How do you give up hate ?

July 1, 2003

God,I'd love to give up this burning hatred for those who... have wronged me and...

for those who have abused me and ...

for those who have cheated me and ...

for those who have exploited me...etc...

July 1, 2003

chant hare krishna

if we do not reconcile ouselves with the supreme lord, we live in a "body" cosciousness and we see others like instruments to satisfy our senses...

of course people do not want to serve us, because they are busy trying to satisfy their own senses, there is not satisfaction, then anger and hate begins

chanting hare krsna we will see krishna and all the universe and the creatures in him (like mother yasoda sees "everything" in the mouth of gopala)

theist · July 1, 2003

I know those sentiments are correct. I find myself attached to the resentments I have formed to other people. I know I need to give them up but I don't really want to.

I am not sure of the pyschology involved but I can see it makes no sense. Yet I cling on to old patterns of anger and other negative emotions as if they have become my very self.

Hmmm... Maybe I do identify with them to that extent.

I_love_krishna_ · July 1, 2003

Everything is krishna, so, even hate is krishna. Hate is good, when used properly.

We are not hate though, hate does not touch us, however, if we are feeling hatred against a person, it is easier to allow it and then decrease it than to constrain it forcefully.

I tried constraining some emotions forcefully, but they bursting out when it reaches a peak level, its uncontrollable really. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

hate is useful when we use it against the lower tendencies.

However, hate is a tool, not to be confused with the entity.

July 2, 2003

it is not really possible to achieve the complete control of our senses with material or psychological adjustements

while we are in this worls, anger, lust, fear, hate etc, are unavoidable

the only way is to ask for help to a more powerful person... SRI KRSNA

"chant hare krsna and be happy" means: be satisfied and happy to know that hare krishna is the only and most powerful medicine for all diseases

July 2, 2003

if you are wronged, make a determination to revenge, and then do not hate them.

this is kshatriya spirit.

to not do so is to encourage the bad guys.

jai sri krishna!

gHari · July 2, 2003

Yes, that word 'me' is in every phrase of that leading post. Get rid of 'me', the object of the wrong, the abuse, the cheating, the exploitation, then there is no one to hate. No abuser, no cheater, no exploiter.

Let all those little false ego MEs die a noble death on the battlefield as Krsna guides your chariot through the myriads of false egos all vying to be ME, all vying to be I.

July 2, 2003

Thank you , yes the little false "me" must die a glorious death on the Battle of Kuruksetra. I must do-the Lord's Divine Will- or die a spiritual death all wrapped up in false ego designations of me and mine.The real I is God's eternal servant totally absorbed in serving the orders of God's pure devotee in spontaneous loving ecstasy.

August 21, 2003

Hate is a feeling equivalent to Love. You must be capable to experience hate and love and every other feeling without guilt, because you cannot control your feelings. This does not mean that you should allow yourself to act upon your feelings of hatred.

If you repress your hatred, and try to bury it up with false feelings of love, you will lie to yourself and become divided. A part of your spirit will detach and become a "demon", an impuse against others or against yourself that you will not be capable to control.

Example: Your father abuses you physically. Consciously or subconsciously (hidden), you will feel hatred towards him. If you try to repress your hatred and pretend that nothing happened, it is most possible that you become a rebel and that you acquire an emotional problem with authority or with the symbols of authority (government, policemen, etc.)

Example 2: If your mother manipulates you and lies to you, you may pretend that nothing happened and you may love her unconditionally, but you will certainly revenge on other women. You may believe that all women are liars and manipulators, and you may not believe a pure woman who is innocent and deserves to be believed.

If you hide your feelings of hatred from yourself, and it is IMPOSSIBLE to eliminate them, you will revenge on the pure and innocent instead of confronting your REAL enemies.

Myra · August 21, 2003

Hate is the Absence of Love. And not as the opposite or equal to Love.

Remeber: God is Love.

That's a simple formula:

Hate is the Absence of God... in your heart.

