Western policies are not working properly: Karen

Famous religious thinker Karen Armstrong has said that western policies are not working properly. She said that people in the world should make efforts to make the world a compassionate place. She was addressing the launching ceremony of her book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life- published by Oxford University Press on Thursday.
Managing Director of the Oxford University Press Ameena Saiyid , Amin Hashwani from Charter of Compassion also spoke on the occasion. The ceremony was attended by politicians, educationists, members of civil society and media. Karen said that today's world is inter connected and the countries had political and economic interests with each other. She said that Pakistan has an important position in the world that's why western countries are closely focusing the day to day developments in Pakistan.
As a well-known critic of modern western attitudes towards Islam, Armstrong has often sought to draw attention to what she sees as historical injustices carried out by westerners in the East. Her primary focus has been on ways to help Westerners develop a better understanding of Islam.
She said that her key to making the world more caring and more whole is found in religion, which also happens to contribute to many of the world's divisions. She uses the universality of the Golden Rule - which she follows on its course from Confucius and the Buddha to modern-day monotheism - to create a thought-provoking programme for spreading compassion that goes well beyond this book: Her Charter for Compassion has more than 60,000 signatories world-wide. Simply put, Armstrong's 12 steps aim to "retrain our responses and form mental habits that are kinder, gentler and less fearful of others." We are to achieve this by doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. And by loving our neighbours as ourselves.
In contemporary US politics, for example, it can appear as if the most outspoken evangelical voices exhibit the least generosity, appallingly indifferent to "outsiders" and utterly devoid of compassion for those we might describe as the lame and the weak.
According to Armstrong, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, requires, above all, empathy. In Twelve Steps, Armstrong expresses more than a common desire for a peaceful and equitable planet: She displays her aim to rehabilitate the reputation of religion around the world. Armstrong insists that harshness toward our selves often translates, quite dangerously, into harshness and lack of compassion toward others.
By dint of being human, we may imagine that we possess an innate understanding of compassion. But, according to Armstrong, the feeling does not necessarily come naturally and is therefore, a subject worthy of serious study. In the opening chapter, she charts the development of the golden rule in Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. She stuffs us full of facts. It is a bit overwhelming, if still engaging, though one wishes Armstrong possessed a greater willingness to self-edit. A few examples can go a long way.
Yet for all her emphasis on knowledge, Armstrong believes that education can only lay the groundwork for action. Compassion -like love -is a verb, she insists. In a chapter called Look at Your Own World, she asks us to be mindful of how we treat members of our families and fellow workers. How does compassion play out in our schools, our neighbourhoods? Armstrong believes in the trickle up theory, as opposed to the trickle down: That every compassionate encounter, no matter how small, can make the world a better place.