The Compassion Imperative (2020)

The Compassion Imperative Studies on Public Compassion No. 4, August 2020 Reprint Series The Compassion Impera�ve Commentaries of Our Times Xavier Centre for New Humani�es and Compassion Studies Xavier University Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 3

The Compassion Imperative Studies on Public Compassion Exploring Theory and Praxis Humanity is going through a challenging �me, socially, culturally, ecologically and spiritually. No doubt we have grown and advanced a great deal and have achieved many great feats. But our focus on just material growth has also become a monstrous challenge, for it deeply harms our humanity. Even as we celebrate the gli�ering temples of affluence and consump�on, modernity has also sca�ered the globe with empires of inequality, cruelty and slavery and sites of suspicion, prejudice, conflicts, wars, pain and death. All these scar us deeply – physically, socio-culturally, psychologically, and spiritually – nudging us to take serious note and act. Our individual and collec�ve futures are dangerously at stake. And, there is a ba�le within, as well as without, to reclaim the compassionate human spirit. Specifically, the many contexts of human cruelty and suffering we are in today put an urgent demand on us in the academia to reclaim the ‘human’ in humani�es (and the ‘social’ in social sciences). In this effort to reclaim the ‘human’, the role of ins�tu�ons of higher learning, like Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB), is very important. They offer dynamic, dialogic and nurturing spaces to influence and to shape the human spirit, directly or indirectly shaping genera�ons of young people and their delicate futures to public causes and wellbeing. What we need today must include research studies, interroga�on of our taken-for-granted world(s), hear�ul commentaries, analyses, charters, reports, poems, photos, pathways to solu�ons, case studies, etc that offer learning encounters and opportuni�es to understand the human condi�on in all its aspects. We need theory in ac�on. This reprint series is a small effort to disseminate knowledge produced by like-minded organisa�ons or ins�tu�ons that help us to be�er understand ourselves, our socie�es, our ecologies and the impact of our decisions. We need solu�ons as well as proposals for solu�ons for deep transforma�on. And through this, we can build a world where challenges to our common humanity can be overcome and where public compassion can be nurtured for universal Common Good. Studies on Public Compassion reprint series is a project of the Xavier Centre for New Humani�es and Compassion Studies. Published by Xavier University Press, Bhubaneswar August 2020 Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 4

The Compassion Imperative The Compassion Impera�ve Commentaries of Our Times Conrad Saldanha Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 5

The Compassion Imperative About The Compassion Impera�ve In this collec�on of commentaries there is a hear�ul a�empt to look at the existen�al situa�on which we are going through today and understand its underpinnings. The commentaries leaves us with an urgent need for public compassion, locally and globally. Permission to Reprint Permission to reprint was approved by the author of the commentaries through an email message dated 20th July 2020. These commentaries (as well as others) have originally been published on Medium: h�ps://medium.com/@conrad.saldanha About the Author Conrad Saldanha is a writer, trainer, mentor, educa�onist and consultant. He is con�nuously seeking connec�ons between different fields of knowledge in his a�empt to gain insights into the flow of life. He firmly believes that “Seeing” is the essence of life. How we ‘See’ life determines how we live, interact and be in this world. Cover Photo Photos in this booklet has been sourced from www.pixabay.com. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 6

The Compassion Imperative Making Sense of the Commentaries Wherever we look in the theatre of our lives, we see that we are experiencing war. From the micro-wars within ourselves, our families, our society, to the macro-wars waged by man against the environment and by technology against man, to the wars between countries, religions, and cultures. We have reached a stage where we cannot but help see life as being adversarial. We have split ourselves into mind and body. We have created categories based on this split. White collar vs. Blue collar. Strategic thinkers vs. Implementers. We have split nature and man and pi�ed one against the other. We are now figh�ng technology to retain our humanity. Religions have created fundamentalists. Either for us or against us. This Either - Or conundrum needs to be urgently replaced by a Both/And perspec�ve. This will bring about a respect for the other. We need to reframe the enemy as an opponent. In this context we need to love our enemies. Because they create the fric�on that is necessary to bring out the truth of ourselves and our poten�al. They make us authen�c. We need to listen to one another. We need to realise that I and the other are part of the same reality. We are human beings first before we are any of the other reali�es which we try to iden�fy ourselves with. Only then can we create space for compassion for one another realising that both I and the other are suffering. Through deep listening we can help alleviate this suffering in one another. As Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk said “Compassion is a mind that removes the suffering that is present in the other.” The paradigm through which we see life will then no longer be adversarial but inclusive. There is an impera�ve for showing compassion otherwise life will implode. We need to listen with empathy and act with concern. In this collec�on of Essays there is an a�empt to look at the existen�al situa�on which we are going through and understand its underpinnings and therefore the urgent need for Compassion. Contact Author Feel free to send your comments to the author at [email protected] The commentaries in this booklet and others have originally been published on Medium. More at: h�ps://medium.com/@conrad.saldanha Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 7

