Kshama

Kshama is a word rich in meaning. Besides forbearance, it also implies extreme patience and an enormous capacity to forget as also to forgive. In view of this, the word kshama is directly used in most places so as to not dilute Bhagavan’s emphasis.

Among the qualities a man must develop if he is to realize his divinity, the foremost is Kshama—forbearance or forgiveness. It is essential for every human being. It is supreme among virtues.  Kshama is Truth, Righteousness, Sympathy, Non-violence, and all else. Kshama comprehends every quality.

How is kshama acquired? It is acquired by practicing four kinds of purity:

1. Dravya Soucham (purity of materials);
2. Manasika Soucham (purity of mind);
3. Vak Soucham (purity in speech);
4. Kriya Soucham (purity in action or purity of body).

Dravya Soucham (Purity of materials): This covers all things used by a person—from clothes, food, and cooking utensils to houses and all the varied things used by a person. Everything that is in daily use should be completely pure.

Manasika Soucham (Purity of mind): This calls for total elimination of attachments and aversions from the mind. Hatred and envy should have no place. One should cultivate the large-heartedness to return good for evil and not to cause pain to anyone in any circumstance. This is a mark of a pure mind. Today people are filled with hatred and envy. They cannot bear to see others happy or prosperous. This is a sign of a polluted mind. Men with evil minds develop demoniac traits. To be truly human, one must have a pure, unsullied mind. He must recognize that the same divinity is present in everyone. He should realize that the pure spirit that dwells in him and the power that animates him are present equally in every human being. One who is conscious of this unity will have an untrammeled mind.

Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, vol. 21

True and selfless love manifests as sacrifice. Such love knows no hatred. It envelops the entire universe and can draw near even those who are seemingly far away. Love it is that transforms the human into the Divine. It can transform pashu (a bestial person) into Pashupati (Divinity). In the phenomenal world, you come across many shades and derivatives of this primordial love. You love your father, mother, brother, sister, friends, and so on. In all such cases, there is always a tinge of selfishness somewhere or the other. Divine love, on the other hand, is totally free of even the slightest trace of selfishness. You must surrender to such love, become completely submerged by it, and experience the bliss it confers.

For acquiring such love, the quality of kshama or forbearance is a vital necessity. Every individual must cultivate this noble quality. Kshama is not achieved by reading books or learnt from an instructor. Nor can it be received as a gift from someone else. This prime virtue kshama can be acquired solely by self-effort, by facing squarely diverse problems, difficulties of various sorts, anxieties, and suffering, as well as sorrow. In the absence of kshama, man becomes susceptible to all kinds of evil tendencies. Hatred and jealousy easily take root in a person lacking this virtue.

Divinity is nothing but the combined manifestation of prema (love) and kshama. At one stroke, kshama subsumes sathya,dharma, and the entire Vedas. It is the greatest among tapas (penance). It is the grandest and the noblest among virtues. It is all encompassing.

The Mahabharatha and the Srimad Bhagavatham both contain many episodes that illustrate the disaster that befalls when kshama is lost. Jealousy is the first bad quality that makes its entry when kshama makes its exit. The Mahabharatha gives a graphic portrayal of how life that is otherwise smooth can be totally shattered by jealousy. The Golden Island Lanka was like the very heavens, but Ravana’s jealousy reduced it to ruins.

Whereas kshama can give complete protection, its absence can plunge one into distress and disaster. Impatience breeds selfishness and promotes jealousy, which together spur infighting and divisive tendencies of various kinds. The troubles the country is currently passing through are largely due to the absence of this noble quality of kshama. Impatience has ruined even very great spiritual aspirants. Likewise, kings have been reduced to beggars. Absence of kshama can make yogulu (yogis) into rogulu (sick persons). Without kshama, mankind becomes degraded and starts declining, but if it has this quality then it can progress by leaps and bounds. Kshama is thus the very breath of life.

Summer Showers 2000