The Nuances of Forgiveness and Justice

The real beauty of a saintly person is forgiveness. A Vaishnava forgives offenses even before
they are committed. Devotees are not inclined to retaliate even if they are defamed, cheated,
cursed, neglected or even killed. What is the source of this unlimited forgiveness of a
devotee? Does this mean that a devotee never seeks justice?

The Reservoir of Forgiveness

The source of nourishment for the tree is the water residing deep within the surface of the
earth where its roots reach. Similarly, devotees’ forgiving nature is a result of their seeking
nourishment from the unfathomable reservoir of Krishna’s compassion. Uddhava is
transfixed while he is narrating Krishna’s compassion to Vidura in giving the position of a
nurse to Putana who had come with an evil intention of destroying Him.
He says,
aho baké yaà stana-käla-küöaà
jighäàsayäpäyayad apy asädhvé
lebhe gatià dhätry-ucitäà tato 'nyaà
kaà vä dayäluà çaraëaà vrajema
Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of
mother to a she-demon [Pütanä] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison
to be sucked from her breast?

It is said, “Man gets, gets and forgets. God gives, gives and forgives.”

Caitanya Caritamrita describes the nature of the Supreme Lord.

bhåtyasya paçyati gurün api näparädhän
seväà manäg api kåtäà bahudhäbhyupaiti
äviñkaroti piçuneñv api näbhyasüyäà
çélena nirmala-matiù puruñottamo ‘yam
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Puruñottama, the greatest of all
persons, has a pure mind. He is so gentle that even if His servant is implicated in a great
offense, He does not take it very seriously. Indeed, if His servant renders some small service,
the Lord accepts it as being very great. Even if an envious person blasphemes the Lord, the
Lord never manifests anger against him. Such are His great qualities.”

When Vibhisana came to surrender to Lord Rama, Sugriva and a few others were doubting
the intentions of Vibhisana. Lord Rama said,
sakåd eva prapanno yas
taväsméti ca yäcate
abhayaà sarvadä tasmai
dadämy etad vrataà mama
‘It is My vow that if one only once seriously surrenders unto Me, saying “My dear Lord,
from this day I am Yours,” and prays to Me for courage, I shall immediately award courage
to that person, and he will always remain safe from that time on.’

Rama said, this doesn’t only apply to Vibhisana, but even if Ravana comes and surrenders, he
would be forgiven!

The Need to be Forgiving

To err is human. Mistakes are bound to happen by a person possessing the four defects of
imperfect senses, getting illusioned, committing mistakes and cheating. Furthermore, every
conditioned being in this world comes under the sway of a myriad of unhealthy desires and
tendencies called anarthas, which impel a person to perform undesirable things. When such a
person, with a honest, sincere and repentant heart seeks forgiveness, then it is apt on the part
of a modest person to forgive an offender.

Shrila Prabhupada writes, “There are many instances in the spiritual history of the world in
which many saintly persons, although unnecessarily harassed, did not take action, although
they could have done so. Parékñit Mahäräja, for example, was unnecessarily cursed by a
brähmaëa boy, and this was very much regretted by the boy's father, but Parékñit Mahäräja
accepted the curse and agreed to die within a week as the brähmaëa boy desired. A Vaiñëava
is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does
not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of
the entire human society.”

Can something be Unforgivable?

Should we limit forgiveness? Kaikeyi’s offense was, in a way, unforgivable. She, coming
under the pernicious influence of Manthara, invited a disaster by asking two boons from
Dasaratha Maharaj and banishing Lord Rama in the forest for fourteen years. In a way, she
killed her husband, brought cleavage between mothers and sons & husband and wife, created
havoc in an entire kingdom, and broke limitless hearts. Kaikeyi wrongly felt that her own son
Bharata would be extremely pleased by her generosity toward him. But when Bharata
returned to Ayodhya, he saw the ghost city that had become teary, weary and void without
the presence of Lord Rama. Understanding the real culprit to be his mother, he became as
angry as fire. He disowned his mother. And to whomever he met later, whether mother
Kausalya, King Guha of the Nisada clan, he expressed his hatred openly toward his own
mother. When Bharadwaj Rishi heard of Bharata’s intentions, he became confident about
Bharata’s sincerity. At the same time, he sensed that Bharata was harming himself by not
wanting to forgive Kaikeyi who had felt remorse for quite some time since she had realized
her folly. Bharadwaj Rishi was the one who extracted forgiveness from Bharata toward
Kaikeyi. This not only helped Kaikeyi, but also made a huge burden release from the heart of
Bharata.

