23 Apr 2008 —
Question
Q55: Compassion, Detachment or Discrimination?
Question 55:
“For you, what is the ideal spiritual attitude towards the matters of the world: compassion, detachment or discrimination?”
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To post your answer, click on ‘Add Comment’.
Please, contemplate on the question first, and make your answer brief and clear.
For this world…
I must always, at all times show compassion…for this is my Dharma.
I must always be detached by living in this world, but by Not being of this world….for this is my Dharma.
I must always have in place my Shradda or discrimination…for this is my Dharma.
Blessed Amma has shown me what is correct behaviour and how to live in this world. Now it is up to me to do it. I am at your feet Amma.
Detachment is the ideal spiritual attitude towards the matter of world. Once you have realized your innserself you find happiness within yourself and this world seems as you are viewing a picture. We see, enjoy, feel sad but that is all outwardly because we are not entangled in all the happenings.
I had never thought about this. Maybe, in the future I should consciously try to use my discrimination (right or wrong? Compassion would be part of this). I have to work on making compassion, detached – something I don’t do well.
Compassion with Discrimination and Detachment…
Amma sets an ideal example for us: SHE is showering HER COMPASSION on each & every matter in the universe because she is DETACHED from all feelings like My Body, My family, My Job, My Bank Balance. In addition to that, AMMA has applied Her Intellect to DISCRIMINATE between eternal & evanescent principles. Thus SHE is showing us that DISCRIMINATION [ VIVEKA ] leads to DETACHMENT which finally makes us Embodiment of COMPASSION. AMMA Herself is DISCRIMINATION-DETACHMENT-COMPASSION Incarnate. Let us try to emulate HER Divine qualities.
In my eyes, the world is crying for compassion, for true compassion though a Selfless One. Discrimination and detachment are also part of the same path towards compassion.
I can`t see true compassion or real detachment without perfect discrimination. To obtain right discrimination i think we have to aproach life in a compassioned and detached attitude. The final state must be compassion, for real compassion has perfect discrimination and is perfectly detached. Good question!
In this world, for this life:
I must always have compassion for all, to matter how they treat you, knowing that their lives are not as easy as they might seem.
I must have detatchment for the results of actions. I must try my hardest, then just let go, and surrender to God.
I must have discrimination to see what choices I should make, and to choose between right and wrong.
ALL these qualities Amma exemplifies. Amma is the embodiment of these three qualities. And to Amma we must look, in order to try to embody these qualities.
True compassion requires complete purity and this is difficult to have or claim that we have. Detachment often means ‘fighting attachment’, which is a struggle. Perfect discrimination requires maturity. All 3 are VERY high ideals to live by.
Now, to come down at the level of practical life in order to answer the question, for me, discimination would be the best attitude to try to keep while dealing with daily matters. Shraddha is what Amma asks us for, which is a mixture of awareness (discrimination) and caring for what we do (compassion). Detachment would come naturally with this.
Equal Importance to each. Compassion fills our heart through the way we walk in spirituality. Discrimination is needed for knowing what to take in and what to neglect. Detachment will be reached at last, leading to the first step…
First there is discrimination, then when you know what is good or not there is detachment so you can leave what you don’t need and then there is compassion for the people who are still trying to find happiness without discrimination and detachment so you can give them a hand.
The first spiritual attitude according to me is gaining detachment (vairagya),the feeling of mine, Iam the doer,etc.,which is most difficult to attain in the present materialistic world.Once you are detached ,we can clearly discriminate between good or bad and we are ultimately filled with compassion towards the entire creation ,like our amma,who is always guiding us to attain all the three.
these are big words. i would like to hear Amma explain each of these words. i sense they are much like the word mind, in that much is lost in translation from East to West. i sense they are much fuller than my understanding and they are words to be used like baloons that are to be filled with the essence of being until they rupture the container that releases into formlessness.???
Perhaps, Discrimination with the awareness of goal is the ideal one. With this, we will know when to be compassionate and in which circumstances we should be detached.
Bcoz i have heard in satsangs that we cannot understand spirituality with intellect / mind. But that the first step to understand is with mind only – as we dwell in mind, so we turn it the other way and come to our own SELF with discrimination.
After this we need to practice compassion and detachment. Later the three qualities will become spontaneous.
I think compassion and detachment are both very important. I dont think I understand what you mean by discrimination. Without love, the world will not go on. You need to be detached to have compassion. That’s when you put others before you and that is very important in spirituality. The purpose of spirituality is to reach God and that is to have love and be completly detached of everything.
Compassion for the poor and the needy,
Dispassion to all extroverted passions,
Discrimination between the Real and the ever-changing world …
Once we have developed discrimination, that is, performing our daily actions with the right attitude, it will lead into detachment, and detachment will naturally turn into compassion.
they aren’t different things, just different names our minds have assigned to the same thing, because that “thing” is just too big for the mind to wrap itself around. so we break it up into parts to manage it. but practice one and the others follow, so just pick one and get started. no time to waste wondering about which one is “better”.
I’ve seen Amma be intensely compassionate in certain circumstances and completely detached in others – I think the answer is that compassion and detachment are both needed, and then discrimination is needed to determine which of the two attitudes is appropriate in which circumstance.. …. I am still struggling with all three..
My feeling is that Spiritual life is a combination of Compassion, Detachment and Discrimination…. and of course Amma’s grace….
we all need the discrimination to see the eternal truth in everything and get detached from the changing external appearances so that our passion for certain people and things based on the external appearances turns into compassion for all, based on the One Truth-God shining in all. .
To explain about something, one has to realize it through experience. Or he/she should be the creator. I am on the process to understand and realize about Compassion, Detachment and Discrimination, and hence I am nowhere around to give you a clear answer. What I understood is all these are interdependent. Only Amma and realized souls can give a firm answer. Amma Sharanam.
the ideal spiritual attitide is sakshi bhava…..flowing with the river…but not get immerged…………but the truly enlightened plays out the role of sakshi bhava with compassion “vishwa prema”……….
I was thinking about this question all these days and understand that Compassion, Detachment and Discrimination are the products of Heart, Soul and Intellect. Amma Sharanam
For me all three valuable qualities are equally important and i would like to inculcate all three in equal quantities within myself. These three qualities together transcendes a human to divinity. A person who has all these going together within a completely a balanced person who cannot do anything wrong. Compassion will give love extended beyond this little self, detachment will give equality to all extending not only to humans but to plants, trees, mountains, animals and insects too and discrimination will never allow us to be wrong in our action and deeds.
All three are useful. We must be compassionate towards one another, we must be detached from possessions, and we must discriminate between our dharma and losing our path.
i heard Amma say in Her satsang on Amrita TV that we should develop a discriminating mind ..a mind that is alert and performs every action with the awareness that there is God in everything. this will make us bow to all of nature and be aware of our blessings ..i think once we develop this attitude qualities like humility, compassion will follow and the mind will gradually become more and more attached to God and slowly detatch itself from all other worldly attachments.
All three are equally important and relative also. I think discrimination and datachment are more ideal spiritual attitude towards the matters of the world. First we must have the discrimination power to identify the nature of world ie what is Real and What is unreal. For permanent happiness we have to depend on the Eternal Truth (changeless) that is our Pure self. With such discrimination, detachement to worldly objects comes automatically. Of course, compassion should be a part of our life too, like Amma.
Detachment is the ideal spiritual attitude. slowly detatch from all other worldly attachments and become more and more attached to God. We must be compassionate towards one another and doing selfless service.