If you feel bad that leads to hatred, but God is in your hearts, hate will never enter then, becasue there is the presence of God in you. God will take away all the pains and will console you and will purify your heart.

Bhaktavasya · August 21, 2003

The example you gave of an abusive father or a manipulative lying Mother can be extended to all our 'enemies' we encounter during a lifetime and ususally directed towards someone who has been close enough in our lives to inflict pain, whether physical, emotional or mental.

Forgiveness, in my mind, is the only way to let go of the hatred. It doesn't come just by saying it or wishing it but by seeing the person who harmed you as an entangled, conditoned soul who has to live with their own self-created hell while you are blessed to have faith in Krishna and are on your way back to Godhead.

My own biological father was a mean, abusive drunk who I hated so much in my youth that I wanted to shoot him with the family rifle the last time he put my Mother in the hospital. She begged me not to, knowing I would go to jail for it (I was 19 years old)but I had so much hate for him that I was prepared to go to jail but Mom said she's commit suicide if I shot him. Whenever I used to think of him the hate was so intense it would make me feel sick and depressed.

Then I came in contact with the devotees and the holy name and something happened that I never expected; I saw him for the pitiful, despised person that he was and for the first time felt sorry for him. I wrote him a letter saying that I forgave him for all the beatings he inflicted on me personally. By the time I joined the movement my Mother finally left him for good, my 8 siblings wouldn't speak to him or give him the time of day and he telephoned me at the temple, drunk as usual but crying for the first time in my life. I read to him over the phone the story of King Drstarastra leaving home for the forest, told him he should go and live in the country because it was the mode of goodness and make a vow to quit drinking. He actually did it, brought a cabin in the woods by a lake, joined AA and stayed sober for the next 5 years before falling off the wagon again but this time he had no wife or kids to abuse.

He came to see me during a drying out period, at the temple, and asked me what my religion believes happens to you when you die. I told him about karma, that if you inflict pain on others you have to experience it in your next life. Then I felt sorry for him again and told him that it's never to late to 'make amends' and that being kind to those he harmed would minimize the bad karma.

He tried by giving presents and doing stuff for my siblings, but the alcohol and hard living caught up with him and he died alone before he was 60, his body rotted with cancer and liver disease, and was found clutching a half empty bottle of rum in bed with him. I prayed to Krishna that he take birth in a family who were non-violent and loving(his father before him was also a mean, violent man). I sensed that to ask that he be born in a family of devotees was stretching it because he hadn't developed the necessary pious credits.

I can't accept that hatred or revenge is ever a good thing. I know from experience (even after trying to become a devotee)that hate is never satisfied, it eats you up and connects you with the object of hatred in this life and into the next. Prabhupad once said that sometimes people marry their former enemies so that they can continue fighting with them!

That's why TRANSCENDING negative emotions (as opposed to trying to block them out or supress them) is recommended.

As Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing."

August 22, 2003

This is so valuable a lesson

that you have such a deep realization

on the necessity to give up hate through forgiveness.

--------------------------- quote

Forgiveness, in my mind, is the only way to let go of the hatred. It doesn't come just by saying it or wishing it but by seeing the person who harmed you as an entangled, conditoned soul who has to live with their own self-created hell while you are blessed to have faith in Krishna and are on your way back to Godhead.

------

I pray that I can have your sense

of forgiveness for those who have abused me in the past.You are sharing a valuable technique

in the spirital science of Krishna centred living.

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I can't accept that hatred or revenge is ever a good thing. I know from experience (even after trying to become a devotee)that hate is never satisfied, it eats you up and connects you with the object of hatred in this life and into the next. Prabhupad once said that sometimes people marry their former enemies so that they can continue fighting with them!

That's why TRANSCENDING negative emotions (as opposed to trying to block them out or supress them) is recommended.

As Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing."

