Recently, working my way through the Gita (again), the following Sloka stopped me: “The yogi who perceives the essential oneness everywhere naturally feels the pleasure or pain of others as his or her own.” (Chapter Six, Sloka 32)
Satchidananda elaborates on this: "Having achieved that state of perception, you feel others’ pain as your own pain, others’ pleasure as your own pleasure. You put yourself in the others’ place. It’s like saying, ‘Do unto others as you would want done to yourself.’ " (In The Living Gita. The Complete Bhagavad Gita. A Commentary for Modern Readers, by Sri Swami Satchidananda, p. 93)
How can we do this – feel others’ pain / pleasure as our own – while at the same maintaining the equanimity that Patanjali’s sutras ask of us? How can we stand as observers to the world, if it touches us this profoundly? I look forward to reading your thoughts on this.
Thank you, as always. Blessings, Hamsa