Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Once a warrior asked a monk: "What is the difference between heaven and hell?"
The monk replied: "You ignorant brute, you are nothing but a savage. Why would I waste my time on you?"
Filled with anger and hatred, the warrior started beating the monk.
After a few minutes, the warrior realised what a heinous act he was committing and stopped.
The monk smiled and said: "That fit of anger is hell".
The warrior was so ashamed of his violent act that he begged the monk to forgive him.
The monk again smiled and said: "Your asking for forgiveness is heaven".
Forgiving A Criminal
The parents of a child who was killed spent every waking hour to see that the person responsible was
punished.
It was found that the criminal was barely 18 years of age. Then, one day, they realised that they had spent
many years in this state of anger.
Not only had they lost their child but their lives were also being lost to anger and hatred. One day,
they did the unthinkable.
They decided to forgive the person who had committed the crime. They went to prison where the boy was
incarcerated and told him they had forgiven him.
They also met his parents and realised that they too were suffering because of what their son had done.
Instead of feeling anger, they felt compassion for the boy's parents, who, in a way, had also lost their son.
By forgiving the boy and his family, the parents experienced a tremendous release from their pain. A
great burden had lifted from their hearts....
The person who committed the crime was also moved by their forgiveness and was transformed by their love. The parents realised through forgiveness, they had saved their own lives from further deterioration.
Their health improved, they were able to function again, and they felt the love of God flow through them.
Reflection
Forgiving others can benefit us physically, mentally and spiritually.
First of all feelings of anger, hatred and vengeance cause damage to the physical body.
Secondly, there is a karmic price one must pay when one is filled with anger and hatred.
If we know this, we may think twice before sending out the boomerang of anger.
Thirdly, when we act out of anger, we may set in motion a chain of violence from which we find it hard
to escape, resulting in an even worse situation than the original injury.
The password to God's abode is love. God is love and only love can reside in God's domain. Thus, for us to
be fit to re-enter our eternal home, we must become all love. Anger and hatred are alien to the land of
God.
Forgiveness is the remedy for anger and this will help us re-enter the domain of the Lord. There are many
spiritual benefits to practising forgiveness.
First, we experience improvement in our meditation. We know how difficult it is to still the mind, we can
maintain a calm mind by forgiving others as it brings spiritual benefits.
Forgiveness decreases our karmic load. Because anger and hatred increase our karmic load; each day that we control our negative qualities is a day that we are lessening that load.
Forgiveness is a good detergent to purify ourselves of karmic debts. Finally, one of the greatest benefits of
forgiveness is that we become examples for others.
Love and forgiveness inspire others to love and make the world a peaceful place.
If we learn the art of forgiveness, we can transform our life and achieve our goal of self-knowledge and God-realization.
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