2. For Good Health: Forgiveness leads to inner healing. It is well known that a large majority of physical ailments occur due to stress and negative emotions. As we let go of the toxic emotions and thoughts from within us, the toxins and diseases within the body are also removed and expelled. People who are suffering from severe or terminal ailments can be healed by forgiving and releasing internal pain and anger.

3. For Loving and Harmonious Relationships: Relationships are an important part of our lives, whether with our parents, partners, family, friends, colleagues, or society. We can notice other people’s mistakes more easily as we get closer. We need to understand that mistakes are a part of life. This is because all souls are evolving, and we all do stupid things and make mistakes. Focusing on mistakes does not help a relationship. So, we must learn to forgive; forgiveness becomes the key to a happy relationship.

4. For Rapid Spiritual Growth: Holding on to anger and grudges is like holding down a balloon with weights. We need to remove the emotional and psychological weights from us to be able to fly spiritually. We must transcend spiritually.

5. To Attain Inner Peace: Some of us are holding on to pain from previous negative experiences in our relationships. Forgiveness helps us let go of our past hurt, anger, and resentment, and we can rise above the inner pain and turmoil to attain inner peace. It’s similar to how a lotus flower rises out of the mud to bloom in full glory. Forgiveness can be inner or outer. Sometimes, the situation may demand firmness or severity, but severity must be balanced with compassion and mercy. For example, if we see a person committing a serious crime, we need to report the person to the police to protect society, but this does not mean we need to be angry from within. One can be firm from the outside yet gentle from within. Inner Everyone must practice inner forgiveness, but outer forgiveness has to be done on a case-to-case basis.

6. For a Better Life: Forgiveness is one of the best ways to neutralize our past negative karma. As we forgive, we are forgiven for our past mistakes. This way, we are partially protected from poverty, illness, and other difficulties of life. This is especially important if you are going through a bad phase in your life. There is no better way to ask for divine mercy than to be merciful to others, especially to those who have hurt us.

7. To Let Go of Nasty People: If two people harbour negative feelings and resentment towards each other, an energy link is established between the two people. This energetic link often binds the two souls together for lifetimes till it is released. Master often narrated a story about a young couple whose child was born with mental and physical deformities. They visited the famous seer Edgar Cayce (who is sometimes known as the Sleeping Prophet). Cayce accessed their past life to see that the child had imprisoned and tortured them in their previous life and was suffering in this life. The parents, being subject to torture, hated and cursed him till the end of their lives. They vowed never to forgive the jailor. Hence, they were forced to be in a position where they had to love and care for the child. Anger and hatred bind two souls together. But guess what… it only takes one to break the link. If we do not want to be in a similar situation, it is better that we forgive and forget.

Hence, to summarize, forgiveness is the right thing to do, and it is also the smart thing to do!

Now that we are aware of the importance of forgiving, it is clear that we need to put this into practice. But is it as easy as it sounds? The good news is that it can be if we practice the following techniques diligently.

Practicing Forgiveness

1. The Virtue of Loving Kindness and Non-Injury: In any relationship, the closer two people get, the more the chances of friction. The lubricant for this is love in thoughts, words, and actions. We can transform the relationship as we practice a high degree of loving-kindness. When we practice non-injury, our tendency to become angry or lose patience is gradually eliminated. When external circumstances and people can no longer stir up our emotions, we can truly be peaceful and healthy. Loving kindness and non-injury need to be practiced towards self, too. Whereas it is important to be aware of our shortcomings, excessive remorse and guilt must be avoided since we tend to become what we meditate on. If we do not love ourselves, it is impossible to love others. Hence, practicing Inner Reflection, Firm Resolution, and other self-purification techniques is essential to eliminate these weaknesses.

2. Blessing: One of the simplest ways of improving or healing a relationship is by blessing. First, we list the people who have hurt us or whom we do not share a good relationship with. One by one, we need to bless these people with all the qualities they may require, like love, peace, compassion, physical and emotional healing, prosperity and abundance, and spiritual development.

3. Affirmation for Forgiveness: Begin by visualizing the person before you. Then you may silently say:

“Namaste! You are forgiven. The Matter is forgotten. God’s love be with you. May God’s peace be with you. Go in peace.”

This must be repeated 7 times for 7 days (or longer). Please do note that we need to first forgive other people before we ask for forgiveness from others. Please also refer to this article on Forgiveness Affirmations].

4. Meditation on Twin Hearts: Practicing the Meditation on Twin Hearts is one of the simplest and most effective ways of leading a balanced life. Practicing this meditation regularly transmutes one’s inner negative thoughts and emotions to higher energies of love, joy, and peace. Before we replace the qualities of hatred, sorrow, and anger with love, joy, and peace on the earth, these energies first pass through us. Thus, the world within us is transformed before we try to transform the world outside. You may read about a specific story of a woman who used Meditation on the Twin Hearts to save her marriage here.

5. The Golden Rule: The Golden Rule is the tool to create our future. It has two sides – Yang and Yin: active and passive. The Yang Golden Rule states that we should do to others what we want them to do to us. If we want others to love and respect us, we must love and respect them. The Yin Golden Rule states that we must avoid doing to others what we do not want them to do to us. If we do not want others to criticize us harshly or excessively, we must avoid cruelty and harshness and refrain from excessive mental criticism. So, putting this into proper context, none of us are perfect, and we have all made mistakes and done dumb things. If you want to be forgiven for your actions, the smart thing is to forgive others first. The Golden Rule is simple in its meaning yet profound in its application. Before any thought, speech, or action that we produce, if we think about the Golden Rule and proceed accordingly, we can transform our lives.

Though these techniques sound very simple, they are extremely potent. Let us put these into practice immediately. May we forgive ourselves and others completely so there comes a day when there is no need to forgive anymore because “To Err Is Human To Forgive Is Divine.”

We hope that you have liked this article and found it helpful. You may also like to read another article on our site about the energetic approach to improving relationships.