------------

I have that feeling of hate eating you up so bad.I once fell off my bicycle thinking so much of hate.All i can do now is to chant Hare Krishna and pray to Sri Guru for the core of my heart that he can give me the spiritual strenghth

to conquer this hate(and all those things associated like

wanting vengence-revenge)

Bhaktavasya · August 22, 2003

The only reason I have such realization of the destructive effects of hating is because I've been embroiled in the hell of hating someone (as I said, even after trying to become a devotee, hearing from Krishna that one must 'rise above' feelings of enmity to be situated on the transcendental plane)and observing that a heart filled with hate is like punishing yourself more than the person who harmed you or others can possibly do, as the mind becomes polluted with thoughts of that person (the injury inflicted) thus leaving no room for meditation on the Lord and His pastimes.

The time you fell off your bicycle reminds me of a 'hate-filled' experience I had after an intense verbal fight with a former abusive mate. I was so blinded by anger and could actually hear myself repeating the mantra, "I hate you, I hate you", referring to the former mate when I rushed off into the crowded street to get away from him and was just about to step out onto the intersection when an 'invisble hand' stopped me just in time. A split second later a huge truck zoomed by and had I not stopped abruptly I wouldn't be here to tell the tale.

I guess the moral of that story is that one should remove oneself as far away from the object of hatred, whether physically or mentally, and fix the mind on the source of the ever-smiling face of the Lord. It's not easy, but the alternative is far worse.

August 31, 2003

I do believe there are some good points in this article on the act of forgiveness as a spiritual function to give up hate,anger,pain,...etc.

Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D

While reviewing literature on forgiveness, I came across a most delightful cassette album on this subject by Dr. Joan Borysenko, an internationally renowned expert in mind-body medicine and immune function. She named this cassette album as, "Seventy Times Seven." Fascinating title! You guessed it right. Her choice of name is based on the Biblical story.

Peter comes up to Jesus and asks, "Lord how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? 'till seven times? Jesus says to Peter, "I do not say unto you seven times: but, until seventy times seven."

An interesting choice, the number seven is. Various myths and religions across the world treat the number seven as a sacred number with cosmic and spiritual significance. Seventy times seven is even more sacred, universal and eternal. To forgive seventy times seven suggests that forgiveness is a spiritual act and we should maintain an attitude of forgiveness in our lives.

It is easy to love those who love us. It is difficult to like those who are critical of us. Yet, it is crucial to forgive those who hurt us. Forgiveness is a challenge, but countless people are able to meet the challenge. They not only forgive, but even go to the extent of helping their tormentors.

I am always shocked and moved by the courage of people who forgive those who robbed them of their childhood, crippled them for life, or murdered members of their families. A victim who has been traumatized so severely has every reason to hate his or her tormentor. Those who can transcend such justified.hatred are extraordinarily morally and spiritually developed people. Forgiveness is indeed for brave hearts.

Those who forgive are not condoning perpetrators of wrongful acts. Their forgiving should not be understood to imply, "You can do it again to me." Those who forgive are simply saying to their own selves, "This hate cannot run my life any more."

Don't rush to forgive. Merely paying lip service to the words, "I forgive you" won't help to break the cycle of anger, shame, and helplessness. True forgiveness is only possible after we complete the required emotional work. We are not really able to forgive until we have worked through, at least, the intense part of our pain, anger, grief, and helplessness.

It's only after the necessary emotional work has been done that the victim in us is ready to take the "big leap," that is, to forgive the tormentor. When we work up our courage and take the big leap of forgiving people who caused us intense pain and hurt, we can set ourselves free from shackles of past.

The wounds can then heal at the core and we don't victimize ourselves over and over again from the old trauma. When we are no longer chained to the past, the time of the old trauma, we can live in the present moment. Living in the present moment is true freedom. Forgiveness sets the forgiver free. This is why Joan Borysenko says that another name of "forgiveness" is "freedomness," because it frees one from the cycle of hate and fear.

