Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

SPEAK GURU

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Spiritual Guru

When you take the responsibility for clearing up a past conflict, you bring harmony

TIME FOR FORGIVENES

EACHyear many cultures around the world celebrate a day of forgiveness, a time when you ask people around you —those you know and those you don’t —to forgive you. The Jewish community celebrates Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, while some communities in India celebrate kshamavani.

As individuals, we sometimes feel that we haven’t done anything wrong, yet the other person believes that some injustice has been done to him/her. If the others perceives us as the cause for their pain or suffering, it is wise for us to apologise. Even when we sneeze, without our knowledge, we’re killing many germs. Every action —when we walk, talk or do something else —has some flaws. Any action could have hurt someone. Therefore, if without our knowledge our actions have hurt someone, we should not hesitate to ask for forgiveness. Knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, if you have hurt someone by your thought, word or deed, you should request them to pardon you.

Neither forgiving nor asking for forgiveness will make one’s social status dip. In fact, it shows one’s strength. You are taking responsibility for clearing up some conflict that has happened in the past and bringing harmony. The respect that you gain by your compassion and broad-mindedness cannot be lost.

Today, there is an excess of hatred, tension and violence in the world. There is domestic violence at home, atrocities between communities and conflicts between countries. In such a world, observing a day of forgiveness is of great significance. If everyone in the world could practise forgiveness —both asking and giving — many of the world’s conflicts could be solved. Many of the conflicts in families and in relationships would be resolved.

We don’t plan our own mistakes. Most of them stem from a lack of awareness. If we do not plan our mistakes, what makes us think that the other person intends to make their mistakes? All faults are made out of either a lack of awareness or ignorance. When we don’t have compassion for someone when they make a mistake and forgive them, we’ll seek revenge. We then become bound to a cycle of negative feelings. Forgiveness shields and protects our mind and spirit from being violent.

Have compassion for those who have hurt you. When you think of forgiving, you normally think of someone as a culprit and you see an intention behind the culprit’s mistake. When you are compassionate, you recognise the ignorance behind the person’s mistake. Compassion is even better than pardoning. In forgiveness, you see an intention behind a mistake. But, in compassion, you go a step further and look into the person’s heart, beyond their words, behaviour and see the wound in the person that caused them to make the mistake. When there’s a wound inside an individual, s/he will try to share it with other people. What else can s/he do?

Let’s celebrate a day of forgiveness, whether directly or through prayer. Let’s ask the whole universe to absolve us. Then there will be less hatred, jealousy and pain in the world and we can live together as one family.