FORGIVENESS
The popular saying is that to err is human, to forgive,
divine; which means forgiveness is a divine
quality. But we find this quality in
many kind-hearted persons. Religions advise
their followers to acquire this quality. Forgiveness is to forget the hurt caused to you. The word has
some synonyms like pardon, acquittal, amnesty, exoneration, mercy, absence of
malice and grudge. Some of the antonyms of forgiveness are : retaliation, punishment,
revenge. animosity, ill-will, hatred,malice and bitterness.
One of the best quotes on forgiveness is: Pardon, not wrath,
is God’s best attribute.
Forgiveness is a blessing for its practitioner. It keeps him free from detrimental anger, which
is harmful for his heart, mind and soul. Moreover, it relieves both the
wrong-doer and the one who has been wronged.
Given below is a famous poem on forgiveness. It is by the American poet James Russell
Lowell (1819-1891). The title of the poem is Yussouf. It reads:
A stranger came one night to Yussouf’s
tent,
Saying, “Behold one outcast and in
dread,
Against whose life the bow of power
is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay
his head;
I come to thee for shelter and for
food,
To Yussouf called through all our
tribes “The Good.”
“This tent is mine,” said Yussouf, “but
no more
Than it is God’s; come in. and be at
peace;
Freely shalt thou partake of all my
store
As I of his who buildeth over these
Our tents his glorious roof of night
and day,
And at whose door none ever yet heard
Nay”
So, Yussouf entertained his guest
that night,
And, waking him ere day said:”Here is
gold,
My swiftest horse is saddled for thy
flight.
Depart before the prying day grow
bold.’
As one lamp lights another, nor grows
less,
So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.
That inward light the stranger’s face
made grand
Which shines, from all self-conquest, kneeling low,
He bowed his forehead upon Yussouf’s
hand,
Sobbing: “ O Sheik, I cannot leave
thee so;
I will repay thee; all thou hast done
Unto that Ibrahim who slew thy son.”
“Take thrice the gold, ‘said Yussouf,
“for with thee
Into the desert, never to return,
My one black thought shall ride away
from me;
First-born, for whom by day and night
I yearn,
Balanced and just are all of God’s
decrees ;
Thou art avenged, my first-born,
sleep in peace !”
******
G. R. Kanwal
24 October 2023
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