Truth, Love And Compassion

Truth, Love And Compassion — Truth, love and compassion are three principles in which all faiths are founded and which none can speak against. If we abide by these, we have imbibed the basic teaching of all religions. Truth instils fearlessness. Where there is love, there is always sacrifice. If there is compassion, there can be no violence. Fearlessness, sacrifice and nonviolence all lead to internal and external peace. Morari Bapu likens truth to childhood; in its youth, truth is called love. When love matures it takes the form of compassion. Again, compassion will then become innocent as a child, and the cycle returns to truth. This threefold aphorism, truth, love and compassion, is the fundamental principle of life.

To uphold the principle of truthfulness, says Bapu, one must have truth in thought speech and action. However, it is equally important not to be obdurate about one’s own version of truth, such that we refuse to accept what another might consider the truth. Rather, we must respect one another; we must respect the truth of others. Every religion has its own version of truth, but followers should not insist that theirs is the only truth. Furthermore, while truth can be obtained from a scripture, supreme truth can only be attained with guidance from an evolved master who is himself the embodiment of compassion. Bapu likens truth to a tree, whose fruits are love, and compassion is the embodiment of the tree’s shade.

The second principle, love, says Bapu, is necessary for internal purification, a fluid that is able to remove any negativity that might exist in our minds. Some say that the separation of two individuals who love each other leads to instant death, as with Dasaratha in the Ramayana, but Bapu reasons that love is nectar and one cannot die of nectar. Rather, love is the life force, leading to salvation. Jesus Christ said that love itself is God, and Lao Tsu advocated a life of simplicity to attain a happy existence, and claimed his first wealth to be love. The virtue of charity and giving, whether this be sharing knowledge, food, even ideas, as well as total surrender, are all necessary conditions of love. Supreme love is also beyond the three gunas of satva, rajas and tamas, for these three qualities bind together. Love, on the contrary, should grant total freedom; bonds and conditions cannot exist where there is real love.

Rather than trying to change others, let us be open and accepting, by drawing on compassion. It is through our conduct rather than speech that compassion is conveyed, it is through the eyes that it is expressed, and kindness and generosity are firm principles to which compassion is devoted. While Rama signifies truth and Krishna is the epitome of love, compassion is equal to Shankar, to Mahadev. Just as Bharat’s words in the Ramayana were full of integrity even when he was going through the most testing situations, so also should our speech be filled with goodness. Our duty is truth, the fact that we are still enduring is because of our love and now as we start practising compassion, our life will be filled with all three.

The Supreme Being, whom we may call Ishwar, Allah, Jesus, or any other name, is nothing but truth and love. The Supreme Being is also compassion. As true seekers, let us uphold these three – truth, love and compassion.