This chapter is the English translation of Gujarati Book Title - Sadhak and Sathi Author - Shri Atmanandji (Dr. Soneji) CHAPTER - 1 FORGIVENESS (KSHMA) BACKGROUND Forgiveness, a unique part of our religion, prevents emergence or the rise of anger in one's self, inspite of the outside forces that can get you angry. Forgiveness is a desirable virtue of heroes. Real forgiveness makes a person ponder, "Even though I have the capacity to fight with the opposing individual or object, how can I discard this virtue of forgiveness and resort to anger? Anger demolishes the very foundation of forgiveness which is precisely my inborn nature, my true being." Great saints, who uphold forgiveness with such true philosophical thinking are real heroes in this universe. THE GENERAL NATURE OF ANGER Passion, Anger, and Greed are the three basic vices. They are described in Indian culture as the gateways of hell. A Sadhaka, therefore, who fears sin, should try to overcome these three vices in the right spirit and sense. When a person is overcome with anger, he forgets the difference between the good and the bad and acts blindly without being discreet. The upsurge of anger creates several physical reactions that develop in the body of the angry person. His heart throbs at a higher rate, his brows furrow, his face becomes flushed and he starts perspiring. The person becomes belligerent, his hands and feet tremble, and the angry person attacks the adversary with blows of his fists or kicks. He starts to hit with anything, like a stick, a dagger, a sword or a gun. If a man does not want to surrender to such outside destructive forces (Tandava-nritya), he should evaluate his anger in its very initial stage, and try not to be dominated by it. THE WAYS TO CONQUER ANGER One has to pass through two stages of training to conquer anger: 1. Knowledge of the subtle nature of anger. 2. Experimenting with forgiveness in daily life. 1. KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBTLE NATURE OF ANGER The pathway to get rid of anger cannot be traced properly until we appropriately know what anger is. Anger is a perverse state of the Soul. There are three causes for the rise of this perversion: a. The external object or person has done some wrong to us, abused us or obstructed what we desired to achieve. b. Rise of internal illusory Karma. Actually the soul is perfectly pure by nature and it has the valuable characteristic of forgiveness. However, it gets turbid or confused when it is subjected to the rise of Karma resulting in anger. Anger is the reverse of forgiveness. c. The main reason for the rise of anger is the forgetfulness of one's own nature, that is, of forgiveness. This means the loss of faith and abandonment of the knowledge that "I am of the nature of forgiveness." The result is an outburst of anger on the part of the mind. Thus, the lack of clear knowledge about the basic nature of our true self is the main reason for the rise of anger. 2. EXPERIMENTING WITH FORGIVENESS IN DAILY LIFE: One who has firmly resolved that this soul is of the nature of forgiveness, has to remain awake and alert when anger seems to overtake him. He should then ponder in his mind this way, "This anger is not found in my original nature; it is the result only of the rise of Karma or action done in the past life. Why should I, then, give a place to this extraneous emotion in my soul? This anger is unholy. It is an enemy to my nature and it even leads to sorrow in this world. Moreover, the Karma that will shape itself due to anger will again arise and lead me to sorrow in future. I, must, therefore, discard anger that causes loss to me in all respects and at the same time I must get firmly established in forgiveness, in equanimity of mind, and in the state of the knowledge, because I have the ability to recognize anger before it arises or immediately when it arises." A great soul-force is created in one's self, by constantly practicing in this way the awareness to separate the perversion of anger from one's true self. With this soul-force, one gets firmly established in Samadhi, a form of unique forgiveness. Then the person is not tied by the bondage of Karma, but experiences unique peace and unparalleled peace of mind and heart. Be aware, O Great Souls, that constant and patient experimental training, through a state of awakening of the soul, is precisely the right way to cultivate the virtue of forgiveness and to conquer anger. Just as a man resolves to abstain from food at the time of a fast, or takes another religious vow, similarly, one who wants to root out anger, should take a vow of training everyday, "I shall not subject myself to anger today." He should also fix a small penance for each lapse so that mistakes committed every day can be counted. If a person trains himself for some time in this way consciously, his nature will change. Such is the great power of this small vow, and hence, its great utility to the Sadhaka. OBSTACLES TO THE Sadhana OF FORGIVENESS It is possible that a Sadhaka will come across certain obstacles in the present age in which most people are averse to or dislike religion. But a Sadhaka should know that such insults, obstacles and the like, coming from these people averse to religion, form a good opportunity for him to minimize his earlier Karmas. From one view-point, it is proper for him to be thankful to these obstacles for the same rather than get angry. When various sorrows of mind and body or insults befall person, it is proper for him to think thus, "My previous Karmas have come to bear fruit. These men or animals who inflict sorrows upon me are mere instruments. I must, therefore, keep up my forgiveness and must not get angry with anyone." Also, when somebody accuses a person as being low, ignorant or pretentious, the person does not become that. Generally we become what we think and feel. After knowing this doctrine of truth, it is beneficial