This factor together with empathic living needs to be the hallmark of the21st century. It is the distinguishing mark of a spiritually mature society. Compassion and empathy flowing out of the stream of love meet at the crossroads of spirituality and psychology. Psychology primarily deals with a healthy intra-psychic self and relationships among human beings. Spirituality primarily deals with the human destiny in relation to divine plan for humans. This does not mean spirit life does not enter into the lives of all including non-believers in an Ultimate Uncaused Cause or Supreme Being. For a believer in God spirituality should direct everything in human affairs. Even a non-believer in God who substitutes whatever in the place of God needs to be led by the spirit. A sound mind/psyche resides in a sound body; a sound body and mind facilitate sound spiritual life. A healthy spiritual life can take place even when the physical health is bad due to diseases or disabilities. To me a human is called to partake in divine life. The more human one is the more divine one can be; and the more whole one is the holier one can be; the destiny of humanity is divinity. Humanity meets at the threshold of divinity and gets transformed or subsumed into divinity. Why do I broach humanity and divinity at some length? Because compassion coming from the Latin cum patior (to suffer with) is typically a divine or God-like virtue. Human growth and development need to blossom into compassion and empathy. Empathy is a very important concept in psychology and psychotherapy. Compassion is more of a spiritual concept. Compassion in a way goes beyond empathy. In empathy one places oneself in the other person's shoes - in the other person's predicament or life's situation to understand the person fully, to think and feel that person's thoughts and feelings, to breathe that person's life. In compassion one does what one does in empathy and some more. Doing something about what one thinks about and feels for in empathy results in compassion. In other words, empathy paves the way to compassion. Jesus Christ had compassion on the multitude of people who followed him. It is reported that he worked a miracle and fed them out of compassion. Buddha had compassion for humanity so much so, in spite of achieving nirvana, he stayed in the world as Bodhisatwa to help people become what he became, that is, to achieve nirvana or liberation. Gandhi tried to live the life style of the overwhelming majority of Indians who were poor at his time out of solidarity and compassion. People who looked after him, though, quipped that it was expensive to keep him in poverty !

             All humanity needs to float in an ocean of compassion where each one's pain, abuse, mistreatment, disappointment, sorrow, and frustration become everyone else's hurt and sadness. Compassion is the only way to the unity of humanity. Compassionate relating is the top-most rung in the ladder that connects humanity and divinity. Compassion melts our ego (aham), releases the divine energy within us, and manifests our common destiny as pilgrims in this world to the Godhead. While we have a long way to this goal we need to do everything in our power to muster all our energy to charge each cell of our being with compassionate relating to reach our worthy goal, that is, one constant, relentless compassionate relating.