“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
– Lewis B. Smedes
Kabir – The couplet
????? ???? ?? ???? ??, ???? ?? ????? |
?? ?????? ?? ?? ???, ?? ???????? ???? ??? ||
transliterated:
Kshama bade ko ucchit hai, chhotan ko utpat |
Kaa Vishnu ka ghat gaya, jo Bhrighu maari laat ||
Translation:
Forgiveness is a fitting virtue of the truly great, others get flustered by it|
Why should God (Vishnu) be botheres, even when a mortal sage (Bhrighu) kicked him||
My thoughts:
Lewis B Smedes found the sweet spot in his quote above.
As a mortal, I tend to put me (I, me, mine) before everything else. I am the center of the universe, and nothing else matters ? Hence, it is up to the other to forgive and forget – not me!
However, if I can find the wherewithal to think my actions through, forgiveness buys me the peace, acceptance and tranquility that no wealth of this world can pay for. When I find tranquility, I find the ability to transcend both the problem and its cause.
This is what Kabir is referring to. Greatness is not achieved by doing great or grand things – it is achieved when one simplifies life and does all the little things right!