to all of us to keep up our nature of forgiveness, even if we have to make great efforts to do so. CONCLUSIONS: Enlightened meditation is quickly attained, in our path to liberation of the soul by resorting to this virtue of forgiveness. Evidently we experience inner bliss. An all- round atmosphere of peace is created because internal mental sorrows as well as external conflicts, quarrels and abuses exist no longer. Thus, with the disappearance of anger and jealousy, atmosphere of friendship and unity is created everywhere in the society. As new bondages of Karma do not arise for the individual Sadhaka, and as the former Karmas deplete and vanish, the soul becomes increasingly purified and a great state of Sadhana emerges. May this religion of forgiveness that leads to the bliss of our self and of others, reign ever victorious in our life. GREATNESS AND GLORY OF FORGIVENESS: 1. Forgiveness is the sublime opening to liberation of the soul. 2. Where there is compassion, there is religion; where there is greed, there is sin; where there is anger, there is death and where there is forgiveness, there is the truth of the spirit. 3. The Sadhaka should give up anger, realizing that it is unholy, contrary to the real nature of the Soul, and the gateway to sorrow. 4. Uphold, forever, in your heart, forgiveness that leads to peace in This Life and which is instrumental in bringing the highest and the best state in the Life Hereafter' 5. Just as a lamp shines of itself and shows the path to others by its light, similarly saintly souls in spite of numerous calamities bring calmness to others. 6. Just as the earth tolerates digging, stomping and striking; just as trees tolerate cutting, similarly only the enlightened souls can tolerate insults and bad words. No others have that capacity. 7. The tree of religion, that grows through right conduct and right knowledge and is tended by self-study, austerities and faith, will be consumed to ashes by the fire of anger. Let us, therefore, keep anger away at a great distance. 8. Compassion, peace, equanimity, forgiveness, truth, renunciation and non-attachment are found in the personality of a person aspiring after liberation. He is ever alert. 9. When causes leading to sorrow arise, great Sadhakas again and again resort to forgiveness, thinking like this, "This is the occasion of a test of my life time Sadhana. Why should I not be on the alert?" or, "Despite being an aspirant for liberation, if I retort by harsh words, like ordinary worldly people, I would be just one of them. What would, then, be the significance of my claim of being one aspiring after liberation?" Pondering in this way, the tenacious "Sadhakas" are not shaken, and steadfastly maintain forgiveness. LIVING EXAMPLES OF FORGIVENESS (1) Shivaji was a great Hindu king of the state of Maharashtra, India during the seventeenth century. He fought fiercefully with the last Moslim Emperor, Aurangzeb for the freedom of India. He was considered a great warrior, patriot, and administrator in western India. Swami Ramdas was the guide and preceptor of the king Shivaji. It was with the training and inspiration of Swami Ramdas that Shivaji attained to a great success in his life. Swami Shri Ramdas is famous saint in the History of India both as the preceptor of the king Shivaji and also as a great saint. Once, during the summer, he was on his way to meet Shivaji with his pupils. Some of his pupils entered a farm, broke off a few stalks of sugar-cane and began to suck them. However, when the watchman of the farm arrived, they quickly ran away. At that time, Swami Ramdas was sitting nearby meditating upon God. On seeing him, the watchman thought, "It seems that this monk is behind it." Under this mistaken belief, the watchman beat him severely and threw him out. Swami Ramdas, with his spirit of equanimity, did not utter a single word. Now, when Shivaji met Swami Ramdas, he saw many scars on his body. Shivaji gathered the facts from the pupils. The watchman was immediately arrested and brought in front of the king Shivaji. Shivaji said, "Well Guruji, what punishment shall I give to this man?" Ramdas replied, "I myself shall punish him." He announced his judgement in the following words, "From today, the farm shall be awarded to this watchman. He shall be exempted from all taxes during his life-time." Shivaji, his courtiers, and the pupils of Ramdas, were all stunned on hearing this judgement. They began to think. Look, how compassionate are the hearts of great people! Swamiji forgave fully this man's ill-deeds and also helped him in return. (2) King Ranjit Singh (1780 - 1839), better known as the Lion of the state of Punjab, India, was well known for his kingmanship, benevolence and military leadership. Once, while he was walking on the outskirts of the city, a rock hit him. The King was injured and his body-guards came running to help him and look for the person who has thrown the stone. After a shortwhile, the body-guards presented an old woman before the king. She submitted, "O King! My grandson was without food for the last three days. As he had had no food, I threw a stone into this mango tree, so as to get a ripe fruit to satisfy my grandson's hunger. However, due to my misfortune, the stone missed its aim and hit you, your honor! It was not at at all my intention to hurt you." King Ranjitsingh heard the old woman and said to his followers, "Give a thousand Rupees to this woman, as well as food and arrange to send her home in all honor!" The soldiers and others were stunned and said, "O King, this woman had the audacity to hit you with a stone. She should therefore be severely punished." The king said, "Well, brethren! If a tree which has no brain, yields a fine fruit when hit with a stone, how can we, as intelligent persons, punish this woman?" This is the reason why this great, benevolent and forgiving King attained a place amongst the noblest Kings of India.