Daya (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: दया) is a Sanskrit word commonly translated as "sympathy" or "compassion".Daya, Definition - What does Daya mean?
yogapedia.comStuart Sovatsky (1998), Words from the Soul: Time East/West Spirituality and Psychotherapeutic Narrative, State University of New York, , page 21 It is derived from the root word 'da', which means "gift" and is a concept in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

where one feels sympathy for the suffering of others. In the

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and Hindu tradition, daya is one of the 10

Yamas The Yamas ( sa, यम, translit=Yama), and their complement, the Niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Yoga philosophy. It means "reining in" or "control". These are restraints for proper conduct as given in the ...

.SV Bharti (2001), ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'': With the Exposition of Vyasa, Motilal Banarsidas, , Appendix I, pages 672-680

Discussion

The

Padma Purana The ''Padma Purana'' ( sa, पद्मपुराण or पाद्मपुराण, or ) is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brah ...

defines daya as a virtuous desire to alleviate the sorrows and difficulties of others by striving.

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

describes daya as a value that makes all living beings like oneself, seeking the welfare and well-being of other living beings. Matsya Purana claims that daya is one of the necessary ways to be happy. Ekadashi Tattvam 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 The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

praised

Yudhisthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first ...

for his daya and sympathy for all living beings.

Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but ...

contradicts

Ahamkara Ahaṁkāra (Sanskrit: अहंकार), 'I-making' is a Sanskrit term in Saṃkhyā philosophy that refers to the identification of Self or Being with 'Nature' or any impermanent 'thing'. Reference in Bhagavad Gita Ahaṁkāra is one of t ...

with daya, claiming that daya is the source of religious life, where Ahamkara is the source of sin. In

, 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. Daya is the basis for

Ahimsa Ahimsa (, IAST: ''ahiṃsā'', ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to all living beings. It is a key virtue in most Indian religions: Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India � ...

, a core virtue in

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...

and an article of everyday faith and practice.Lisa Kemmerer and Anthony Nocella (2011), Call to Compassion, Lantern Books New York, , pp 31–32 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.Anandita Balslev and Dirk Evers (Editors), Compassion in the World's Religions: Envisioning Human Solidarity (Religionswissenschaft: Forschung und Wissenschaft), , LIT Verlag (2009), see Chapter 4, Compassion: Etymology, Rituals, Anecdotes from the Hindu Tradition

References

{{Hindudharma Hindu philosophical concepts Indian philosophical concepts