Sir,
I have read in many books that if you have a feeling of hatred for anyone you will not be able to live happy and joyful life. But how can I forgive a person who is continuously repeating the same mistake again and again infront of me ,it really hurts me a lot. What should I do in order to forgive him for his mistakes(Better to say for his sins)and to remove all hatred I have for him in my heart. Is there any prayer through which I can ask god to fill my heart with love for all creatures.
—Prashant Malik, India
Dear Prashant,
Yogananda made an important statement in Autobiography of a Yogi. He said: “Thoughts are universally, not individually rooted.” One implication of this statement is that when our minds are on a certain level, we will attract certain kinds of thoughts. If those thoughts are painful (such as hatred), the best thing we can do is learn to raise our energy level.
You don’t mentiion if you meditate and take time daily to make a connection with God. Meditation and devotional prayer are the best ways to lift your energy. Perhaps God has sent you the pain of this hatred to motivate you to change your life in a powerful way by connecting with God daily in meditation and prayer.
There is no magic prayer that will remove hatred, but if you daily fill your heart with God’s love and your love for God, you will find it more difficult to hate anyone, no matter what they do to you.
If you would like to start a meditation practice, you can begin by going to Ananda’s Meditation Support Site. If by chance, you are writing from Mumbai or Delhi, India, Ananda has strong teaching centers there. I encourage you to make a connection with our teachers there. Even if you are not in Mumbai or Delhi, they also travel to other cities. Contact them at ananda@anandaindia.org.