Those who forgive experience an elevation in self-esteem. They feel better because they finally say to their aggressors, "You have controlled me enough in the past, but now you can't control me anymore. I decide how I want to live my life from now on. I am in-charge here. I choose how I want to live my life."

How about when you are angry with yourself and can't forgive what you once did or failed to do? It is more difficult to forgive yourself than to forgive others, especially, if you tend to be hard on yourself or have unrealistic expectations of yourself. If that is true of you, ask yourself how you would counsel your friend or your child who is tormenting himself or herself over something that was beyond his or her control. Then, heed upon your own counsel.

August 31, 2003

God,I'm praying every day that I can take these words to heart.

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I guess the moral of that story is that one should remove oneself as far away from the object of hatred, whether physically or mentally, and fix the mind on the source of the ever-smiling face of the Lord. It's not easy, but the alternative is far worse.

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Here's another good article on Forgiveness and Compassion

I'd like to share:

Compassion & Forgiveness

by Vincent Cole

As you begin to seek inner faith and come to trust yourself and your abilities, you must first cross a small bridge. We call this the "bridge of forgiveness". At this point in your journey you make the emotional decision to evolve. You have come this far by making the intellectual decision to move forward, but now you must make the emotional decision. Now you must step upon this bridge of forgiveness so as not to carry the past into the future.

Put your hand on your heart, take a deep breath and relax. See yourself standing at the foot of a bridge. Stand there quietly. Take a brief moment to look back. See the past you leave behind. See the old disappointments and ancient sorrows as vague shadows far in the distance. You do this so you may release them. The way to let them go is to forgive.

Take another deep breath. Calm yourself. Even though this is a small bridge it can be a difficult one to cross.

As you start across the bridge you will begin to call forth all those in the past and those presently in your life who have hurt you. Allow into your awareness the faces of those who have caused you pain. Some people will appear suddenly before you, people you have almost forgotten, and people you remember all too well. With each face, each name and each memory of pain, begin to forgive.

Recall the classmates and childhood friends who laughed at you and forgive them. Recall when your parents acted unwisely, or were insensitive and forgive them. Recall employers who may have been unfair or caused you stress. Forgive them. Now is the time to forgive those who died and left you alone.

Allow to come into your mind all those you loved but who rejected you, not because of who you are, but because they could not see, could not accept, because they were frightened. Begin now to forgive them. Bring into mind the lovers in your life, even if they were a part of your life for only a brief moment. Recall the pain, the difficulties, the misunderstandings, and their final departure. Remember how it felt and begin to forgive.

Now is the time to forgive all those who hated you, who despised and ridiculed you, those who considered themselves to be your enemy. Forgive all enemies.

Let their faces come to mind. Let the incidents of the past be remembered no matter how painful, no matter how much you would rather forget. Allow the images and feelings to arise so you can release them with forgiveness.

Realize you have kept these memories and their remnant pain within you. You have held on to them. You may have thought you had forgotten, that you shrugged them off and turned your back against them, however, realize that each experience is held within your memory and still effects how you walk in the world. You have not yet released the pain through forgiveness. You have not looked upon each experience with wisdom and love and strength.

The ego uses these memories to remember what is painful and to keep you guarded against future pain. This keeps you from moving forward. Unless you forgive and release the pain it will always be a part of you like a heavy chain dragging behind you, clanking loudly and slowing your evolution. Release this chain that binds you.

As you walk across this bridge and encounter the faces of pain and sorrow you may feel once again the anger, the heartache of rejection and loneliness. Even the memory of physical pain could be felt anew and cause you to retreat in fear. Realize those old feelings stand in your way of truly forgiving. Use your inner strength to cross this bridge, forgiving those who would stand in your way, determined to go beyond the pain of the past.

With some memories you may see clearly and with amusement the misunderstandings that occurred so long ago. With other memories the images may seem quite solid, quite real as you re-experience the pain. In such a case you may feel great reluctance to forgive. You may feel only anger towards the person who caused you such harm. It is then you must take the staff of perseverance and walk steadily past the offender with the simple words, "I forgive you."