The Compassion Imperative Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 8

The Compassion Imperative We Need to Listen We need to listen to understand; listen to see; listen to alleviate suffering. Discussion vs. Dialogue In classical La�n ‘discutere’, which is the root for discussion, means \"strike asunder, break up\". Later on it evolved into “to examine”, “to inves�gate” and then “to debate”. So a discussion involves breaking a topic into its parts in order to understand it be�er. It comes from a linear thinking mind-set of reducing the whole into its components. Discussion is therefore associated with breaking down and construc�ng. While dialogue emerges from the Greek ‘dia’ which means ‘through’ and ‘logos’ which refers to that which gives meaning to the whole of life. So a dialogue results in meaning flowing through a conversa�on among people. This meaning will not emerge if people are not respected and listened to. Dialogue comes from a systems thinking mindset. Where interac�ons and process are more important. The whole is more important than the parts. Dialogue is therefore associated with integra�ng and crea�ng. Discussion Focusses on Aggressive Persuasion; Dialogue on Deep Listening. More o�en than not we are involved in discussions where each one tries to strongly convince the other of her/his point of view. We have no �me to listen. In fact we lack the capacity to listen. We are so full of ourselves. That is why very o�en at the end of a discussion we feel highly dissa�sfied because we feel we have not been listened to nor supported enough to express our point of view, or have been cursorily brushed aside. At the end of a discussion a point of view seems to have prevailed but no sa�sfying meaningful dialogue experienced. No sense of meaning has emerged out of the conversa�on which resonates with the group. Why Can’t We listen How can we listen to others when we carry so many biases about them! We are con�nuously judging, evalua�ng and categorising. The �cker tape in our minds keeps promp�ng us with “He is too aggressive”, “He is so boring”, “His opinions suck”, “He doesn’t have much to say”, and so on, to the extent that we lose focus on what the person is trying to say. While the other is speaking we rehearse our persuasive interven�on instead of listening to what is being said and allowing something to emerge from the flow and surprise us. We find it hard to listen because we carry so much of rancour and hurt within us. If we don’t forgive the other how can we listen to him/her? We find it difficult to forgive. We find it difficult to accept our errors. We feel wronged when we are shown up. We want to cling to our self - righteousness. By not forgiving the other person, we do not free her/him nor do we free ourselves. We remain locked in an adversarial rela�onship. Each one trying to outmanoeuvre the other and get one’s point of view to prevail. In a con�nuous vicious cycle of one-upmanship. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 9

The Compassion Imperative Listening to Ourselves. Listening to Our Assump�ons To be effec�ve in listening to others we first need to listen to ourselves – our inner selves. We need to become aware of our assump�ons and the way we see life. For instance, whether we feel life is just a bargain, or whether life is just a gamble, or whether life is a gi�, or whether life is meant to be lived for others in service, or whether the whole of life is interconnected and interdependent and so on and so forth. These assump�ons form the basis for crea�ng the tapestry of our lives. We need to become aware of the pa�erns being created in our rela�onships because of the assump�ons we hold about ourselves, our family, our friends, our work, our colleagues, our environment, our country, our world – in fact about the whole of life. Most of us are unaware of the assump�ons we hold and therefore are not aware of how these assump�ons are either suppor�ng or being detrimental to our experiencing fulfilling rela�onships. We have eyes but do not see. The best book to read is our life as it is being lived. What is ‘in here’ is ‘out there’. We create our world the way we see it. And the way we see it is based on the assump�ons we hold as true. We need to ques�on our assump�ons. And see if they nurture our growth and the growth of the whole of life or not. Only then will the scales drop from our eyes and we will be able to see clearly. We are too a�ached to our assump�ons and therefore we hardly ever change. We create the same pa�erns. We get stuck in a rut and grow senile. Because we refuse to see differently. We are afraid that if we truly listened, we would be transformed. Listening to Silence In order to achieve awareness of our assump�ons we need to be able to listen to silence. Without listening to silence we cannot listen to ourselves, to others, nor appreciate the beauty of nature and life. We need to be able to listen to the unexpressed. We need to be able to listen to the flower blooming, or the sun rising or the dew drop falling. We need to be in alignment with the rhythm of life. Today we have become slaves of the rhythm of technology and therefore have no �me to listen to silence. We are afraid to listen to silence. We need to regain our authen�c selves through developing our capacity to listen to silence. In this unprecedented period of life as we experience our frailty and vulnerability caused by the insidious Covid 19 we need to make ourselves available to listen to others who are going through trauma and despair. Because a person listens it is possible, they will experience a fresh breath of life. More o�en than not they are not seeking advice. Just someone who can truly listen. Listening with compassion helps the other person to suffer less. Listening heals. Isola�on kills. Listening connects us and makes us come alive. We need to listen and connect. We need to bring hope. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 10

