“Having equal vision means you don’t see anybody as low or high. To you both thief and police officer are equal. You don’t see the superficial. The Self of the thief is the same as that of the police officer. Something is playing the part of the thief, and that same something is playing the part of the police officer. Because the sage is rooted in the Self, they see both as Self. So, for the sage, they are equal.
This explains the Biblical commandment, “Love your neighbor as your Self.” It doesn’t say, “Love only your good neighbor as your Self,” or “Love your neighbor who has the same label. If he’s Catholic, love him. If she’s Protestant, throw stones at her.” No. It simply says, “your neighbor.” And who is your neighbor? The one sitting next to you now, or in the next room, the next house, or the next town. Everyone close to you is your neighbor.
But how to love your neighbor as your own Self? You have to see your Self in that person. Otherwise, you can’t love them as your own Self. How can you see your Self in another if you don’t know your Self? Suppose I say, “Here’s a banana. Please see the banana that you had yesterday in this banana.” To do that you should have had a banana yesterday in order to know what a banana is. Only then will you recognize one and the other as the same. If I don’t know what a banana is, I can’t say this one is the same as the other, and I love his as I loved the other banana.
The clue here is to know your Self and then see your Self in your neighbour. Then love them as you love your Self. That’s why someone who has realized Self will always have equal vision based on that Self or that spirit. A Divine-realized person will see nothing but Divinity everywhere, even though that Divinity may be clothed in different forms and using different names. That’s why Lord Krishna says that whether it’s a dog or an outcast or a great spiritual person, it’s all the same to a person of wisdom.
How can we truly come together? Only with this spiritual knowledge—not by mental, physical or financial knowledge. We can never find oneness in any of these areas, no in the name of a country, race, creed, community, money or education. They only way to see everybody equally is in that divine vision. The we see the same truth coloured different ways.
I’m stressing the point here because we often talk about unity, oneness and harmony. But true harmony can be experienced only by realizing spirit and seeing that spirit in everybody. In all other areas we see differences. Such harmony won’t last long. When people dress the same way or speak the same language, they in a sort of harmony. But if somebody speaks a different language, they are seen as different. It’s not universal harmony then. There ’s only one universal truth. That’s the great advantage of realizing one’s own true Self.”
— Sri Swami Satchidananda, The Living Gita
PS.
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