Speaker 1: Forgiveness. If men only understood all the emptiness and acting
of the sleeping and the waking of the souls they
judge so blindly, of the hearts they pierce so unkindly, they,
with gentler words and feeling, would apply the balm of healing,
if they only understood kindness nobler ever than revenge Shakespeare.
The remembering of injuries is spiritual darkness. The fostering of
resentment is spiritual suicide. To resort to the spirit and
practice of forgiveness is the beginning of enlightenment. It is
also the beginning of peace and happiness. There is no
rest for him who broods over slights and injuries and wrongs,
no quiet repose of mind for him who feels that
he has been unjustly treated, and who schemes how best
to act for the discomfiture of his enemy. How can
have happiness dwell in a heart that is so disturbed
by ill? Will do birds resort to a burning bush
wherein to build and sing? Neither can happiness inhabit in
that breast that is aflame with burning thoughts of resentment.
Nor can wisdom come and dwell where such folly resides.
Revenge seems sweet only to the mind that is unacquainted
with the spirit of forgiveness. But when the sweetness of
forgiveness is tasted, then the extreme bitterness of revenge is known.
Revenge seems to lead to happiness to those who are
involved in the darkness of passion, but when the violence
of passion is abandoned and the mildness of forgiveness is
restored to then it is seen that revenge leads to suffering.
Revenge is a virus which eats into the very vitals
of the mind and poisons the entire spiritual being. Resentment
is a mental fever which burns up the wholesome energies
of the mind, and taking offense is a form of
moral sickness, which SAPs the healthy flow of kindliness and
good will, and from which men and women should seek
to be delivered. The unforgiving and resentful spirit is a
source of great suffering and sorrow, and he who harbors
and encourages it, who does not overcome and abandon it,
forfeits much blessedness, and does not obtain any measure of
true enlightenment. To be hard hearted is to suffer, to
be deprived of light and comfort. To be tender hearted
is to be serenely glad, is to receive light and
be well comforted. It will seem strange to many to
be told that the hard hearted and unforgiving suffer most.
Yet it is profoundly true. For not only do they,
by the law of attraction, draw to themselves the revengeful
passions in other people, but their hardness of heart itself
is a continual source of suffering. Every time a man
hardens his heart against a fellow being, he inflicts upon
himself five kinds of suffering, namely, the suffering of loss
of love, the suffering of lost communion and fellowship, the
suffering of a troubled and confused mind, the suffering of
wounded passion or pride, and the suffering of punishment inflicted
by others. Every act of unforgiveness entails upon the doer
of that act these five sufferings, whereas every act of
forgiveness brings to the doer five kinds of blessedness. The
blessedness of love, the blessedness of increased communion and fellowship,
the blessedness of a calm and peaceful mind, the blessedness
of passion stilled and pride overcome, and the blessedness and
kindness and good will bestowed by others. Numbers of people
are today suffering the fiery torments of an unfre giving spirit.
And only when they make an effort to overcome that
spirit can they know what a cruel and exacting taskmaster
they are serving. Only those who have abandoned the service
of such a master for that of a nobler master
of forgiveness can realize and know how grievous a service
is the one, how sweet the other. Let a man
contemplate the strife of the world, how individuals and communities,
neighbors and nations leaving continual retaliations towards each other. Let
him realize the heartaches, the bitter tears, the grievous partings
and misunderstandings, even the bloodshed and woe which spring from
that strife, And thus realizing, he will never again yield
to ignoble thoughts of resentment, never again take offense at
the actions of others, never again live an unforgiveness towards
any being, Have good will to all that lives, letting
unkindness die and greed and wrath, so that your lives
be made like soft airs passing by. When a man
abandons retaliation for forgiveness, he passes from darkness to light. So
dark and ignorant is unforgiveness that no being who is
at all wise or enlightened could descend to it. But
its darkness is not understood and known until left behind,
and the better and nobler course of conduct is sought
and practiced. Man is blinded and deluded only by his
own dark and sinful tendencies. And the giving up of
all unforgiveness means the giving up of pride in certain
forms of passion, the abandonment of the deeply rooted idea
of the importance of one's self and of the necessity
for protecting and defending that self. And when that is done,
the higher life, greater wisdom, and pure enlightenment, which pride
and passion completely obscured, are revealed in all their light
and beauty. Then there are petty offenses, little spites and
passing slights, which, while of a less serious nature than
the deep seated hatreds and revenges, dwarf the character and
cramp the soul. They are due to the sin of
self and self importance and thrive on vanity. Whosoever is
blinded and deluded by vanity will continually see something in
the actions in the attitudes of others towards him at
which to take offense. And the more there is a vanity,
the more greatly will the imaginary slight or wrong be exaggerated. Moreover,
to live in the frequent indulgence of petty resentments increases
the spirit of hatred and leads gradually downward to greater darkness, suffering,
and self delusion. Don't take offense or allow your feelings
to be hurt, which means get rid of pride and vanity.