The damage that Kaikeyi had done was irreparable. Still, her heart was remorseful for her
rugged action. Maintaining grudge for a long time can lead to the hardening of one’s heart.
When a person is desperately seeking forgiveness for one’s actions but unable to convey the
message to the offender, a mediator can play a crucial role. Also, the offended person gets
relieved by forgiving the other.

What if the offender is not repentant?

Prahlada Maharaj was tortured by his own father Hiranyakashipu in numerous despicable
ways - by throwing him from a cliff, putting in a dungeon full of poisonous snakes, setting
him on fire etc. Prahlada had every right to not have an iota of compassion toward his deadly
father, but when Narsimhadeva killed Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada asked for the boon of
excusing his father from his sinful acts. That is the extra-ordinary compassion of a
Vaishnava.

Sometimes, when the offender is not repentant, or unaware of his mistake, a person by
himself or herself may extract forgiveness from the offender in order to feel a sense of
superiority, or to make sure that the other person has realized his/her mistake. Such a
behavior only makes one lose time, energy and consciousness in one’s precious pursuit of
Krishna Consciousness. It may accomplish a short term purpose, but it doesn’t give a long
term benefit.

What if a heinous act is adharmic, has affected near and dear ones or the lives of many
people? In the example of Prahlad Maharaj, majorly he was the one who was affected. Not
only that, he had tremendous amount of Krishna consciousness to withhold such injustice.
Here comes an important discussion on the need for justice.

The Need for Justice

On a personal level, if someone looted my house or kidnapped my near and dear ones, I
cannot simply refrain from any action. Neither can I say – I forgive everyone involved in this
incident, and remain indifferent.

If immoral, wicked, cruel acts are not punished for, then the strength of the wrongdoer
ameliorates. They get an indirect approval for their nefarious acts. Therefore, in the previous
times, capital punishments would be given to criminals to 1] impart the right justice and 2]
for the ultimate benefit of the offender.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that he descends for establishing dharma, or the principles
of justice. Krishna cannot tolerate the injustice done on His devotees. Although the devotees
may be forgiving, Krishna may be supremely forgiving, Krishna’s business is to award
justice to His devotees. Prahlad Maharaj was undoubtedly forgiving, but Narsimhadeva
imparted the right justice by killing Hiranyakashipu. The entire battle of Kurukshetra was
fought so that the Pandavas get justice which was denied to them for their entire life.

Who can impart justice?

Forgiveness is generally on a personal level. Seeking justice cannot always be done at the
personal level. If my near and dear ones are tortured by someone, I cannot take weapons and
start fighting back.

In the days of yore, the rajarshis, and presently, the heads of the state are responsible for
imparting justice. Lord Rama, being asked by Vishwamitra, killed Tataka who was causing
havoc in the performance of yajna by the sages. During exile, Lord Rama killed Vali, who
had committed great injustice against his brother Sugriva. He also killed the fourteen
thousand demons headed by Khara and Dusana. While touring the kingdom, when Pariksit
Maharaj saw a black person trying to harm a bull, he immediately took out his sword to kill
the offender.

In the above-mentioned examples, we see a straightforward application of justice. How can

forgiveness be applied under such circumstances? When someone goes beyond the level of
forgiveness, then the only means that remains is to fight for justice. Krishna is nonetheless
willing to give multiples chances if the offender is willing to reform.

Harmonizing Forgiveness and Justice

Ravana was a lusty rogue. Using treacherous means, he kidnapped mother Sita. He took Her
to Lanka. He tortured Her in innumerable ways. Even then, Lord Rama was ready to forgive
Ravana if he just returned Sita back. But that ruthless demon never came to his senses. He
was advised by Mandodari and Vibhisana to return Sita, but it fell on deaf ears. Finallly. Lord
Rama brought Ravana to justice.

Ashwatthama had treacherously murdered the five sleeping sons of Draupadi. Arjuna chased
and brought him to the camp of Pandavas. Draupadi offered obeisances to Ashwatthama and
gave various reasons why he should be forgiven and not killed. Yudisthira and the others
sided with Draupadi. Bhima responded that he should be killed for this offense. Krishna
ordered Arjuna to harmonize both. Arjuna, using his intelligence, chopped the hair and half
beard of Ashwatthama, and like an animal, sent him back. Arjuna demonstrated the perfect
harmony between forgiveness and justice.

