Forgiveness is that quality in a human being which separates him from the animals and the lower forms of living beings. To preach forgiveness is a simple task but to be able to practice forgiveness in real life is the essence of life.
Only a person with extreme humbleness imbibed within and a feeling of compassion for his compatriot is able to practice forgiveness! To be able to forgive requires that the forgiver forgoes all the sufferings of the past that may have been inflicted upon him by the gruesome acts of the indulgent. A tough task indeed but not something that cannot be practised!
In most circumstances one may not have committed any sin, still practising forgiveness brings within us a feeling of extreme calm and compassion for the mankind in general. Practice of forgiveness normally cannot be practiced by the common man for it requires practising patience to its extreme.
If we are to achieve our goal of life… we just cannot manage to cling on to events of the past… happenings which cannot be reversed by us using any means. We cannot travel back in time to undo the events of the past. Why not practice forgiveness and forgive those ignorant denizens of the society who practiced ill will and caused harm to the society.
Forgiving the ignorant is the best policy… it clears us of the debris of the past! Indulgence in the ugly residual remembrances of the past results in anger. Why destroy our body and health by harbouring the evil thoughts of the past. Knowing well that we cannot undo the events of the past… we must brace ourselves for the times ahead!
To be able to peacefully practice in the present we need to follow the dictates of forgiveness to its extreme! There are no allowances in the field of forgiveness. It has to be total surrender! Practising forgiveness is the biggest boon to mankind from God the Almighty. One can exercise this power and reach for the higher goals of life by discriminating between the good and the bad.
Harbouring ill will against one never yields positive results. In the present times when the values in the society are in their lowest ebb we need to exercise this special power of discrimination (practising forgiveness) quite often. We have no other remedy if we are to rise to a higher bracket in life. Every successful person in life practices forgiveness to its extreme. Whether it was Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy or Margaret Thatcher and Bill Gates for that matter… all were and are the best practitioners of forgiveness in their life.
Forgiveness just cannot be preached… it has to be practiced in totality! Only then shall we be able to enjoy the fruits of practising forgiveness in the present life. All the Man Gods of the yester era… Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed practiced forgiveness all the time right from a very young age. Practising forgiveness gives you an edge over your contemporary… it helps maintain the sanity of a person. Forgiveness reduces the element of hate which follows whenever wanton desires get practiced.
Citing an example- One Yogi (a renowned seeker of spirituality) was one day having a bath on the edge of a swollen river which had flooded. It so happened that because of the flood one scorpion happened to float by. On seeing the plight of the scorpion that it might die… the Yogi picked it up in his hand but immediately had to do away for the scorpion gave a piercing poisonous bite. Unmindful of the bite the Yogi again picked up the scorpion and again the scorpion bit his hand. This happened thrice. One passerby who was aware of the spiritual accomplishments of the Yogi could not contain himself and coming near to the Yogi enquired of him why he was trying to help the nasty scorpion. The reply by the Yogi made the onlooker flabbergasted. It was not to be believed for the Yogi had replied, “when this poor scorpion (a much lower level of species on the plane of evolution) is not able to let go of his habit of biting one… how could the Yogi let go of his habit of helping one.
What a great practitioner of compassion and forgiveness this Indian Yogi was. In spite of being bitten thrice… he was able to practice forgiveness owing to the feeling of compassion within. This is how forgiveness can be truly defined. A true practitioner of forgiveness never thinks of the results of the acts by the other but remains concentrated on the end goal of his life… always and ever! This helps one develop the power of forgiveness… true compassion to be practiced in daily life.