Don't give occasion for offense or hurt the feelings of others,
which means be gently considerate, forgiving and charitable towards all
the giving up the total uprooting of vanity and pride
is a great task, but it is a blessed task,
and it can be accomplished by constant practice in non
resentment and by meditating upon one's thoughts and actions so
as to understand and purify them. And the spirit of
forgiveness is perfected in one in the measure that pride
and vanity are overcome and abandoned. The not taking offense
and the not giving offense go together. When a man
ceases to resent the actions of others, he is already
acting kindly towards them, considering them before himself or his
own defense. Such a man will be gentle in what
he says and does, will arouse love and kindness in others,
and not stir them to ill will and strife. He
will also be free from all fear concerning the actions
of others towards him or He who hurts none fears
none but the unforgiving man. He who is eager to
pay back some real or imaginary slight or injury, will
not be considerate towards others, for he considers himself first
and is continually making enemies. He also loves in the
fear of others, thinking that they are trying to do
towards him as he is doing towards them. He who
contrives the hurt of others fears others. There is a
beautiful story of Prince de Hayu, which was told by
an ancient Indian teacher to his disciples in order to
impress them with the truth of the sublime precept that
hatred ceases not by hatred. At any time, hatred ceases
by non hatred. The story is as follows. Brahmadada, a
powerful king of Benarez, made war upon Durkheti, the king
of Cossila, in order to annex his kingdom, which was
much smaller than his own. Dirghetti, seeing that it was
impossible for him to resist the greater power of Brahmadada,
fled and left his kingdom in his enemy's hands. For
some time, he wandered from place to place in disguise,
and at last settled down with his queen in an
artisan's cottage, and the queen gave birth to a son,
whom they called Drhayu. Now King Brahmadada was anxious to
discover the hiding place of Dirghetti in order to put
to death the conquered king, for he thought, seeing that
I have deprived him of his kingdom, he may some
day treacherously kill me if I do not kill him.
But many years passed by, and Dirghetty devoted himself to
the education of his son, and by diligent application, became
learned and skillful and wise, And after a time Dirghetty's
secret became known, and he, fearing that Brahmadada would discover
him and slay all three, and thinking more of the
life of his son than his own, sent away the prince.
Soon after the exile, the king fell into the hands
of Brahmadada and was, along with his queen executed. Now
Brahmadada thought, I have got rid of Dirkhetti and his queen,
but their son, Prince Dirkhayu, lives, and he will be
sure to contrive some means of affecting my assassination. Yet
he is unknown to any and I have no means
of discovering him. So the king lived in great fear
and continual distress of mind. Soon after the execution of
his parents, Dr Khayu, under an assumed name, sought employment
in the King's stables and was engaged by the master
of elephants. Dr Khayu quickly endeared himself to all, and
his superior abilities came at last under the notice of
the King, who had the young man brought before him,
and was so charmed with him that he employed him
in his own case. And he proved to be so
able and diligent that the King shortly placed him in
a position of great trust under himself. One day, the
king went on a long hunting expedition and became separated
from his retinue. Dr Khayu, alone remaining with him, and
the king, being fatigued with his exertions, lay down and
slept with his head on Durkhayu's lap. Then Dr Kayu thought,
this king has greatly wronged me. He robbed my father
of his kingdom and slew my parents, and he is
now entirely in my power. And he drew his sword,
thinking to slay Bermadada, but remembering how his father had
taught him never to seek revenge, but to forgive to
the uttermost, he sheathed his sword. At last, the king
awoke out of a disturbed sleep, and the youth inquired
of him why he looked so frightened. My sleep, said
the king is always restless, for I frequently dreamed that
I am in the power of young Dr Hayu, and
that he he is alone to slay me. While lying here,
I again dreamed that with greater vividness than ever before,
and it has filled me with dread and terror. Then
the youth, drawing his sword, said, I am Prince dir Khayu,
and you are in my power. The time of vengeance
has arrived. Then the king fell upon his knees and
begged Urkhayu to spare his life. And Dirkhayu said, it
is you, o King, who must spare my life. For
many years, you have wished to find me in order
that you might kill me. And now that you have
found me, let me beg of you to grant me
my life. And there and then Dibrahma Dada and Dirkhayu
grant each other life, took hands and solemnly vowed never
to harm each other. And so overcome was the king
by the noble and forgiving spirit of Dirkhayu, that he
gave him his daughter in marriage and restored him to
his father's kingdom. Thus hatred see by not hatred, by forgiveness,
which is very beautiful and is sweeter and more effective
than revenge. It is the beginning of love, of that
divine love that does not seek its own, And he
who practices it, he who perfects in it, comes at
last to realize that blessed state wherein the torments of
pride and vanity and hatred and retaliation are forever dispelled,
and good will and peace are unchanging and unlimited. In
that state of calm, silent bliss, even forgiveness passes away
and is no longer needed. For he who has reached
it sees no evil to resent, but only ignorance and
illusion on which to have compassion, and forgiveness is only
needed so long as there is any tendency to resent, retaliate,
and take offense. Equal love towards all is the perfect law,
the perfect state to which all lesser states find their completion.
Forgiveness is one of the doorways in the faultless temple
of Love divine