The Compassion Imperative Our Aloneness We feel let down We feel manipulated We feel unjustly treated We have lost our dignity as persons. It’s as if we are alone Forsaken by those we love Who’ve chosen different paths Unconcerned over commitments made. It’s as if we are alone With Governments condi�oning us And making us consent To whatever they wish. It’s as if we are alone When businesses build chimeras Of hope and fulfilment Giving fickle and temporary relief. It’s as if we are alone When Ins�tu�ons offer no protec�on From unjust treatment And discrimina�on. It’s as if we are alone When religion becomes divisive And man turns against man Brother against brother. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 11

The Compassion Imperative It’s as if we are alone When there is war In every sphere of life And no sight of peace. It’s as if we are alone When the machine Comes to usurp us And make us useless. It’s as if we are alone When we can’t trust anybody Because our trust Has been belied. It’s as if we are alone Screaming in anger Against the whole world, And not knowing why. It’s as if we are alone Ba�ling viruses Unleashed on us, With no cure in sight. It’s as if we are alone With climate change Threatening Our species’ ex�nc�on. It’s as if we are alone, But are we? Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 12

The Compassion Imperative The Failure of Success We have built a world on the basis of our point of view. We have looked at the world from the outside and tried to develop something which we felt is the quintessence of success. And we have succeeded. However we have failed in our success. Our point of view has not considered the point of view of nature and its diverse flora and fauna. Nor has it considered the point of view of those who live on the periphery of society, the rejects whose existence does not ma�er, the economically poor, the emo�onally starved, the challenged et al. We have not listened to the cry of nature nor to the cry of the poor. In fact they are the same. Any damage to nature has consequences primarily for the deprived and the marginalised. They have the maximum to lose. They are the ones whose livelihoods get affected by floods and erosion, droughts and deser�fica�on, deforesta�on and overfishing and so on. Being forced to be displaced and becoming reluctant migrants. Nature and the poor have no voice. And we have failed to give voice to their anguish. On the contrary we have crushed them, uprooted them, polluted them, and put them on the torture rack to be broken. We have failed humanity because we thought this world is only for human beings and that too for an exclusive set of coteried individuals who can design a life based on their insa�able desires to the exclusion of the rest. Those who can decide whose “life is unworthy of life”. We have failed to listen with our point of being. This is the type of listening which allows the world to come within us and give us a total surround experience of the ecology of life. We have failed to listen to the unexpressed desires, concerns, pains and suffering of nature and the poor. We have lost our sensi�vity to the dignity of the whole of life. We have not been inclusive. In fact we have been unidirec�onal and isola�onist. We may have succeeded from a point of view but failed in a point of being. And that is why the fear today of a revolt from both nature and the poor. The revolt has already begun. Natural calami�es, unnatural weather and pandemics. And the rising tensions among the disadvantaged like Blacks, refugees, indigenous people, migrants, homeless, unemployed et al. We are witnessing both. Covid- 19‘s ruthless progress and the heart wrenching trauma of migrants as they trudge hundreds of miles to their village homes. Their excrucia�ng ordeal has resulted in some of them resor�ng to rio�ng. As Mar�n Luther King Jr. said “A riot is at bo�om the language of the unheard.” But the full fury is s�ll some distance away from ravaging our homes, businesses and lives as both nature and the discarded wreak havoc over the whole of mankind for being ignored and taken for granted for too long. It is a wake- up call to restore and heal both nature and the poor. We have hit the reset bu�on. We need to restart as it were from ground zero. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 13