And in those relationships that were especially close to you, in those experiences in which the pain is too deep and the heartache is too devastating, great strength will be needed. When you resist having to look at the experience again and you fear the anguish and torment of the open wound use the sword to cut away the fear, to destroy the weakness, and dispel the darkness of that memory. Use the sword to cut away the chains of that memory that darken your life and use the power of forgiveness to end your suffering.

Yes, there are those people you would cherish hating, those you say could never be forgiven because the hurt is too deep, the damage too great. Begin to understand that your anger and hate, your fear and pain keep you bound to the situation and the people involved. By holding on to such feelings you keep those people in your life, connected to them on an emotional level. Even though the ones who hurt you may be long gone, even dead, you remain connected to them by your feelings. They are still with you. They are still tormenting you. With forgiveness you let them go.

As you cross the bridge and face those who hurt you be aware of your own feelings towards them. If you ask yourself why forgive them; why forgive those who died and left you alone; why forgive those who rejected you; why forgive those who were so cruel? Simply say to yourself, "They did not know what they were doing."

If anyone of them had truly known there was another way of being in the world they would not have acted according to the fear and desperation of their egos. Had they known otherwise, they would not have allowed their own fear and anger and hate to blind them. How could they act from love and goodness when they did not know such power? They did not know there could be another way. Their actions towards you were according to their limited understanding. Yes, there are those in the world so lost in darkness, so ruled by their own selfishness, so much a part of what you call evil, that their actions seem cruel beyond imagination. Forgive them so you do not fear them. Forgive those who have lost their souls. They did not know what they were doing.

Forgiveness may not heal all the pain for some people. It is to their benefit that some pain remains during their journey on earth. It may be difficult to understand how a painful experience can actually be a blessing. Many lives are altered by a single, traumatic event that forced their souls to take a new direction in life. Many readers hold this book because sorrow and confusion has led them to seek answers, to seek new understandings and seek healing for the pain in their lives. Though forgiveness may not remove all the pain, it will remove the fear.

As fear is released with each step along the bridge of forgiveness you will gain strength and perhaps some understanding as to why certain events have occurred in your life. Even if you do not fully understand, even if you find it hard to feel true forgiveness, nevertheless, continue to walk, continue to say to all you meet, "I forgive you. Go in peace." After all, you can never know true forgiveness unless you have someone to forgive. And, when you begin to forgive others, you can then begin to forgive yourself.

Halfway across the bridge stop for a moment and look inward, stand alone and seek within yourself the sadness, the shame, and the guilt of your own past mistakes. With the power of forgiveness you can do so with clarity and courage. You must look at your own past and begin to forgive yourself. You cannot step off this bridge until you have learned to forgive yourself with the same love and wisdom and strength you have given to others. You must call to mind what should be considered not sins or flaws, but simply errors in judgment. Recall the times you acted unwisely, and forgive yourself. Realize that through ignorance and pain, you have hurt other people. You, too, were blind to those who were in need of your love. Forgive yourself. You, too, rejected those who may have been seeking your understanding and compassion. Forgive yourself because you were limited by the ego.

You must take responsibility for your actions in the world. You must accept the consequences. True forgiveness is to acknowledge the errors of the past, acknowledge what was done out of ignorance, and move forward in another direction. The errors were part of learning. There is no need to repeat what you have already learned. To forgive yourself is to overcome the snares of the past so errors will not be repeated. Forgiveness heals the past so the blindness, the fear, the resentments of the ego have no hold upon you.

