I Forgive Them, for They Do Not Know What They Do

It’s a very long list of people I need to forgive, stretching over many decades. Where do I even begin?

Maybe I should start with the easy ones, and work my way to the most difficult cases, the ones that I struggle with even today.

I forgive the travel agent who sold me a fake ticket with a fake seat number, a long time back in history. I even forgive the ticket collector who off-loaded me for the night at a remote train station, somewhere between New Delhi and Kanpur. No doubt the travel agent had families to support, and I should be grateful that I could provide sustenance to that family for a day.

I forgive the petty government functionary who gave me a driving licence in exchange for money, without a driving test. He must have let loose thousands of untrained drivers on our roads, without realizing the damage that he was doing.

I forgive the long line of government functionaries who made life difficult for me, during my working life in India. I forgive them for accepting money to do the job they were paid to do. They did not realize the damage they did to India’s economy. Luckily, there are not so many of them around today, as so many rules have been simplified, and computers do not accept bribes.

I forgive the sweet little girl in Mumbai who refused my proposal, unless I converted to Christianity. I didn’t want to do that, and the matter ended right there. It left a lasting impression on me, and I still believe religions divide people. Trust me, it’s true.

I forgive the taxi driver who drove me from the Delhi airport to Gurgaon in the middle of the night, during a recent trip to India. He drove with absolute confidence between two trucks barely ten feet apart, blissfully ignoring all traffic lights on the way. He gave me the vision of God at least three times during a 45-minute journey. I wish him well, and I hope he continues the good work.

I forgive the rude immigration officials who guard the US border crossings, looking for any excuse to deny entry. I am sure they are trained to be rude, but, perhaps, they are good human beings very deep down inside.

I forgive the close relative who stole my ideas to set up a successful business. It’s not really his fault, he just did what businesspeople do. It made my life difficult for a while, but it was really a blessing: it was a good learning curve and I moved on to better things.

I forgive my boss, in Canada, who took credit for a lot of my work in order to get a promotion. It’s not really his fault, it is some karmic pattern that repeats itself again and again in my life. Obviously, the fault lies in my own karma, why should I blame anyone else?

Now I come to the most difficult part of all: forgiving the higher power that caused me to lose my father and my brother when I was just a teen-ager, and more recently, my mother who passed away while I was on a flight to India to meet her. Who else can I blame for these tragic events but myself and my own karma?

As one poet says:

“Zindagi se badi koi sazaa he nahi

Aur zulm kya hai pata he ahi”

Translation

“There is no punishment bigger than life itself.

What are we being punished for, we don’t even know”

Who else can I blame but myself for whatever happened in my life? It must be something I did in this lifetime or in a previous one.

Hence, in the end, I forgive myself for being what I am, with all my faults.