the motivations of others. From understanding comes forgiveness and from there comes the desire and the ability to help. I plan to examine other facets of Parikarma in days to come; stay tuned.