The Compassion Imperative Metanoia When the invisible algorithm A�empts to replace man, And the unseen microbe Threatens to destroy life, I am engulfed with fear The fear of death; Promp�ng me To examine my life. Have I lived life Achieving success But no meaning. Have I lived life Gaining approval But no love. Have I lived life Chasing thrills But no joy. Have I lived life Wearing masks But no truth. Have I lived life Seeking self But no ‘other’. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 14

The Compassion Imperative Have I lived life Causing hurt But no peace. Have I lived Life…. Guilt layers up Within me Prodding The plea For forgiveness and a New way of seeing: A Metanoia. To see Life With Compassion And restore Rela�onships, To treat life With dignity And restore Respect, To live life With purpose And restore Fulfilment, To experience life With hope And restore Faith, To traverse life With simplicity And restore Authen�city, To encounter life With vulnerability And restore Love, Always yearning To meet God Within. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 15

The Compassion Imperative Why Is There So Much Hatred in the World? There are myriads of reasons why there is so much of hatred in the world today. However, I have tried to highlight what I think are the significant reasons and how they can be addressed. Our Trust Has Been Broken We are afraid of one another. We no longer trust one another. Our trust has been betrayed. Trust forms the basis of all rela�onships. And the desire to experience fulfilling rela�onships is at the core of life. The child trusts the parents to look a�er her/him. The husband and wife trust each other to be loyal and to have each other’s concerns at heart. We trust the educa�onal ins�tu�ons to give the best educa�on to our children. We trust the government to provide the basic infrastructure to live, commute and work. We trust corpora�ons to be fair and just in trea�ng employees and crea�ng a safe working space. We trust ins�tu�ons to ensure jus�ce, transparency and accountability as they go about trying to ensure society lives in a fulfilling manner. We trust law enforcement bodies to protect our rights. We trust our money in the bank will be safe. We trust our religious leaders to guide us. We take so many things for granted because we trust. Life Lives Because of Trust However today our trust stands shredded in almost every sphere of our lives crea�ng a deep hurt which has developed into a suppurated ulcer. Having con�nuously been let down, our anger wells up within us and a spark is enough to transform that anger into a conflagra�on of hate. It may be a trivial incident of a car grazing another car which is sufficient to throw the floodgates of wrath open and result in the killing of people. There are too many frustra�ons fuelling our smouldering hate. It’s a blur. We are blinded with rage. The whole of life has let us down. We need to rebuild our trust capital through being authen�c. We need to listen with empathy and act with concern. We need to care. Each according to her/his capacity. Begin with oneself. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 16

The Compassion Imperative We are Superior; You inferior We have a penchant for dividing ourselves into categories which are binary resul�ng in an “us vs them” situa�on. Either black or white, good or bad, right or wrong, friend or enemy, superior or inferior and so on. And these binaries are applied to most areas of our lives like race, religion, gender, culture, caste, country or na�on. This becomes the source of our iden�ty. Anything which threatens its survival causes an upheaval within us. A revolt very o�en of unprecedented propor�ons. Each of these areas viz. race, religion, gender, culture, caste and country or na�on comes with a history. And manipula�ve leaders draw a�en�on to wrongdoings perpetrated in the past and use them selec�vely to evoke a sense of righteous anger or fear of a poten�al threat. Both of which generate hatred. African Americans are blamed for the majority of murders of white Americans giving rise to the Whites targe�ng the Blacks. While the fears of the white working class are fanned by crea�ng the impression of a lurking danger from “outsiders” coming to displace them from their jobs. As a result the Whites target the “outsiders”, migrants et al. Because of our innate habit of generalising or stereotyping, we hate not just a specific individual but the en�re category whom we have posi�oned ourselves against. So we will hate not a par�cular person but all Blacks, all Whites, all Muslims, all Chris�ans, all Jews, all Chinese and so on as the case may be. The sad part is in many cases we have created myths to jus�fy our superior – inferior belief systems. For instance If we analyse the genes of all human beings they are the same. J. Craig Venter and Francis Collins who were responsible for sequencing the human genome have jointly announced at the White House on June 26, 2000 that human beings are 99.9 percent iden�cal gene�cally. It is we who have created this ar�ficial superior – inferior meaning for our racial differences. The differences, if any, arise because of our cultures and not our genes. We are first in foremost human beings. To be respected and treated as such. We need to review our structures of meaning. We need to build a new civilisa�on. Survival of the Fi�est We have become so firmly entrenched in our belief that the underlying principle of evolu�on is purely ‘survival of the fi�est’ and that too in the context of the fastest, strongest, cruellest and so on that we fail to realise that Darwin also saw coopera�on and ‘sympathy’ in evolu�on. He stated “Those communi�es which included the greatest number of the most sympathe�c members would flourish best and rear the greatest number of offspring.” We need to understand that we can realise our true poten�al and uniqueness not through adversarial rela�onships but through moving towards union with all the rest. As Teilhard de Chardin, the famous palaeontologist said “In any domain – whether it be the cells of a body, the members of a society or the elements of a spiritual synthesis - Union differen�ates. In every organised whole the parts perfect themselves and fulfil themselves……. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 17

