The most obvious thing to me about forgiveness is that it is related to time—more specifically, to the past. When we are unable or unwilling to forgive, it means that we are stuck in the past, we are trapped and imprisoned by the past. Anything which prevents us from living in the present is a detriment to our experience and growth as humans.
It is obvious that we can make little progress with the other virtues if we cannot escape from our past. The ego-personality is time-bound, but the soul transcends time. Thus, the energetic heart within which the soul exists is also associated with timelessness. Therefore, forgiveness is key to accessing the other virtues, because it frees us from the slavery of time.
What is the factor that makes forgiveness possible? Part of it is the willingness to let go of the circumstances and injustices which we believe have been done to us (whether true or not).
If one is living from the heart, practicing the art of the genuine, then why would it be necessary to forgive anyone? This implies that I have blamed someone or some group for wronging or harming me. Is it, in turn, “wrong” to recognize those who have caused one harm? No, as long as we do not hold onto that sense of being harmed. It’s the attachment to hurt, the self-pity which needlessly prolongs suffering. Just as we have been harmed and caused to suffer, our attachment to this condition results in our desire to penalize, to punish, to blame whoever or whatever has caused this. We want them to suffer also.
Forgiveness neutralizes this desire for revenge. What about those who want justice done, so to speak? This involves the laws governing society and goes beyond one’s personal capacity for forgiveness. Forgiveness is more of a subjective attitude, a state of mind rather than a specific gesture. Forgiveness is ongoing. It recognizes wrongdoing, but does not dwell on it, nor seek to prolong the guilt associated with it as a “punishment” to the wrongdoer. This applies equally to one’s own feelings of wrongdoing and sense of guilt.
