Forgiving is not necessarily about the other person but about us. Seeking forgiveness and forgiving others is one of the important tenets of Jainism. Despite flourishing examples of the healing power of forgiveness, in the stories of the greats like Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama or Mahatma Gandhi, the world is torn by suffering and fear all because we cannot rise above our egos to inculcate a habit of forgiveness.

“I forgive all souls, let all souls forgive me. I have friendship with all and enmity towards none”- Jain Scripture Forgiving is often difficult to put in to practice as we tend to consider the granting of forgiveness as letting the other person off the hook or compromising on performance standards. However forgiving is about liberating oneself from the shackles of anger, ego, vengeance and all vices that have a negative impact on our spiritual and emotional being. Seeking forgiveness has a similar cleansing impact on our souls. Yet forgiveness is not one-time act or a lip-service during Paryushan, it’s a habit that needs to be inculcated by overcoming anger and bringing in humility.

In a materialistic or a high-performing corporate environment, it’s difficult to attain absolute and total forgiveness but let’s make a start through the small endeavors that we can - be patient with our kids despite repeated mistakes, rise above expectations in our immediate relationships and learn to accept others the way they are, give people a chance to improve and put ourselves in their shoes before making a judgement.

Write to us about your two acts of forgiveness or of seeking apology on our email id – forms@appliedjainism.in and get a certificate. Make sure to mention your full name