Forgiveness is an essential ingredient of healthy and well-balanced spiritual life. It could be said that our ability to forgive our offenders, to let go of our bitterness and resentment toward people, places, and situations is a sure indicator of our development. No matter how much spiritual knowledge a person could assimilate, all these noble ideas will prove to be fruitless if he/she is not able or willing to forgive. As many wise thinkers observed, a tape recorder can repeat every phrase or the Bible, but this doesn't make it enlightened.

"And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12), said Jesus in the Lord's Prayer. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14,15).

Based on these verses, it is easy to interpret sins as personal offences against the Personal Deity. But this would make God look like the One who is extremely touchy and hard to be pleased. It would sound as if the Father expects more forgiveness from us that He Himself is willing to extend. Of course, nothing can be farther from reality.

God is Love, and the nature of Love is forgiveness. We are always loved and forgiven, no matter what we do or who we are. But to walk in the fullness of love and forgiveness, we should stay attuned to the consciousness of love and forgiveness. Since we live from inside out, our thoughts and feelings of resentment will create for us experiences which will reinforce this resentment.

What we sow, we reap. What we radiate, we attract.

In the process of forgiveness, we do not settle a conflict with God or with our offenders. We settle a conflict with the universal law. We re-adjust ourselves to work with the law, not against it. Forgiveness releases the divine flow which was blocked by our bitter feelings.

Forgiveness is the key to deeper spiritual understanding.

One of the laws of life is that every situation we're in and every person we meet, is a gift of God. God is present in all things and manifested through all things in loving ways. All things were meant to be blessings, but in their ignorance people refuse to accept these blessings. They treat certain people or experiences as enemies rather than friends. They close themselves to valuable lessons and gifts which they brought.

It could be hard to swallow, but persons or circumstances which we consider the greatest obstacle to our growth or to universal progress, are in truth the greatest help. Taken rightly, they should stimulate us to stretch beyond ourselves and to become greater. They should inspire us to grow in understanding and in expression of latent powers and wisdom.

However, as long as we avoid lessons, we are doomed to repeat them.

We shape our world, both consciously and unconsciously, by our thoughts, feelings and attitudes. Forgiveness helps us to become conscious creators of our life. Our ability to modify our creations depends on our ability to learn from so-called "negative" or "unpleasant" experiences, and by this to transmute "evil" into "good".

Forgiveness of people is also linked to accepting ourselves as we are. Humans, like all other creatures in this world, are far from being a finished product. We are evolving. We are unfolding. We are reaching toward perfection, but none of us is perfect. It is a sign of narrow-minded and simplistic thinking to label people as "good" or "bad", "saints" or "sinners". We all are at different stages of development.

If you consider yourself to be more mature than some other person, which could be true, you may prove that it is so only through service. You are called to serve him/her not in the spirit of pride or superiority, but in the spirit of self-forgetfulness. Be willing to accept those who do not share your understanding and do not live according to your standards. Be willing to help them. This is the lesson of Jesus, who is considered by many the greatest Man who ever lived.