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The elements of our activities in the Sammamish, WA., center are
Compassion, Arts & Culture, Realizing Human Potential, & Social
Harmony.
About five hundred and twenty two years ago, there was a micro
revolution simmering in the woods of Navadwip, Bengal, India.
This revolution was predominantly non-violent in nature. A
group of people led by their leader Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Bengal
was then governed by Pathans, and the governor of the province
was Nawab Hussain Shah. The Muslim magistrate of Navadvipa took
up the complaints of the brahmanas seriously, and at first he
warned the followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu not to chant loudly
the name of Hari. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked His followers to
disobey the orders of the Kazi, and they went on with their
sankirtana (chanting) party as usual. The magistrate then sent
constables who interrupted a sankirtana and broke some of the
mrdangas (drums). When Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard of this
incident He organized a party for civil disobedience. He is the
pioneer of the civil disobedience movement in India for the
right cause. He organized a procession of one hundred thousand
men with thousands of mrdangas and karatalas (hand cymbals), and
this procession passed over the roads of Navadvipa in defiance
of the Kazi who had issued the order. Finally the procession
reached the house of the Kazi, who went upstairs out of fear of
the masses. The great crowds assembled at the Kazi's house
displayed a violent temper, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked them
to be peaceful.
Compassion today means several things. According to Wikipedia,
Compassion is an understanding of the emotional state of another
or oneself. Not to be confused with empathy, compassion is often
combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of
another or to show special kindness to those who suffer.
However, compassion may lead an individual to feel empathy with
another person. Acts of kindness which seek primarily to confer
benefit rather than relieve existing pain and suffering are
better classified as acts of altruism.
In the context, material compassion, lamentation and tears are
all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the
eternal soul is a manifested quality of self-realization in an
individual. A compassionate sympathizer feels unhappiness for
the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally comes
before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of
going back to Godhead warning men not to make a false plan for
happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.
According to the prayers of Vasudeva Datta, "My dear Lord, You
incarnate just to deliver all conditioned souls. I now have one
petition, which I wish You would accept. My Lord, You are
certainly able to do whatever You like, and You are indeed
merciful. If You so desire, You can very easily do whatever You
want. My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all the
conditioned souls; therefore I request You to transfer the karma
of their sinful lives upon my head. My dear Lord, let me suffer
perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful
reactions of all living entities. Please finish their diseased
material life [through awarding them liberation from
suffering]." (from the Caitanya Charitamrita, Madhya-lila,
Chapter 15)
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