The Compassion Imperative The more ‘other’ they become in conjunc�on, the more they find themselves as ‘self’.” In coopera�ng with the ‘other’ we discover who we truly are and experience fulfilment. Our common humanity and unique individuality. Without the ‘other’ we will never know who we are. We need our enemies. It is not ‘against’ but ‘with’ that we need to move forward. Media Immersion and Weaponisa�on The 1999 Columbine school shoo�ng orchestrated by two students, Eric Harris aged 18 and Dylan Klebold aged 17 was based on the viciously violent video game “Doom”. In a videotape recorded before the massacre, Harris said the planned shoo�ng would be like “Doom”. He also pointed out that the shotgun was \"Straight out of Doom\". Both were avid enthusiasts of the ‘Doom’ series. Subsequently there have been many more school and other shoo�ngs in which addic�on to media violence has played no mean role. The vicarious sa�sfac�on one gets through seeing violence in media gradually metamorphoses into mo�va�on to enact the same in real life. We also see how social media is being weaponised. In Myanmar, Facebook was used to spread rumours and hate speech against the Rohingya popula�on. Trolling to create discord and pos�ng inflammatory messages online seems to be the new normal. Media taunts interact with gang violence. The new ba�lefield of ideologies is social media. We have reduced conscious dehumanisa�on of opponents in media debates to ac�ve entertainment. Even death has become entertainment in media as we see how o�en the video of the knee lock used on George Floyd has been shown on TV and other media pla�orms. The Use of Media to Spread Hate Threatens the Well-being of Humanity Mar�n Luther King Jr. said “Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate.” To extricate oneself from the vicious cycle of hate one needs to understand that the hater and the hated are both suffering intensely. And for that we need to cul�vate compassion. As Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk said “Compassion is a mind that removes the suffering that is present in the other.” We need compassionate minds to create a civilisa�on of love. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 18

The Compassion Imperative Learning from Our Body Gregory Bateson the anthropologist and social scien�st stated that “Rela�onships are the essence of the living world. Biological form consists of rela�onships not parts.” The various characteris�cs of our bodies reflect a deep interconnectedness and interdependence. Rela�onship is the key determinant of life. Different Yet Not Separate In our bodies, there are more than 35 trillion cells and these cells are not of the same type. There are at least 200 different types of cells like blood cells, immune cells, muscle cells, nerve cells and so on. Even though the cells are different they are not separate from one another. They are in con�nuous rela�onship with one another; collabora�ng in harmony to keep us alive. The body is inclusive. Interconnected and Interdependent There are 11 different systems in our bodies like the circulatory system, respiratory system, diges�ve system and so on. Each of these systems consists of organs and �ssues which are interrelated and interdependent and work towards fulfilling a par�cular purpose. However, even though a system may seem to be complete by itself, each of these systems within our bodies are interdependent and interconnected. The diges�ve system cannot claim to be independent of the circulatory system or the immune system cannot perceive itself to be independent of the nervous system and so on. The body is not a machine that can be reduced to its parts but is an integrated whole. Unbroken Wholeness Whenever a part of the body is incapacitated as when one loses one’s right hand then the body compensates for this loss by making the le� hand stronger. Or when one loses one’s sight then one gains an acute sense of hearing. The body seems to be consistently striving to a�ain an op�mum balance. Similarly when one experiences a cut or wound it is as if the whole body rushes in to orchestrate the healing of the wound. There is an innate desire of the body to maintain its unbroken wholeness. No part is le� alone in isola�on to suffer. Unity and balance are con�nuously being sought. Open System Our bodies are open systems. The body inhales oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide. It ingests food and excretes waste. The body cannot isolate itself from the environment it lives in. It is in an ongoing rela�onship with this environment. It is ceaselessly adap�ng to its environs. The body lives in the mainstream of life, exploring its possibili�es and poten�al as it interacts with the environment. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 19

