Compassion

prācīnānāṁ bhajanam atulaṁ duṣkaraṁ śṛṇvato me

prācīnānāṁ bhajanam atulaṁ duṣkaraṁ śṛṇvato me
nairāśyena jvalati hṛdayaṁ bhakti-leśālasasya |
viṣvadrīcīm aghahara tavākarṇya kāruṇya-vīcīm
āśā-bindūkṣitam idam upaity antare hanta śaityam ||
(Stava-mālā: 1.16.2)

“Upon hearing of the unparalleled and difficult to perform bhajana of the ancients [i.e., Śuka, Ambarīṣa, and others], my heart burns with despair, as I am indolent about even a small amount of bhakti. Hanta! O Destroyer of Agha, upon hearing [however] of the waves of your compassion extending everywhere [i.e., from Brahmā down to even the most lowly], my heart feels within it a coolness moist with drops of hope.”

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ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo’rjuna

ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo’rjuna |
sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 6.32)

“One who sees everything equally in likeness to oneself, be it happiness or suffering, is considered a great yogī [i.e., a great yogī is one who sees the happiness and suffering of oneself and others as the same thing, desires happiness for all and suffering for no one, and is thus compassionate to all].”

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vaśam alpikayāpi sevayāmuṁ

vaśam alpikayāpi sevayāmuṁ
vihite’py āgasi duḥsahe smitāsyam |
para-duḥkha-lave’pi kātaraṁ me
harim udvīkṣya manas tanoti tṛṣṇām ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 10.4)

“Observing Hari captivated by even a little service, with a smiling face even when an intolerable offense is committed [against him], and distressed by even very slight suffering in another, my mind thirsts [for him].”

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tvam eva cātakādhāro’stīti keṣāṁ na gocaraḥ

tvam eva cātakādhāro’stīti keṣāṁ na gocaraḥ |
kim ambhoda-varāsmākaṁ kārpaṇyoktiṁ pratīkṣase ||
(Nīti-śatakam: 50)

“To whom is it not known that you alone are the support [“reservoir”] of the cātakas? So why, O dear cloud, do you wait for our expressions of deprivation [before showering rain upon us]?”

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ātmanaś ca parasyāpi yaḥ karoty antarodaram

ātmanaś ca parasyāpi yaḥ karoty antarodaram |
tasya bhinna-dṛśo mṛtyur vidadhe bhayam ulbaṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.26; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 106)

[Kapiladeva:] “I, Death, cause tremendous fear for [i.e., subject to saṁsāra] one of disunited vision who differentiates between one’s own belly and another’s.”

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hṛdayaṁ sadayaṁ yasya bhāṣitaṁ satya-bhūṣitam

hṛdayaṁ sadayaṁ yasya bhāṣitaṁ satya-bhūṣitam |
kāyaḥ para-hitopāyaḥ kaliḥ kurvīta tasya kim ||
(Vairāgya-śataka of Padmanandana)

“What can Kali do to one whose heart is compassionate, whose speech is adorned with truth, and whose body is an instrument for the well-being of others?”

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mahākāruṇya-mahimā purāṇo nitya-nūtanaḥ

mahākāruṇya-mahimā purāṇo nitya-nūtanaḥ |
tvadīyaḥ sac-cid-ānandas tasmai nityaṁ namo namaḥ ||
(Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava: Dainyārti-vijñāpanam, 14)

“Obeisance and obeisance forever unto that great, primordial, [yet] ever-new, real, conscious, and blissful power of your [i.e., Bhagavān’s] compassion.”

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aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī |
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.2.23; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.679; Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.29, 2.5.106; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 103; Bhakti Sandarbha: 337; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.98)

“Aho! In what compassionate person could we possibly take shelter other than he whom Bakī [i.e., Pūtanā] fed lethal poison on her breast with the intent to kill [him] and [yet still], although she was wicked, attained a position appropriate for a nurse?”

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