It’s not until we learn to see ourselves and others with equal vision that we can begin to establish peace. Separatism, “I am this and you are that,” creates much of the reason for hate, animosity and intolerance. Not until we see our own humanity in others, our own love in others, our own self and our own pain in others, will our own suffering come to an end.
The vision of the sages
In the Bhagavad Gita (5.18), Krishna teaches that the humble sage, through true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste.
Yogic adepts don’t see what you present to them, some egoic sense of identity. They seek the truth of your being. Because they have spent so much time in meditation, getting in tune with their own true self, a pure and untainted state of consciousness, it is easy for them to see the real, pure, untainted you.
Your job is to clear yourself
Ram Dass taught that if somebody is a problem for you, it’s not that they should change; it’s that you need to change. If they’re a problem for themselves, that’s their karma. But if they’re causing you trouble, that’s your work. He pointed to Christ on the cross, saying “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” His persecutors weren’t a problem for him, because he was clear. Your job, Ram Dass said, is to clear yourself.
Looking deeper
Racism is ugly, so we have to look deeper, within ourselves, to make sure. Do I relate to others based on the body they were born into, or do I see them as a spirit soul in a body? Do I judge people by their vehicle, the armor around the soul? By their birthplace, their upbringing, the way they dress? Or do I see the spirit inside, the same essence in every one of us, simply covered in more or fewer layers of one color or another? Do I fully accept everyone as they are, understanding that they are not the covering I see?
Green mangoes
Srila Prabhupada often compared spiritual practitioners to mangoes, some ripe and some still green. As long as a mango is green, it tastes sour. We can compare the remnants of racism, and subtler prejudice, this identification with the body, to that sour taste. The sourness of the green mango is a sign of immaturity and of the growth still to come. As the fruit ripens, the sourness disappears and it releases its sweet nectar.
Let our intention be to seek within, so that when we look outward, we see with equal vision. This is how we cut through the veil of illusion that binds us to suffering.
