Illuminations Newsletter 14 Addicted to Fault Finding “Look within. Amend yourself rather than pry into the frailties of others.” These are the words of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Fault finding is natural for the conditioned soul. We don’t have to learn how to do it or take training to get better at it. In fact, […]
In my forgiveness seminars, one thing consistently stands out: when a person’s heart opens, they forgive. When the heart is softened one does not want to cause pain to another. Since resentment is about getting back at someone for the wrongs they have done, a softened heart is the antidote to resentment. Through pranayama, chanting, […]
The more I do the workshops, the more I see how needed and beneficial forgiveness is for ourselves, for relationships, for minimizing conflict at home and in the workplace, and for dealing with all the bigotry, hatred, and prejudice in the world. Ours is a culture of “If I am wronged, I get back.” Most […]
A baby lion was raised by a family of sheep. When he grew older they sent him away because he was different. A man found him lamenting because he was faced with a life alone. The man asked why are you so depressed and the lion told him of his plight. The man said you […]
To advance in spiritual life the heart must become soft. Fault finding, holding grudges, being jealous of others, etc. makes the heart hard. In the Vedas, it is said that a person advanced in spiritual consciousness has a heart soft like gold and such a soft heart can easily melt in the love of God.
A devotee of the Lord does not want to see another person suffer. He feels he has no right to judge or inflict pain on anyone. When this humility mixes with compassion and feeling for the suffering of others, forgiveness arises. In the tradition of bhakti (devotion), humility, forgiveness, and compassion are inherent within bhakti. […]
The Power of Forgiveness We get stuck with forgiving when looking for logical reasons to forgive. We often say “I can’t forgive” or “I don’t know how to forgive” because we are looking for a good reason to forgive. The problem is you may never find a “good” reason. Forgiveness challenges us to be compassionate, […]
You create your own hell, and then you burn in it. My spiritual master sometimes uses the expression “hellish mentality. Yet, he doesn’t differentiate a “hellish mentality” from “dwelling in hell.” We are impacted by every one of our thoughts. If the thoughts are hellish, we are in hell. Hell is the absence of God. […]
Is Forgiveness Possible Before We are Pure? The Golden Avatara in this age of Kali, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, asked us to do kirtana (chant the holy names of God) in a humble state of mind with the tolerance and forgiveness of a tree. This instruction was not meant for the realized souls for they were […]
Forgiveness is one of the greatest cures for victimhood. Unfortunately, not being a victim is uncomfortable for some people. It’s easy to see why a person who wants to remain a victim can’t forgive others- then they would have to give up their victimhood. We should be glad the abuse is over. Are we really […]
Love is a much more pleasant emotion than hate. If we get a taste for love, we will give up our taste for hate. If we allow ourselves to appreciate someone we hate, it will transform our life. Forgiveness takes place when there is a change in our hearts. If we only understand forgiveness in […]
On a scale of 0 to 10, 0 indicating you totally disagree and 10 indicating you totally agree, please rate the following statements. What was done was so hurtful and destructive that it is unforgivable. What was done was so hurtful and destructive that it’s wrong to forgive. Only minor offences should be forgiven. It […]
“O great hero,” he said, “you have unnecessarily killed the king, who is supposed to be the embodiment of all the demigods. Thus you have committed a sin. We Brahmanas are worshipable by others only due to our quality of forgiveness. It is through this quality of forgiveness that Lord Brahma has achieved the post […]
In his book, “The Forgiving Self,” clinical psychologist Robert Karen describes case histories of patients whose lives have benefited by forgiving, and offers practical advice on how to bring yourself to forgive. Similar insights come from another clinical psychologist, Everett Worthington, Jr., author of “Five Steps to Forgiveness: The Art and Science of Forgiving.” Worthington, […]
Have You Forgiven? Below is a checklist to help you determine whether or not you are practicing a life of forgiveness, and thus what you may still need to work on. Go over this checklist as many times as needed for any person you have issues with. On a scale of 0 to 10, with […]
Forgiveness is Pleasing to Krsna The duty of a brahmana is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving. (SB 9.15.40) The Lord is very satisfied with His devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance, mercy, […]
Lord Indra was worried Maharaja Prthu might steal away some of his power and prestige, so he stole one of the horses for the sacrifice that Prthu was doing, and when he realized he had done wrong, he took shelter of Lord Visnu who then told Prthu to forgive Indra, which he did. So even […]
In this letter, HG Mahatma Prabhu replies to a devotee who is inquisitive as to how to understand and control anger. Anger is a secondary emotion. There is something deeper that causes your anger. In other words, your anger is a by-product of another emotion. What do you think is the cause of your anger? […]
React to Anger In this letter, HG Mahatma Prabhu replies to a devotee who wanted to know how to react when one gets angry? The dilemma for this devotee was to how to behave when others are seen not to behave properly although there is an intellectual understanding to not get angry and to tolerate. […]
What is the cause of our anger? Anger has nothing to do with external situations or people’s behavior. It may seem that these cause us to become angry, but nothing can cause something to come out of us if it doesn’t already exist within us. In other words, it’s not out there; it’s inside of […]