August 31, 2003

Forgiveness is a power. It is a force that cleanses, heals, and transforms. The ego will have you believe that to forgive is to be weak. It interprets forgiveness to mean condoning an action, acquiescing to the pain, and forgetting what happened. Forgive and forget are two different words. You cannot forget the experience. That would be foolish. The experience, though painful, has made you wiser. If you would cleanse yourself of bitterness and hate, it will be easier to see the wisdom you have gained. The ego, however, will hold on to anger, hate, sorrow, and loneliness as a shield to protect you from further pain. The ego sees itself as protecting you, but it just keeps you limited and entrapped within the darkness of ignorance. All that has happened in your life did so for a reason, though you may not always understand why.

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the prison of the past. Don't linger trying to understand why you should leave behind the limitations that bind you. Use the power within you, use the force of your spirit to unlock the door and forgive. It is the way of the spirit, the force of your True Personality that can replace hate with love, exchange weakness for strength, and bring the light of wisdom to conquer the blindness of ignorance. It does so with forgiveness.

If you are willing to forgive all those who have hurt you then you have made the emotional decision to evolve. Let the past remain in the past. Realize those people are gone. Realize they have no power over you. Understand that those experiences are ancient memories and will not happen again except in your mind, if you allow it to be so. It is only with the power of forgiveness that you leave behind the pain and sorrow.

The amount of pain you feel during this part of your journey, the intense feelings of resentment and revenge that arise as you cross this bridge, are in direct correlation to the amount of resistance you have towards forgiving. If you are hesitant you will cross the bridge slowly and increase the time spent reliving the hate, the hurt and the disappointments. You can cross this bridge with sure and steady steps if you allow yourself to feel the power of forgiveness.

As you reach the part of the bridge where you begin to forgive yourself you may be hampered by feelings of shame and guilt. Do not allow such feelings to stop you. You may also feel the opposite and struggle for justification through self-pity. Do not allow such self-defense to blind you.

Feel the shame, feel the guilt, feel the self-pity, if you must, then let such feelings go and seek instead the feeling of forgiveness.

Do not be afraid to look with wisdom, strength, and gentle kindness at how you have lived your life. The errors you made were simply because you did not know any better. Had you known otherwise, you would have acted otherwise. You did not have the experience to teach you that there is another way of being in the world.

The world you came into, the people in your life, the experiences you had were all within the limitations of the ego. So were you. This is no longer necessary. Let this experience of forgiveness be the first of many experiences to teach you that a new way can exist. You can feel more than what has been felt in the past. You can be more than what you thought yourself to be. Wisdom is yours. Strength is within you. Love awaits. Put down the shield of self-protection and raise the banner of forgiveness. Crossing this bridge is a battle. It may be difficult for some readers. For others it will go quite easily. A few might think they have crossed the bridge only to find they have fooled themselves. Their journey will take them back to the bridge so once again they have the chance to forgive. You may have to cross this bridge many times, each time strengthening your resolve to battle ignorance with forgiveness.

Only you will know if you have acquired the full force of forgiveness. The power of forgiveness is not a power of the mind. Forgiveness is a power and energy that comes from the heart. You will know it by feeling it. You will feel its power as it heals your emotions. Do not hesitate to open your heart and forgive the past, forgive yourself and move in a new direction.

On the other side of the bridge you enter the realm where you find the true meaning of compassion. The concept of compassion has been so misunderstood. The ego reduces compassion to pity. The full realization of compassion is limited to feeling sorry for someone, feeling sorry for ourself. The ego's judgments limit understanding and sorrow is felt for any experience it defines as bad, that is, harmful to the ego. It looks upon such experiences with pity rather than true compassion and spiritual understanding.

Compassion is a jewel. Pity is a rock. Understand the difference. In the past you have used the rock of pity against yourself and against others. Yes, you cause more harm than good when you use that rock. You hurt others. You hurt yourself whenever pity is used. Whenever you use pity the limited judgments of the ego are reinforced.

Pity grows from the ego's sense of helplessness in a situation. You try shedding tears as if that would change it. You try throwing money at the problem, as if that would change it. You may spend great lengths of time using the intellect to analyze the cause of the problem, as if that would change it. Still, there is suffering. Still, there is poverty. The earth in its wisdom adjusts itself and you call the resulting floods, earthquakes, and windstorms a pitiful tragedy. You feel pity for those who suffer, as you would feel pity for yourself under the same circumstances.

