You are the cloud, you are the rain,/ You are the healer! You are the pain!
This Vedanta wisdom can apply to our daily life. Most of the physical pain and illness is self-injected. Naturally, the healing has to come from within, from one’s own self. We hurt and harm ourselves with negative thoughts and energy. The cure has to come from within. It has to come from heart and mind.
Like the garbage at home, the mind, too, accumulates garbage – both kinds, the stinking wet garbage and the dead, dry garbage. The wet garbage is hate, envy, prejudice and ill feelings. The dry garbage is regrets, hurt, pain and mistakes committed in the past.
The past is dust, for how long will you gather it? The pain may become sores and numb nerves, and for how long will you nurse it? Somewhere you have to de-link yourself from the past, and come back to the present. This you have to do for two reasons: One reason is so that you remain healthy, physically. Writes Hay, a life coach, "All disease comes from the mind. Whenever we are ill, we should check with ourselves who is it that we need to forgive.” And the second reason to get rid of internal garbage is to live in peace mentally. All that grudge, hurt, and pain cause turbulence in the mind leading to anger and frustration. We have to be free from both in order to be in harmony with our surroundings. You may call this goal as happiness.
The easiest way to reach there is to dispose of your mental garbage.
How should I get rid of all the garbage I have accumulated, you may ask. The simplest way to carry out this operation is through practice of forgiveness. It is a tradition among some communities to write every year what they call a Kshama Patra. The Hindi film ‘Dor’ was based on this theme. The written ritual of ‘kshma patra’ is one way of disconnecting ourselves from the past. It purifies the mind, creating space for peace and harmony in the present, while writing the script for the future.
The other way is to sit in silence before a lit lamp and forgive those who have insulted, humiliated, harmed and hurt you. Actually there are three stages in forgiveness. The first is to forgive verbally in a prayer. The second is to think positively about them. Thirdly you should do something that is good for them. Send a gift, or take them out for coffee or simply acknowledge them. Yes, do not forget to forgive yourself. Also you have to seek forgiveness of all the animals, trees, and birds you have harmed or intend to harm.
Forgiveness lifts the burden of the mind and creates space within. It is said that if you want to create your own destiny then you must create space for it by throwing away the emotional garbage in you that leaves little space for anything else. Forgiveness is a way of disposal of unwanted hurts and humiliations. By forgiving one can destroy past evil karmas, and create a clean space to write one’s future destiny.
“How many times should you forgive?” asked Dada J PVaswani, messenger of love, peace and compassion. “Seven times,” I replied confidently.
“No. Not seven times; you should forgive everyone and everything at least 700 times!” he smiled radiantly, echoing the words of Jesus Christ.
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