In our eighth grade classroom, we had a poster that said “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing” (a quote attributed to Edmund Burke). Dass and Gorman urge us to seek to do good and triumph over evil even if it requires extra effort or unnecessary strain on ourselves.

Dass and Gorman suggest that the urge to help one another is instinctual, saying “Caring is a reflex,” (5). Dass and Gorman believe we are all inherently good and capable of doing good in the world. However, Dass and Gorman show there are many facets of helping in How Can I Help? We may help selfishly, with motives other than simply doing good: “a need for self-esteem, approval, status, power; the desire to feel useful, find intimacy, pay back some debt” (10). While this may often be the case, the kind of help that can better our souls, and as Rachel said, perhaps even lift us towards hero-dom, is that which is selfless. This is the kind of helping that can change the world.

A soldier selflessly caring for a small child

While we often want to help, we find ourselves unsure and afraid. The only thing stopping us from helping is fear; “We may have a difficult time facing the suffering of others because we don’t know how to deal with our own pain and fear,” (Dass and Gorman, 14). Pallavi discussed that we must forge a connection between ourselves and those in need, finally realizing our interconnectedness and interdependence.

Banner stating “unity is strength”

We have to learn to see outside ourselves and realize that through transforming the world around us, we can in turn better ourselves. In anthology, Ahimsa is explained as “abstinence from causing any pain” (in Bump, 114) because “One Self dwells in all. All are manifestations of One God. By injuring another, you injure your own Self,” (in Bump, 115). Dass and Gorman claim we can enforce this oneness through helping each other, saying “Helpful Being, then is the goal. What we have to offer others will come from our sense of unity. So we look for and cherish those experiences in which we feel ourselves connected to all things in the universe” (38). Thus we can find unity and truth through helping others.

“Qualities of character are nested in a transformational spirit of ‘Oneness.’” from http://tamarackcommunity.ca/newsletter/living_community/lc15.htm