09 January 2014 - QA 2

I was abused as a child. What is the best way to forgive that person?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, people who abuse, either they have been victims or they are ignorant. If they are ignorant, it is not their fault. They have never been educated. You have to have pity for them, compassion for them. And if they are victims themselves, then they inturn become culprits, then also they need compassion. They never got a chance to know about themselves, they never got a chance to control their emotions. They were not taught how to control their tendencies, or how to get out of the bad habits that they had cultivated. This guidance was missing.
When you see from this angle, you will find that inside every culprit there is a victim crying for help. And when you recognize the victim inside the culprit, your anger, hatred, and frustration will simply drop. You don’t have to do anything, it will just disappear.

So this is why I say, see the situation from a broader perspective. And forgive for your own sake, not for their sake. When you forgive, what happens? At least your mind gets free from that past, from that trauma, and you move forward.
And help others, there are so many other people who are getting into that trap. See what you can do to help them. This is what we should do. See the past as destiny, the future as freewill and in the present be dynamic, be active. Do the best you can to the world around you.