Krishna was ready to forgive Shishupala a hundred times! But Shishupala was so envious that
in the Rajasuya sacrifice, he could not tolerate the glories of Krishna and went on committing
offenses beyond his permissible limit. Again, Krishna applied justice when forgiveness didn’t
remain an option!

Interestingly, when the Supreme Lord awards justice, the person who is killed is also
benefitted. This is Krishna’s or Rama’s compassion. Following in Krishna’s footsteps, a
devotee is also forgiving, at the same time, he or she is not naive. Whenever needed, a
devotee does the needful for imparting justice harmonizing the principle of forgiveness.

Doing what it takes to please the offender can reinstate Justice

In some cases, just seeking forgiveness may not help. But when one does the act of
establishing justice as a sign of one’s repentance, then that act of justice becomes the means
of being forgiven by others.

Ayodhyavasis were under the impression that it was a combined plot of Bharata and Kaikeyi
in banishing the connoisseur of their eyes, Lord Rama, to the forest. Bharata hadn’t known of
it at the least. He was totally innocent. His only desire in life was to serve and please Rama.
But how to tell it to all the citizens? They were looking at him with wrathful eyes. Even his
other mothers asked him was he happy sending his brothers to exile and father on his way to
heavens. It was intolerable for Bharata. Only when Bharata proclaimed to his mothers and
citizens that they will all go to the forest and get back Lord Rama, it was then the citizens
could put faith and trust on him.
Here, Bharata hadn’t committed the mistake. But his sincere desire to reinstate his brother on
the throne led to he being forgiven by the citizens.

When Injustice is a Means to establish Justice

Elsewhere, for establishing the right justice in the entire community, the Lord selects some of
His very confidential devotees to be the recipients of injustice. The injustice done on that
person lays the ground for establishing justice.

After His exile, Lord Rama stayed happily in Ayodhya with Sitadevi and His brothers. Once,
He came to know that a washerman was shouting at his wife who was not at home for a night,
saying, “I am not like Rama, who can keep a wife who has stayed at another’s place for a
year.” When Lord Rama heard this, He was devastated. Just for establishing the purity of
Sita, Rama had Her go through the agni-pariksha after Ravana was annihilated. Even then,
when He heard such comments from the citizens, He decided to banish Sita in the forest, near
the ashram of Valmiki. Although it was against His desire, and there was no fault on the part
of Sita, She was banished from the kingdom. Lord Rama had to commit injustice on Sitadevi,
for the sole reason of setting the highest standards of morality in His kingdom so that people
do not commit offenses toward Him, and they do not perform immoral acts on the grounds
that their King was also doing so.

The examples like the above are extremely rare. Even then, devotees put in a position of
injustice regard them as a mercy of the Lord, they understand the higher plan of Krishna, and
agree to remain in that state internally meditating upon the glories of the Lord. They don’t
keep any reservations to surrender unto the Lord, rather they feel it the greatest opportunity to
render service to the Lord. Lord Caitanya, expressing the same mood, says in the
Sikshastakam,

äçliñya vä päda-ratäà pinañöu mäm

adarçanän marma-hatäà karotu vä
yathä tathä vä vidadhätu lampaöo
mat-präëa-näthas tu sa eva näparaù
"Lord Kåñëa, who is the lover of many devotees (women), may embrace this fully
surrendered maidservant or may trample me with His feet, or He may render me
brokenhearted by not being present before me for a long duration of time, but still He is
nothing less than the Absolute Lord of my heart."

Being Self-Forgiving
Sometimes, one may be able to forgive others, but not oneself for the mistakes that one has
committed. This attitude, although sounds good, can often result in depressed states of
consciousness. Therefore, a sadhaka needs to learn the art of forgiving oneself, understanding
the human inebrieties and understanding that one is not perfect.

Yudhisthira Maharaja was perfect in every sense, still he felt that solely because of him, the
war happened. What was named as the battle for justice, he felt he created great injustice on
everyone. He could not even be consoled by Krishna or Vyasa. He was finally pacified
speaking to Bhisma.

Life doesn’t often bring forth situations in black and white. What is to be done in an event
requires great amount of maturity, grace of sadhus, sastras, the Supreme Lord, and guidance
of Vaishnavas. Also, the practical dealings of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, and of various
devotees provide us deep insights on how we should deal with the complexities on
forgiveness and seeking justice.