When I was small and along with friends about to play a cricket match, one of the first things we collectively would decide is the boundary line. If the place was limited or inaccessible, then certain spots would be declared 2-runs by default.
We grown ups do the same with our relationships too. There are people and I mean certain groups as a whole, certain sections of humanity as such which are either within or without the boundary. I distinctly remember one of the first conversations I had with someone in Kondadaba when I reached the place for my first year of practical training, way back in 2000. It was the one who regularly supplied the seminary with the chicken. Since the Brothers had not yet arrived, I went to shop (as directed by the cooks) and introduced myself. Since my name wasn't revealing any "affiliation" they gently stated that very many of the Brothers in the seminary were "their" people. I had no clue of what he was talking! After repeated and creative attempts and only when he realised that I wasn't getting what he wanted to know did he bluntly ask me, "What's your caste?"
The further the boundary we set by which we consciously or unconsciously exclude people is the better human beings we will be. Some set nationality, colour of the skin, or religion as the boundary. Greater are the souls who have extended the boundary beyond human beings to include animals (if not all, at least most) within one's relationship circle. I'm not talking of those who love animals more than human beings, but of those who love animals as much as all human beings! The greatest see no boundary at all.
We celebrate today the feast of St Francis of Assissi, one of the rare gems of humanity who saw no boundaries at all in relating to the world.
We grown ups do the same with our relationships too. There are people and I mean certain groups as a whole, certain sections of humanity as such which are either within or without the boundary. I distinctly remember one of the first conversations I had with someone in Kondadaba when I reached the place for my first year of practical training, way back in 2000. It was the one who regularly supplied the seminary with the chicken. Since the Brothers had not yet arrived, I went to shop (as directed by the cooks) and introduced myself. Since my name wasn't revealing any "affiliation" they gently stated that very many of the Brothers in the seminary were "their" people. I had no clue of what he was talking! After repeated and creative attempts and only when he realised that I wasn't getting what he wanted to know did he bluntly ask me, "What's your caste?"
The further the boundary we set by which we consciously or unconsciously exclude people is the better human beings we will be. Some set nationality, colour of the skin, or religion as the boundary. Greater are the souls who have extended the boundary beyond human beings to include animals (if not all, at least most) within one's relationship circle. I'm not talking of those who love animals more than human beings, but of those who love animals as much as all human beings! The greatest see no boundary at all.
We celebrate today the feast of St Francis of Assissi, one of the rare gems of humanity who saw no boundaries at all in relating to the world.
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