Forgiveness

[tommylama]

I was thinking how almost everyone, even spiritually minded people, carry a lot of negative energy around, because they cannot find it in their hearts to forgive – for whatever reason.

When we cannot forgive someone, we are placing our self above another person.

There is no other way to interpret a lack of forgiveness. A person who is unwilling to forgive will argue that the person who they cannot forgive does not deserve their forgiveness. So, they believe that under certain circumstances it is justifiable to elevate one’s self above another.

I would argue that there can be no satisfaction or comfort when we elevate our self or separate our self from anyone for any reason. There is an old adage which says that “Sadness is a wall between two gardens.” Walls create separation and sadness, resulting in conflict and war. Every human being is an entity of light and love and beauty and glory. It may be true that some human beings do not express this light and love, but it does not change their underlying essence.

It might be easier to forgive if we consider the concepts of karma and reincarnation.

Karma ensures that we continually learn and grow, because karma, as a system of reward and punishment, will eventually modify our behavior for the better. This presupposes a moral path which exists and which is in alignment with God’s plan. Straying from this path results in punishment, and since we are conditioned to avoid pain, we gradually align our plans with God’s plans. Over time, we demonstrate better and better qualities, like selflessness, harmlessness and kindness.

Another way to look at karma is that every action – every thought, word and deed we perform – changes the universe in some small way. The entire universe is different after our action. An “after” snapshot will be exactly the same as a “before” snapshot, with the single exception of what we just did. Our actions are like pebbles being dropped into a pond. Each pebble triggers a ripple effect which courses through the entire pond – a ripple for which we are responsible. God owns the pond, and He is very particular about how He wants His property treated. God wants everything and everyone to be perfect. He wants everyone to be happy and contented. He wants one big happy family in Paradise. That is His plan. Heaven on Earth. When our actions are good and kind and selfless they help to bring His plan to fruition, and so we are rewarded. Conversely, if our actions are selfish, indulgent or harmful, then they are less than perfect and interfere with His plan, so we are punished.

Reincarnation ensures that we have enough time to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to become perfect, or to follow Jesus’ directive to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Reincarnation must have a specific definition. It does not involve any kind of transmigration where an individual comes back in the form of an animal or less. A human being has reached a threshold in his or her evolution which precludes backward movement within the kingdoms of nature. Once a human, always a human.

Think about reincarnating for thousands or tens of thousands of lifetimes. In that enormous span of time, an individual will experience every conceivable combination of circumstances which are in the realm of possibility. An individual will experience every gender, every race, every income bracket, every religion, every adversity, every luxury, every level of intelligence, every everything many times over. In other words, if reincarnation is truly a thing, then somewhere in our past, each one of us has had the very same experiences of everyone we have ever met, or will ever meet. We are all the same. All human beings are of equal value. Nobody is better than anybody else, regardless of how much money they have, or how pretty they are, or how big their shoes are. Comparing the histories of human beings in this context, we are all one.

Given these premises, there is no good reason to harbor resentment or hold grudges against anyone for any reason.

To choose to harbor resentment or hold a grudge can only generate bad karma, because karma is nature's way of steering human beings towards the light of love and goodness and truth. The truth is that nobody is better than anybody else. To not forgive, to resent, or God forbid to hate another human being goes against the truth of unity, and therefore that kind of aberrant behavior must be punished.

There is always an excuse which we convince our self is a legitimate reason to not forgive. All of these excuses are nothing more than self-centered efforts to elevate us over somebody else. This can only lead to punishment.

So look deep into your hearts and relieve your self of the burden of resentment, or any grudges you carry around, or God forbid, any hatreds which plague your soul.

From the Lord's Prayer:

...and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...

What this means is that God will forgive us our trespasses commensurate to the extent that we forgive others. If we do not forgive those who trespass against us, we cannot expect God to forgive us. Or in other words, nature will continue to target us with uncomfortable karma and unfavorable circumstances until we find it in our hearts to forgive everyone.

We are all motes of dust. Forgiveness is just one dust particle forgiving another dust particle. It’s no big deal. And it feels wonderful to let go of something which has been weighing us down for a very long time.