FORGIVENESS

all, while a tit-for-tat policy only aggravates and prolongs it. There are those who will argue that the policy of forgiveness will only encourage others to indulge in further wrongdoing against us. But this is a flimsy supposition and moreover, runs counter to the law of nature. Psychological studies show that every human being is born with an ego and a conscience. If you follow the tit-for-tat policy, it arouses the ego of the other person, whereas if you follow the policy of forgiveness, it will activate the other person’s conscience. And it is a fact that, in controversial matters, the conscience always plays a positive role. The culture of forgiveness helps in the building of a better society—a society where positive values flourish, where the spirit of co-operation prevails, where disparate groups join together and turn themselves into a peaceful society. The outcome of vengefulness is quite the reverse. The revenge culture creates an environment of mistrust, in which everyone takes others as their rivals. In the final analysis, it rules out the growth of a healthy society. Sooner or later, everyone is bound to do something wrong. But then the well-known saying “to err is human” should be borne in mind. This being so, taking revenge means making not just one mistake, but making mistake after mistake. On the contrary, forgiveness means undoing wrongs with rights. It is better to concede that, if to err is human, to forgive is even more human. Indeed it is this concept which is expressed in the well-known saying: “To err is human, but to forgive is divine.” o The culture of forgiveness helps in the building of a better society—a society where positive values flourish, where the spirit of co-operation prevails. Free your mind from prejudice When one is free of prejudice and predilection, one becomes a super-planner.