Bhagavad Gita 5.18

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śvapāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

 

“The wise see all with equal vision:

A learned sage, humble in disposition.

A cow, an elephant, a dog, an outcast.

All such bodily differences, they see past.”

 

My dear Lord, I can avoid causing so much pain and being subjected to so much retaliatory pain if I can just learn to see beyond my preconceptions and prejudices.

Help me, O Lord, to see that all human beings—indeed, all living beings, even non-human beings—are souls just like me. They are simply clothed in different temporary bodies.

At one level, I do need to consider their bodily identity and how it affects me. I cannot, after all, treat a cat and a tiger in the same way. But help me, O Lord, to also see them as they truly are—souls, who are precious parts of you—beyond how they affect me.

Guide me, my Lord, to help everyone as much as possible in their journey of spiritual evolution toward you, just as I strive to move ahead in my own journey. And if they are not ready for my help for some reason, let me not get hung up on that. Instead, let me continue in my own spiritual evolution while offering them my best wishes.

The more I desire and strive for the good of others, the more I can help decrease the strife in this world. And the more I cultivate a healthy consciousness and a pure heart, the more I can stay undistracted by people’s behavior as I progress toward you, the ultimate shelter for all.

***

05.18 The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].