SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 14 Text 4
sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita

sarva-yonisu--in all species of life; kaunteya--O son of Kunti; murtayah--forms; sambhavanti--they appear; yah--which; tasam--of all of them; brahma--the supreme; mahat yonih--source of birth in the material substance; aham--I; bija-pradah--the seed-giving; pita--father.

TRANSLATION

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

JOURNAL:

This morning I listened to a talk by His Holiness Romapada Swami (Portland, Oregon, May 3, 2011) in which he makes many good points about compassion and how to develop it. If one takes the above sloka to heart and realizes that God is the father of all living entities he will naturally develop compassion for them.

I struggle with these ideas when I allow anger and frustration to enter my life which, in turn, leads me to think in terms of "us and them"; a dangerous trap for me to fall into. I have to remember that he may be my enemy but he is still God's son; she may be my wife but she is still God's daughter. At these times I need to cry out to Krishna and ask for Him to soften my heart and allow me to see Him in all those around me.