A common space for harmonic peacemakers

VI: 32

Chapter 6, Verse 32

"They are the greatest Yogis
Whose vision is always one.
The pleasure and pain of others
Are their own pleasure and pain."

Swami Satchidananda:

They feel the pain of others as their own and the pleasure of others as their own as well. They are able to put themselves in the shoes of the other. This is something that we should all aspire towards, because it breaks down the boundaries between us, boundaries which are illusory. This ability to put oneself in the shoes of another is the foundation of compassion.

Practicing the Golden Rule becomes automatic with this sensitivity. All bodies and minds are derived from the same Prakriti, the same elements of Nature of which their own bodies and minds are composed. With this liberating awareness, the sufferings and joys of others are felt as their own.

[At the same time, they are supremely detached, an amazing paradox. Otherwise, they would drown in feelings of being overwhelmed.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi:

Krishna uses the example of pleasure and pain to show that the pairs of opposites, and indeed the whole diversity of Creation, become integrated in the Yogis' vision. Theirs is a vision of Life in totality. To make such a vision comprehensible to ordinary consciousness, it may be compared to a father's even vision towards a variety of toys which, to the vision of his child's undeveloped consciousness, will present great differences.