How to be Compassionate, as told by a Hindu Monk

Swami Dayananda Saraswati: The Profound Journey of Compassion

Swami Dayananda Saraswati is an old Hindu monk (living since August 1930), who talks about how to be compassionate through the state of a new-born baby, how it grows up, oneness, empathy, love, our limits as human beings, and in the end, simply have to "fake it to make it".  He starts off in a slow, yet wise voice, giving power to his words and allowing the audience to take in everything that he says.  He talks about how a new-born baby is completely helpless and at the mercy of its parents.  It has to trust them completely, and assumes that the bond between them will not be violated.  Yet, when that same bound is broken, the child has no one but themselves to blame, which contributes to the problem of not being able to be compassionate.  The next step is being compassionate is to be self-aware and big, centered on yourself but not having lots of money or social status, just yourself, which seems a little confusing at first.  Then he solves the problem that was created before, and explains that no one person is perfect, we all mess up, we all make mistakes, and that the kind of person who you are trying to be, that very happiness, is actually right inside of you, you embody all of that.  He explains that to be compassionate, you actually have to act it out, just like you can't learn to swim unless you actually get in the water and start paddling.  Then he ends by explaining that you have to "fake it to make it".  You cannot become compassionate all at once, you have to try to be compassionate, forgiving, ect.  Over time, you will eventually recieve that one abillity you were always searching for.

I feel that although the means to become compassionate do not agree with mine, this was an extremely interesting video.  I completely agree with the fact that you do have to "fake it to make it", because no one can learn something all at once, and you have to supplement for it. 

To watch more inspiring TED Talks, go to: http://www.ted.com/talks