Pity is a noose you put around your neck as you await circumstances to come along and kick the chair out from under your feet. Pity is suicide. You are killing yourself mentally and emotionally by feeling sorry for yourself. Realize that pity keeps you trapped. It is a cage also for those you feel sorry for, as you reinforce and project upon them your own fears and sorrow. When you are trapped in pity you forget your inner strength. You lose trust and faith. You become deaf and blind to the force of God available to you.

If in your heart you feel the need to alleviate the suffering you see in the world then get up and do so, but not with pity. Realize that pity changes nothing. Go forth with strength, wisdom, and true compassion, and then you will have an effect in the world. Pity cripples, compassion strengthens.

You will need your strength to escape the trap of pity. Strength is needed so you can lift your feet and continue on with life. If you are willing to let go of the ego's pity you will soon discover true compassion. Therefore, put down the rock and pick up the jewel. Seek a greater understanding than what the ego offers.

We warn you against the limits of pity so you do not carry it any further. You leave it behind. As you cross the bridge of forgiveness you looked upon the experiences of your life. Once you reach the other side you begin to look upon the circumstances affecting the world, affecting the lives of those around you, and still playing a part in your own education. You will learn to look with compassion.

With true compassion you will be guided towards a greater understanding and a more expanded awareness as to the nature of both physical and spiritual reality. Compassion will lift you to a higher level of consciousness. It will keep you from relying on the limited judgments of the ego.

Compassion is a magical tool. It is there for you, for your journey on earth, for your soul's evolution. You will know you possess the jewel when you experience it working in your life. You will not have to think about it, though you may have to remind yourself in the beginning to put away pity and learn to see things in a different way, to look deeper than what is apparent, to see beyond the limited judgments of the ego. Compassion is insight. It is a part of your human consciousness that needs to be awakened by developing your spiritual abilities. Only when you possess compassion will you truly understand its abilities. Though you may struggle and search for it, know that compassion is close at hand. Know it is yours.

In order to find the jewel we speak of, you must lift yourself out of the quicksand of hate, out of the darkness of anger, out of the shackles of pain and fear. You must throw off the yoke of pity. With the power of forgiveness, with the power of your heart and the wisdom of your soul, the gleaming jewel is within your reach.

About the Author

Vincent Cole is a wandering monk who has been facilitating prayer and meditation groups, as well as Women Healing Circles for the past 15 years throughout the United States. While on a personal yearlong retreat in the desert outside Tucson, AZ, Brother Vincent took a collection of channeled messages given to a small prayer group many years ago, and edited them into the book "The Next Step in Evolution -- a personal guide."

August 31, 2003

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I am not sure of the pyschology involved but I can see it makes no sense. Yet I cling on to old patterns of anger and other negative emotions as if they have become my very self.

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Alas ,My dear Prabhu,

I want to give them up for they are ruining my life and makes my bhajan nonexistant.

August 31, 2003

The words of Srila Thakura Bhaktivinode:

I am an impious sinner

and have caused others

great anxiety and trouble.

I have never hesitated

to perform sinful act for my own enjoiment.

Devoid of all compassion,

concerned only with my own selfish interests,

I am remorseful seeing others happy.

I am a perpetual liar,

and the misery of others

is a source of great pleasure for me.

The material desires

within the core of my heart are unlimited.

I am wrathful,

devoted to false pride and arrogance,

intoxicated by vanity,

and bewildered by worldly affairs.

Envy and egotism are the ornaments I wear.

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God,

The vanity of wearing hate as a jewel

of material attachment.

I am damn proud

that I hate this world

and all those 'karmis' who live in it.

I hate my meat eating parents.

I hate my so-called friends.

This hate is the all-devouring

sinful enemy of the world.

That big red fiery demon that can