The other day while I was on my way to town, a speeding vehicle abraded past our car, partially damaging the right side rear view mirror. My chauffeur got infuriated and agitated. He started following the motorbike in a bid to confront the rash driver and hand him over to the police so that he could be punished for his offence. I requested him to calm down and forgive him. I reasoned that - possibly he was racing to the hospital; possibly he was late to an interview for a job that he really needs; possibly he swerved to avert an an accident with someone else.
The Vedas characterize the modern day & age as being riddled with quarrel and hypocrisy. There are so many stimulants to irritate and offend us. Without forgiveness, these burning stimulants nest in our consciousness and slowly reduce our peace of mind to ashes. However when we understand the nature of resentment as well as our transcendental position, peace of mind arises as a concomitant factor.
The first reason we should practice forgiveness is because harboring negativity dampens our life. Holding onto resentment is like holding a burning hot coal.
It afflicts us within and it manifests as fire without. We hold onto this searing ember of hatred day after day, week after week, year after year with the intention of throwing it at the object of our abuse. But who suffers? We suffer. By holding onto that fire we are torturing ourselves. If we do not forgive we are harming our own-selves.
Another reason to forgive is because we don’t know why people do what they do. Someone may be innocent but habituated to act immorally due to ignorance. Others may victimize us because they have been victimized in the past. we can never know for sure why someone acts the way they do. Most people do bad things because in the past they were victimized. If we were to actually study someone’s past emotional and psychological conditioning, we would probably never hate the person. We would feel sympathy for them and hate the way they are compelled to act due to their previous experiences. With this understanding, we should view our aggressors with a sense of empathy and understanding. However, forgiveness doesn’t mean that one’s misdeed should go unpunished; it means to be the well-wisher of even our enemies by understanding that we are all fighting a hard battle
Resentment, hatred and vengefulness are like scolding fires. And if we keep them in our heart, what will happen? They will burn our virtues and spiritual qualities to dust and leave us miserable. As long as we hold onto this negativity, we will be negatively affected. But, when we learn to forgive and let go of the fire, it can no longer harm us. In this way, forgiveness extinguishes the flames within and gives way to a calm and cool heart.
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