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HE WHO forgives
sleeps untroubled; but he who does not spends restless nights,
as though his bed were strewn with nails. The scriptures observe
that "a spark will dies of itself if it falls where there is not
even a blade of grass. Similarly, he who has earned the mantle
of peace cannot be harmed by evil". Forgiveness is the treasure
of the conscience, the source of peace. The nectar of
forgiveness nurtures many fruits: gratitude, humility
solidarity. As Mahavira said: "I forgive all living beings; may
all living beings forgive me. To the entire world I show loving
kindness, I have not a single enemy". The beauty of our eyes is
enhanced, not by kohl, by but the loving-kindness of our gaze.
The Sanskrit word for forgiveness, kshama, may be
traced back to the elements ksha and ma,
which indicate a knot and a negation respectively, Kshama
thus suggests that we must refrain from tying up our minds in
knots of resentment. Forgiveness is a sign of courage and
fortitude; it is not to be confused with the resignation of
cowardice.
Forgiveness may be likened to the system of traffic signals and
pedestrian crossings which regulate the flow of movement in
great cities; it saves us from accidents, guides us along the
appropriate path. Mutual forgiveness forms the foundation for
the spiritual and social discipline of ahimsa, non-violence; it
is the grove of serenity in which the self, purified of desires
and ambitions, may meditate. The principle of forgiveness leads
one to wish others good fortune, while desiring nothing for
oneself. It the absence of forgiveness, it is the matsya
nyaya, law of the fish that prevails, the big fish eats
the small fish. Our only defense against the vicious terrors of
this law is the simple aphorism that we must live and let live.
Do
not merely broadcast the message of forgiveness over
loudspeakers. Practice it so that it is as much a part of your
natural being as your breath. You will find that those whom you
could not cut down with a sword, you will win over through
forgiveness; indeed, you will restore to wholeness what the
sword has cut to pieces. Once this principle has been made a
part of our lives, we will see the long queues outside our
courts melt away, and the armed battalions standing vigilant at
our borders make way for the happy reunion of friends.
Loving kindness is of value only when it has truly taken root in
the heart as a permanent condition of being; to limit it to
certain days (while bristling with hostility the rest of the
year) will only serve our complacent self-regard. It is through
the practice of loving kindness along that we can share in our
friends’ joys and sorrows; such a sharing is crucial in a world
that has been agitated by suspicion, jealousy and resentment.
While we lust after commodities that guarantee us material
comfort, we do not seem to value that rare thing, friendship. It
is a tragedy that, today, while humanity stands poised to enter
the very heavens; no one feels the need to knock at the door of
his neighbor’s heart.
By Acharya
Vidyananda
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