Sympathy, Empathy And Compassion

1.    Sympathy is defined as acknowledging and understanding another person's difficulties. Sympathy is the feeling of caring about and being sorry for someone else's distress, grief, misfortune, or other adversity.

 

2.    Empathy is the experience of another person's suffering from that person's point of view. Empathy, in other words, is the ability to put oneself in another's shoes and then experience the pain that person is experiencing (from that person's perspective.) 

 

3.    Compassion is a step further in which a person not only feels empathy but also expresses a genuine desire to help the person who is suffering. Compassion is a motivation or desire to assist others. To better understand the differences between sympathy, empathy, and compassion, consider the following example.

A.    Assume your friend has lost his job and is in financial trouble. You can show sympathy for him if you recognise his distress and feel sorry for him, but you can show empathy for him if you can feel his pain by imagining his situation from his perspective. You are demonstrating Compassion towards your friend if, rather than being a passive observer, you make active arrangements according to your capacity to assist your friend in finding work.

 

Empathy: I'm not sure how he makes ends meet. He's probably going through hell. How does he pay his bills?

 

Compassion: I can't stand watching him suffer. I'll do everything I can to assist him in finding a good job.

 

B.    Let us take another example: Take, for example, the issue of child labour. If a person is simply sad after seeing a child waiter in a restaurant, he is sympathetic; however, if he also connects himself or his own children with the child waiter and experiences his hardships through the child waiter's eyes, he is empathetic. However, if the person breaks free from his role as a bystander and takes action in accordance with his abilities, such as informing NGOs, counselling the child waiter's parents, or arranging for his education, the person is demonstrating compassion for that child.

 

 

Empathy: Has he eaten anything? He must be in a lot of pain. He must be starving... He doesn't deserve to have such a difficult life... He must be in complete disarray!!!

 

Compassion: Every child has a fundamental right to attend school under the RTE Act. I'll see to it that this kid gets his due. I'll contact the district administration to make sure he gets paid and that his employers are held accountable!

 

1.    Empathy and compassion enable a civil servant to serve with both his head and his heart.

 

2.    It allows civil servants to understand the struggles of the weak and vulnerable, such as Divyangs and transgender, and to take proactive steps to improve their situation. As a result, you can assist in the establishment of a welfare state. 

 

3.    When civil servants are compassionate and empathetic, the bureaucracy's overall performance improves dramatically.

 

4.    It gives a human touch to a bureaucracy that is otherwise ruled by rules and regulations. 

 

5.    An empathetic and compassionate bureaucracy inspires people to have positive feelings about the administration.