<p class="bodytext">In a polarised and fractious world where human rights are trampled and liberties are withheld with impunity, we either turn a blind eye or our disapproval, at best, is muted. We are caught up in our limited selves with our ambitions and concerns. Our moral indifference to the existence of fellow beings, our denial of their humanity, is a betrayal of our own. There is a beautiful emotion, Sahridayata, or a shared feeling, an empathy that puts us in the place of the suffering with their vulnerabilities. Empathy is the voice that says, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sadri Shrazi, the Persian poet’s luminous verses that now stand at the entrance of the UN headquarters in New York, woven into a large handmade carpet, say, “When time affects us with pain/ In one part of that body/ All the other parts feel it too/ If you fail to feel the pain of others, you do not deserve the name of man.” According to the Mahabharata, empathy is the foundation of Dharma, and Atmaupamyena is the attitude of treating the joys and sorrows of others as our own, and he who does that is the paramayogi.</p>.The world pays for the wealth of a few.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese philosopher Confucius says, “The wheel of fortune turns incessantly, and who can say within himself, ‘I shall today be uppermost?’” To the extent possible, it is incumbent on us in the name of humanity to wipe a tear or put a smile back and make a life more meaningful. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Our capacity to look away when confronted with enormous injustice and suffering, society’s acceptance of inequality is inexcusable. Empathy is a combination of goodness and compassion, the commitment to listen to other voices, the capacity to have trust in the basic goodness of every person and understanding of their failings. It begins with people around us, the less privileged, with leaders who have to lead with empathy and build trust. Yehuda Bauer, a Holocaust historian, says, “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator; thou shalt not be a bystander.” The bystander is held accountable alongside the perpetrator for crimes against humanity; he is the collective conscience of the world for the weak and powerless.</p>
<p class="bodytext">In a polarised and fractious world where human rights are trampled and liberties are withheld with impunity, we either turn a blind eye or our disapproval, at best, is muted. We are caught up in our limited selves with our ambitions and concerns. Our moral indifference to the existence of fellow beings, our denial of their humanity, is a betrayal of our own. There is a beautiful emotion, Sahridayata, or a shared feeling, an empathy that puts us in the place of the suffering with their vulnerabilities. Empathy is the voice that says, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sadri Shrazi, the Persian poet’s luminous verses that now stand at the entrance of the UN headquarters in New York, woven into a large handmade carpet, say, “When time affects us with pain/ In one part of that body/ All the other parts feel it too/ If you fail to feel the pain of others, you do not deserve the name of man.” According to the Mahabharata, empathy is the foundation of Dharma, and Atmaupamyena is the attitude of treating the joys and sorrows of others as our own, and he who does that is the paramayogi.</p>.The world pays for the wealth of a few.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese philosopher Confucius says, “The wheel of fortune turns incessantly, and who can say within himself, ‘I shall today be uppermost?’” To the extent possible, it is incumbent on us in the name of humanity to wipe a tear or put a smile back and make a life more meaningful. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Our capacity to look away when confronted with enormous injustice and suffering, society’s acceptance of inequality is inexcusable. Empathy is a combination of goodness and compassion, the commitment to listen to other voices, the capacity to have trust in the basic goodness of every person and understanding of their failings. It begins with people around us, the less privileged, with leaders who have to lead with empathy and build trust. Yehuda Bauer, a Holocaust historian, says, “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator; thou shalt not be a bystander.” The bystander is held accountable alongside the perpetrator for crimes against humanity; he is the collective conscience of the world for the weak and powerless.</p>
