Daya (virtue)

Daya (Sanskrit: दया, IAST: dǎyā) is a Sanskrit word commonly translated as "sympathy" or "compassion".[1][2][3] It is derived from the root word 'da', which means "gift" and is a concept in Hinduism and Sikhism where one feels sympathy for the suffering of others.[2] In the Yoga and Hindu tradition, daya is one of the 10 Yamas.[2][4]

Discussion

The Padma Purana defines daya as a virtuous desire to alleviate the sorrows and difficulties of others by striving.[5][6] Matsya Purana describes daya as a value that makes all living beings like oneself, seeking the welfare and well-being of other living beings.[5][7] Matsya Purana claims that daya is one of the necessary ways to be happy. Ekadashi Tattvam[8] explains daya is treating a stranger, a relative, a friend, and a foe as one's own self; it argues that daya is that state when one sees all living beings as part of one's own self, and when everyone's suffering is seen as one's own suffering. In the Mahabharata, Indra praised Yudhisthira for his daya and sympathy for all living beings.[9] Tulsidas contradicts Ahamkara with daya, claiming that daya is the source of religious life, where Ahamkara is the source of sin.

In Hinduism, daya is not kripa, or feeling sorry for the sufferer, because that is marred with condescension; daya is recognizing one's own and another's suffering in order to actively alleviate that suffering.[10] Daya is the basis for Ahimsa, a core virtue in Hindu philosophy and an article of everyday faith and practice.[11][12]

There are two forms of daya - one for those who suffer even though they have done nothing wrong, and one for those who suffer because they have done something wrong. Absolute daya applies to both, while relative compassion addresses the difference between the former and the latter. Examples of the latter include those who plead guilty or are convicted of a crime such as murder; In this case, the quality of daya should be balanced with the quality of judgment.[5]

References
  1. "dayA". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016.
  2. Daya, Definition - What does Daya mean?, yogapedia.com
  3. Stuart Sovatsky (1998), Words from the Soul: Time East/West Spirituality and Psychotherapeutic Narrative, State University of New York, ISBN 978-0791439494, page 21
  4. SV Bharti (2001), Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With the Exposition of Vyasa, Motilal Banarsidas, ISBN 978-8120818255, Appendix I, pages 672-680
  5. Anandita Balslev and Dirk Evers (Editors), Compassion in the World's Religions: Envisioning Human Solidarity (Religionswissenschaft: Forschung und Wissenschaft), ISBN 978-3643104762, LIT Verlag (2009), see Chapter 4, Compassion: Etymology, Rituals, Anecdotes from the Hindu Tradition
  6. S. Parmeshwaranand, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of The Dharmasastra, ISBN 978-8176253659, pp 369–370
  7. Matsya Purana, 52.8 and 143.31 through 332
  8. Ekadashi Tattvam, Raghunandana Bhattacharya, Smriti, Calcutta/London (1816)
  9. W. Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199593347, page 270
  10. Paramtattva Swami, Pujya. "Catholics and Hindus: The Practice of Compassion as a Contribution to Peace". pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
  11. Aloysius Michael (1979), Radhakrishnan on Hindu Moral Life and Action, South Asia Books, ISBN 978-0836403343, pp 67–68
  12. Lisa Kemmerer and Anthony Nocella (2011), Call to Compassion, Lantern Books New York, ISBN 978-1-59056-182-9, pp 31–32
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