No 68 of Living Live Series 1
Let us re-visit the issue of guilt which arises as result of our doing things we think is best for the moment but which turns out to be far from being so. Often, we think we could fare better and often we do regret and wish we could have done better.
But, all of us have yet to be free from attachment. All are far from the end point of purity and spirituality. Life is a never ending learning process and without making so-called mistakes, we would not have been wiser. Without reflecting on what we have done, we will not be able to have more of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the key to understanding the true nature of life, what Lord Bo Tien refers to as the inner truth for which religions are but the pillars of God. It helps us to develop the God nature in us, what we know as the ‘Holy Spirit’.
The light kindled by mindfulness will light up our soul to connect us to the divine light of Heaven. But this mindfulness should not evoke mental pain, guilt or fear of retribution. It must gladden the person who is mindful that he has learnt to be better by being mindful.
Instead of having negative attributes of dejection, instead of being upset, instead of wanting to denigrate oneself, of having psychological turmoil of self blame, of guilt, of depression, rejection and sense of worthlessness, the wise one who is truly mindful will love the opportunity to improve and to learn. He has to love himself and only then will mindfulness be rewarding and enriching.
Such a person will face facts and accept what done as done and go forward in life with no regrets. For he loves himself and is happy for being wiser from shortcomings he may have done. Thus the English proverb “failure is the pillar of success”. We may rephrase that, shortcomings and shortfalls in our actions and decisions do make us learn and succeed to be better persons. The one who falls often must pick himself up and try to walk tall again rather than wallow in the misery of his falls.
Thus our good Lord exhorts us that there is no SIN for God is forgiving. The English proverb “To err is human and to forgive is divine” alludes to this. Surely, God is divine and He is not hurt by our actions but will nurture us to do things in better ways.
But forgiveness by others alone may not make us better persons and may give us false confidence. God will want us to be better and wiser. He does not blame us in the first instance. Forgiving is not even the primary thing He wants to do for us. He wants to help us to do things better and not merely to forgive us for not doing things well enough. For in the first place, there is no need to forgive when He is not upset with us or hurt by our actions. God is not angry with us and divine enough not to exact punishment. He will accept us for what we are now and will love to help us to be better than what we are now and in the future.
Thus He sends us not only one saint or prophet but many. He provides not just one way or religion but many ways and religions.
Even for a given religion, there are many sects and subways.
Do remember that we should not judge God and saints by standards of man. Man is man and God is God. The ways of man differ from that of God.
Whilst men may expect us to wallow in guilt and sorrow for our lack of wisdom and divine actions, God and saints expect us to love ourselves and to learn from experiences of life. “We reap what we sow”. Thus our fellow men will say. But there is no need for reproach. We must accept, learn and be wiser.
Lack of wisdom is not the will of God but the making and weakness of the common man. But do thank God that He is always there to be with us even when men shun us for our lack of wisdom.
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