Power of Forgiveness

March_04_1999
Given By: Gurudeva

One of the most difficult accomplishments for most humans is to forgive. It is so easy to hold resentment. It is so easy to take offense. It is almost habitual, it is almost a habit.

When we take offense, when we hold against other people things that we think that they didn't have the heart to do but they did do, all we are doing is burdening ourselves. When we breathe and lift our energies into our heart chakra, we begin to feel more mellowed and more understanding about what happened, why it happened. We don't even have to know why because it is our own karma. Whatever is done to us, we did to somebody else.

Forgiveness takes humility. Humility is not a weakness. Humility is a power. It takes great strength to be humble and even greater strength to remain humble because by being humble, we go within ourselves. By being proud, arrogant and self-centered, we go inside other people. That is where we get into trouble.

So, forgiveness is an art. It is a yoga. Better still , it is samayama. It is a Raja yoga, a lifting up of instinctive energies into the heart chakra until we become mellow and humble. Then we can say in our heart, "I forgive" and by doing so release the burden of remembering everything we hate and everything we dislike, all of our resentments and all of our criticisms to those around us, especially our loved ones. Many people are closer to people they are working with in offices and hospitals than they are to their own family.

Forgiveness softens the heart, I've heard that. But, reverse that. Soften your heart, then we are able to forgive.