Shiva and Compassion

August 16, 2008 Kamala Amma's Grace

Dearest Friends and Family,

More unfortunate news on Shiva.  About 2 weeks ago,  we got a desperate call from Amar Seva Sangham.  Shiva was behaving despicably.  They wanted him out at the earliest.  They were consulting us, as we had been providing funds, and so they wanted our input…I spoke to Shiva, he spoke as though he was entirely innocent and knew nothing of what was going on.  I told him I didn’t know what to do.

It is not possible to accomodate him here, he had blown his chances for  education….at least he picked up the skill of tailoring.  If he ever decides to carry on a simple decent life he has the means now to do so.  This is only due to the grace and efforts of those angels at Amar Seva Sangham.

Then, before he could be sent, he stole some things, and tried to hide them.  A cell phone.  He took a key and opened a locked place where money is kept, took the money.  Took some jewellries that they make there and a book, some cloth…he called some contact on the phone, then buried it behind a building….not good.  When he was confronted, he managed to run away.  A police search ensued, he was found near the Kerala border.  He was held for one day, while ASS consulted with us as to what to do.

Others in our group wanted him to be released and sent on his way.  Neither Link nor I think this is good.  If there had been repentance for stealing, OK, its over, go on your way, start a new life.  But, there was none.  Among other things, we wrote a letter back to them with this paragraph in it which explains our stance:

“While we admire your compassionate stance,  we truthfully are not sure if this type of compassion will help him to reform himself.  As of late, Amma has told some people to press charges against those who have done crimes against them.  It may be that , as a whole, the good people on this earth have been too compassionate with evil and mischief minded people.  We have only to see the state of the earth to see that this is true – senseless wars, bullies in offices….I am very concerned that without rehabilitation Shiva may go in a very wrong direction…young people are the hired gunmen of different political parties, etc.  I recall him saying one night that he had two sides…I do not know how he can be reformed, I am afraid to let someone loose who has no conscience when it comes to stealing, lying and disrespecting people…” from our email to them Aug. 9/08.

I found this quote from Abdul Baha ( I just LOVE Abdul Baha) regarding the use of compassion:

“O ye beloved of the Lord!  The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion and kindness to every living soul.  Strive ye then with all your heart to treat compassionately all humankind – except for those who have some selfish, private motive or some disease of the soul.  Kindness cannot be shown to the tyrant, the deceiver, or the thief, because, far from awakening them to the error of their ways, it maketh them to continue in their perversity as before.l  No matter how much kindliness ye may expend upon the liar, he will but lie the more, for he believeth you to be deceived, while ye understand him but too well, and only remain silent out of your extreme compassion.” ( Paine, M.H. (compiler) (2006). The Divine Art of Living, Selections from the writings of Baha’u’llah, the Bab, and Abdu’l-Baha:76  Baha’i Publishing, Wilmette, Illinois.)

Well, there is not much more we can do.  We are not Amma, who has the capacity to tolerate theives, and take whatever good they do, and bless their souls with that.  Having no such capacity, we have had to distance ourselves from him entirely.  For those who are associating with him, we wanted to make our stance known.  We can have nothign more to do with Shiva, as there are too many innocent people around us whom he could violate.  They also need to be protected. OM.

Loving you,

Kamala Aunty