Forgive, but don’t Forget!

We have come across the phrase, ‘Forgive and Forget’. We forgive, but if we mistakenly think that forgetting is a part of forgiving, then we’re in for a big surprise. To forget is to lose the memory of our past actions and experiences. If we lose that, we are bound to repeat them, again and again. Forgiving demands that we remember not only of what we have forgiven, but also of the past. Forgiving however demands that we do not chain ourselves to the past. To chain ourselves to the past is to be attached. Forgiving is to let go of attachment. Forgiving is detachment. Forgiving is to let go of the past without forgetting. By forgetting, we do not necessarily let go of the past. We just don’t remember. We become chained to it. And, if we don’t remember, then we are likely to be attached to it. We re-enter the loop of hate, jealousy, prejudices, unforgiveness, etc.

Perhaps, we thought that forgiving is also to forget because we mistakenly associate forgetting with the act of letting it go, letting it be. But, as said earlier, through forgetting, we do not remember of past attachments; and so we are most likely, in the future, to be attached to that which we have miserably forgotten.

What do you think?

The Spiritual Meaning of Poverty

It is Easier For a Camel to Go Through the Eye of a Needle Than For a Rich Man to Enter the Kingdom

I have often thought about this quotation, and wondered why a rich man would have a very difficult time entering the kingdom of God. In order to get to the meaning of this lesson, let us try to understand the meaning of being rich.

There are several definitions of the word 'rich'. But for the sake of time and brevity, let me focus on a particular definition of the word in order to extract the meaning of the above quote. 'Rich', according to the dictionary, is defined as "having abundant possessions and especially material wealth." A man is said to be rich if he has an abundance of money that could buy properties and cars, that could afford him to travel anytime he wants, and so forth. With all these luxuries that money can buy, one desires to stay rich as long as he can. Such a man is full of himself, full of ego because he is attached to material things. He not only craves for wealth, but also for the continuity of wealth. In other words, a rich man is not satisfied with he has, but he yearns to stay rich or be richer than he already is. The more he craves, the more he is filled with his ego. The more he is filled with his ego, the more he is said to be selfish. And as he stays on being selfish, the more he is attached to his material wealth.

How then does he view his family, i.e., his wife, his son and his daughter? As a rich man, he is a victim of attachment to his own self. Anything or any person that is of value - added value - to his ego, is an extension of his self. This only means that he is emotionally attached only to his self. He looks upon his son as an extension of his self. Therefore, he desires that his son to be like him, and possibly to continue his financial empire. His daughter, he insists, must be married to a man just as rich has he is - or even richer - in order to secure his wealth. His wife: yes, she is one of the many rewards of his being rich. A rich man is full of himself, attached to his self, that he has a difficult time treating persons as they are, for who they are. Things and persons are valuable if only they feed the rich man's ego. A rich man, therefore, understands nothing of love for love entails treating and respecting people as they are.

It is no wonder that Christ spoke of the poor so favorably. A poor man, who is the opposite of the rich man, is not, in my opinion, to be understood as one who has little or no money. A man who has little money may yet be attached to whatever he has, and be just as full of his self as the rich man is. A 'poor' man, on the contrary, is a man who has no attachment to things or persons. And because he has no attachment to things or persons, he is empty of his self, of his ego. He is unselfish. (A 'poor' man may have wealth, but is not attached to it.) A 'poor' man lives not for his self, but primarily for others; and therefore a 'poor' man is not full of himself, of his ego. A 'poor' man, therefore understands the meaning of love for he treats and respect the others for who they are. He yearns for people to realize their potentialities, and therefore is involved in their lives just as Christ was. Only those, who have no attachment to things and persons, are poor. And only those poor in spirit can enter the kingdom of God.

As the Father should be to his Child

Daughter: Dad, I was going around with my friends during Halloween

Father: Yes, I know. Did you have a nice time?

Daughter: Yes, I did, until …

Father: What had happened?

Daughter: I lost your camera.

She was crying at that point. It was not a cheap camera. The father saw how remorseful she was.

Daughter: I deserve to be punished. Will you punish me?

Father embraced his daughter and asked: “Do you really feel bad for losing my camera?”

Daughter: Yes. Very bad.

Father: I request one thing from you.

Daughter, expecting to be punished, was not prepared for what the Father said to her:


I want you to regain your trust in yourself to handle important things. It's more important than losing the camera.


How would you handle this situation?

Jesus was "Out of Touch with Reality"

Of all the teachings of Jesus Christ, the very best and the one that gives life to all his teachings and practices, is “Love Thy Enemy.”

Love your God, he says, with all one’s heart and mind and soul. To do so, you should also love your enemy. Otherwise, it is meaningless and hypocritical of you.

"They" say: Love your neighbor. That’s easy because your neighbor shares the same likes and dislikes (perhaps, even biases and prejudices). No effort in linking up with her. But, if there's no effort, then there's little or no moral value in loving a neighbor. Former US president Bush and Bin Laden love their kinds, but hate their enemies.

Loving your enemy is the greatest act of love - following Jesus's line of thinking and life. It demands that you put aside your biases and prejudices, and reach out to the one who holds different views and beliefs. In that case, Loving one’s enemy is an extreme act of self sacrifice, for love is an expression of self sacrifice.

If you truly love God, then the best way to show that is to love one’s enemy. But, if you think that’s too idealistic, too impractical - way out of touch with reality - too idiotic, then stop pretending to believe in Jesus Christ. He's way out of touch with reality; and you claim not to be.

Or, is he?

Who is out of touch with reality, Jesus or you?

I didn't want to blog

I really didn't want to blog, but I also didn't like the feeling of stashing my notes somewhere in the hard drive, and no one - like me - to share with. I would be missing something if someone like me didn't share his thoughts about living the way I would have wanted to think about living.


This blog is not just about my experience. They are philosophical reflections or re-examination of the meaning of living. The meaning of living covers a very wide area. Meaning of living encompasses my relationship with humans, environment, the 'Ground' of being, the effects technology and social events have on my way of thinking, believing and feeling.


This blog is not for everyone. It's for those who have traversed similar paths towards examining and re-examining life as it is lived, and thoughts as they are lived out. I do not claim to have the answers to, nor the insight into the nature of, Truth. Write I must. Think I must. If I do otherwise, I will be tortured by regrets for not doing what I have to do at least for myself.


These ideas that I put down are not permanent - although I sense that they're right. In time, they will have to be revisited, re-examined.