FORGIVE AND BE HAPPY

The Mystic Christ - Chapter Preview

Jesus Christ set an unforgettable example of how to respond. He let His body be tortured and crucified, and even when He was dying on the cross, Christ prayed for those who were against Him: He prayed for their own good-that they might be forgiven. Ammachi, Awaken Children, vol. 5

Jesus' uncompromising forgiveness can only be understood in the light of our unity in the I AM. We must forgive others because they are us. If we allow anger and hatred to infect our minds we will obscure and block the grace of God that flows from within us. The cancerous feelings of anger and hatred will grow and expand, infecting our lives more and more with each passing day. Our blindness and delusion will become deeper and more entrenched causing our errors to multiply bringing even more darkness. This becomes a vicious cycle from which it is very difficult to escape.

Let us think about the following childhood phrase: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Why do we feel hurt if someone says something hurtful to us? After all, they are only words. It is not as if the hurler of insults has physically hit us. Only words! The truth is, if we become angry because of what someone says, we do as much or more harm to ourselves than to the person with whom we are angry. We slide deeper into ignorance of our own Self or God. It is because of our own ego (ignorance of our unity) that we are offended and become angry.

When we see how deluded we have become by our own ego and how much we suffer because of it, we will have compassion and understanding for others even when they curse us and revile us. We will not become angry with them because we understand that they are steeped in ignorance and suffering just like us. How could one be born into this world and come out otherwise? Our parents are deluded, our teachers are deluded and media convince us that happiness is in gratifying the senses, having power and being popular. We are taught to buy in order to be and so the merry-go-round of our hollow and baseless existence spins around and around like a mad dog chasing its tail. Jesus demonstrated the depth of forgiveness that comes from one who is absorbed in the divine reality of our oneness when he was crucified. Imagine the horror of being nailed to a wooden cross then being left to die of thirst. What a horrible cruel death he had. Even as he was hanging from the cross in excruciating pain he said:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34, KJV

Jesus had only love, compassion and forgiveness for those who crucified him. He understood that they were deluded and simply didn't know any better. He had not even an iota of hatred or anger for them.

If our minds become angry when someone says something unkind to us, then why is it not possible to simply not get angry? After all they are just harmless words. Nobody has caused us any physical harm or discomfort. Ammachi explains the Christ-like attitude that we should work to develop.

"Son, suppose somebody is talking to us angrily. Listen to everything with patience. Don't feel angry at him. Anger comes when we think that we are the body. No anger or hatred will be felt if you think that "I am not the body but the Supreme Self." Who is there to be angry at then? There is only one Self that is all-pervading. It is in everyone. We must perfectly understand that we are not the body but the Atman." Ammachi, Awaken Children, vol. 1 [note: The Supreme Self is to the Atman as God is to the eternal Soul]

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