June Gītā: 2.11

Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
prajñā vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
gat'āsūn agat'āsūṁś ca
n'ānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ 

‘‘Though you speak wisely you show sorrow when there’s no need. The wise grieve not for the dead or the living.’
Bhagavad Gītā 2.11

This very difficult verse is said to be the beginning of Krishna’s teaching. Do not grieve for the living or the dead. How can that be? Sorrow comes naturally when we see or hear someone else’s suffering. I don’t think the Gita is telling us to un-empathetic rather to accept that pain and suffering come to everyone and that often, if not always, it is out of our control. Krishna says this is how the wise operate. A pandit, a word with limited meaning in English but in the Gita a pandit is described as someone who sees everyone equally. So this is our first step, to reduce our own ego likes and dislikes so that we can go beyond the name and form of each person and begin to see just the soul. Only with a practice filled with devotion and compassion will we realise what is already happening. Have no fear.