Indra's Net

Recently I read one of Anita Rau Badami’s novels, set both in India and Vancouver, BC. In the book she writes a passage about Indra, the Goddess of Heaven. In it Badami describes how Indra flung a net over the world. Here’s a quote from the story:

“Its shining strands criss-crossed the world from end to end. At each node of this net there hung a gem, so arranged that if you looked at one you saw all the others reflected in it. As each gem reflected every other one, so was every human affected by the miseries and joys of every other human, every other living thing on the planet. When one gem was touched, hundreds of others shimmered or danced in response, and a tear in the net made the whole world tremble.”

This beautifully written Hindu myth touches me. Many philosophies and religions other than Hinduism espouse similar ideas including Budhism, Christianity and New Age. It’s a natural thing for humans to feel compassion for each other.

The Eckhart Tolle/Oprah Winfrey teleclasses teach us how to come from a place of spirit rather than ego and the advanced technology used for the classes connects hundreds of thousands of people all over the world simultaneously. That’s a lot of positive energy coming together all at once with one unified focus. I wonder how much potential it has to affect change in the world? In some ways it reminds me of the prayers for world peace that have gone on all over the world for years.

We’ve known for a long time about the power of group energy. The sum of the whole is greater than its parts, and a group inspires individuals (for example in workshops, group therapy or meditation circles, the words and energy of each person can teach and uplift the others). As we participate in these opportunities to join our positive energies together in small and large ways, we also feel uplifted and connected to each other.