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There is a word we call revenge. Many people have their blood boiling in the fire of revenge, constantly searching for a chance to take it. They think, "If not in this life, then in another life, I will take revenge." If you know the great story called the Mahābhārata, it is one of the grandest narratives you can ever hear—the story of a dynasty. That is what Mahābhārata means: "the great" (Mahā) story of the Bharatas. It chronicles one of the greatest wars that ever happened. Within the Mahābhārata, there are many chapters. One chapter is the Bhagavad Gītā, which consists of 18 chapters. The Bhagavad Gītā is only a small part of the vast Mahābhārata. In this epic, the main figures belong to a royal family, with stories spanning many lives and generations. There are the Pāṇḍavas, the Kauravas, and one figure named Bhīṣma, who lived a very pure life. Bhīṣma was the son of Gaṅgā and received a blessing that he would never die unless he himself wished to die. Even if his throat were cut, he would not die; he had to relinquish the wish, "I want to die now." There is a complicated story here which I will not tell in full. It involves two girls, Ambikā and Ambālikā, whom Bhīṣma fought to bring home to be married to his brother. One of the princesses, however, was in love with another king. When Bhīṣma brought her home, she told his mother, "I am sorry, but I have already accepted such-and-such person as my husband." Bhīṣma said, "Why didn't you tell me there? I am sorry. I will bring you back respectfully." His mother also instructed, "Please bring her back with great respect." So he returned her to her home and her kingdom. But the prince who loved her said, "I will not accept her anymore because she has already been kidnapped by another." Now, he is not accepting her. She does not want this marriage either, and the husband does not wish to accept her because she does not love him—though she did love the other prince. So she tells Bhīṣma, "You must marry me." He replied, "I cannot marry because I made a vow that I will never marry in my life." She became so angry that she declared, "I will be the cause of your death, Bhīṣma. Even if I have to take many, many births, I will be the cause of your death." She left and was reincarnated again and again, ultimately becoming the cause of his death—though I will not tell the whole story. What I wish to convey is that revenge can stem from religion, culture, property, kingdom, or country. There was a powerful feeling of revenge towards the former Yugoslavia, and you know the entire country was split into more parts because of that revenge. So our blood boils in the fire of revenge. When someone is nasty or angry towards you, you think, "How soon can I shout at them, or have them put in prison, or file a case?" and so on. Therefore, Jesus said to follow one thing: forgiveness. Those who follow forgiveness are following the teaching of Jesus. Forgiveness is present in the Upaniṣads, in the Gītā, and is mentioned many times in the Mahābhārata. But now you know more because you are living in this world, and more of Jesus' teaching is here: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Our condition, however, is that we forgive but we do not forget. And when we will not forget, it means we forgive now but will wait for a particular occasion. This is action and reaction, action and reaction. So we create day-by-day complications, karmic action and reaction. If you cannot forgive and you cannot forget, then you will suffer ever and ever and ever. Do not blame one person. Do not blame her. It is not only her mistake. He is the cause that she makes the mistake. If I were not here, no one would come and shout at me. If you are here, everything is here. If you are not here, nothing is here. East and west, north and south, above and below, behind and front—these only exist if you are here. Therefore, God protects us from those actions where the reaction will be very heavy, and that is karma. What you do will come back to you. If you drink poison, the poison will show its reaction. If you drink nectar, the nectar will show its reaction. If you tell someone, "Dear sir," you will see the reaction. And if you say, "Hey, bloody one," you will see the reaction. --- Recording location: Canada, Vancouver, Swamiji's World Tour