The Compassion Imperative Con�nuous Renewal The body is regularly renewing itself. Most of the body is in a constant state of flux as new cells replace old ones. The stomach cells get renewed every 5 days. The red blood cells last only 120 days. The epidermis is recycled every 2 weeks. And the liver is turned over every 300 to 500 days. This is the body’s way of figh�ng entropy. The body seeks, through renewal, to prevent itself from rapidly devolving into disorder. What we experience with our bodies we need to consciously manifest in our individual, societal and organisa�onal behaviours. Our mindsets need to shi� from separateness to inclusiveness, from a mechanical perspec�ve of reducing everything to its parts to a quantum perspec�ve of seeing the wholeness of life, from self - centredness to other – centredness, from isola�on to immersive involvement and from sta�c stagna�on to a dynamic life fulfilling renewal. This is life. As Teilhard de Chardin the palaeontologist stated “The egocentric ideal of a future reserved for those who have managed to a�ain ego�s�cally the extremity of ‘everyone for himself’ is false and against nature. No element could move and grow except with and by all the others with itself…..To reach the sun nothing less is required than the combined growth of the en�re foliage.” We Live in a Fractured World The common understanding of a fracture, as applied to the human body, is a break in the bone caused by sudden impact and force. The bone’s rela�onship to itself and to the body stands severed. This is what causes pain and dysfunc�on of the human body. What we are experiencing today are fractured rela�onships with ourselves, with others, with nature; in fact with the whole of life. As a result the body of mankind is writhing in pain unable to func�on in a meaningful and fulfilling manner. From this existen�al experience of ours we are realising the cri�cal importance of what Mar�n Buber the philosopher said “All real living is mee�ng”. A real or fulfilled life arises out of experiencing fulfilling mee�ngs or Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 20

The Compassion Imperative rela�onships. If we do not experience a fulfilling rela�onship with life we will never be at peace. We will only remain painful caricatures of existence. At the heart of a fulfilling rela�onship is trust. And trust is built through authen�c communica�on. And today if there is no trust being experienced, it is because there is no authen�c communica�on. We are living islands experiencing an illusion of rela�onship. What we are experiencing today as communica�on is just noise. As Theodore Zeldin, an academic scholar said “The noises of this world arise out its silences.” What really concerns us, our deepest anxie�es and feelings and hopes and pain remain buried within us in silence and what rises to the surface is empty, meaningless cha�er which we engage in. To experience authen�c communica�on, we need to sa�sfy some basic requests of every human being like: Hear and understand me, Even if I am wrong do not make me wrong (Disagree with my opinion but do not a�ack me as a person), Tell me the truth with compassion, Look for the greatness within me and Never doubt my good inten�ons. These in fact, seem very idealis�c in today’s circumstances which is a reflec�on of how far we have strayed from trea�ng one another with human dignity and respect. These are basic human desires. But there is difficulty in sa�sfying them because life has been reduced to a bundle of conveniences. We evaluate and compare ourselves with others based on the conveniences we have. The more the conveniences the greater our self–worth – Cars, flats, designer apparel, accoutrements, bling and so on. Finally, we treat people too as conveniences. Economic u�li�es to be used for the maximisa�on of our benefit. Those who do not have any economic u�lity are cast aside, ignored or treated as non-existent. If the person-hood of man and woman has been replaced by economic u�lity it is difficult to treat people with dignity and respect. To have trust and authen�c communica�on. To have a fulfilling rela�onship. The whole of life has been reduced to a business deal. And in a business deal everyone is out to get the best bargain. Where trust becomes more and more tenuous. We are experiencing a crisis of percep�on. We need to see life differently to heal our fractured lives. Xavier Centre for New Humanities and Compassion Studies 21