Is There Anyone to Forgive?
Do we have anyone to forgive?
I received a letter from a friend in which he asks: “Isn’t gratitude the best way to forgive?”
This is true if you are grateful that the person who offended you has become an instrument of your karma and helps you learn valuable lessons for your spiritual purification and advancement. But not everyone can realize this – at least not immediately after they have been hurt or offended.
When faced with resentment, most people blame the “offender.” This is how they “digest” their resentment. So they drown out their pain. However, accusations and revenge do not free you from resentment, but only mask it for a while and, at the same time, strengthen it. The only way to overcome pain is forgiveness.
If a person realizes that everything that happens to him/her happens by the will of God for his/her highest good, and therefore feels gratitude for everything that comes to him/her, then there is no one to blame and no one to forgive.