Importance of forgiveness - Nishan Karki

Forgiveness means letting go of negative feelings and attitudes towards another person. Forgiveness arises when we try to understand other people's feelings and show some sympathy towards them.

It is one of the most important human values.

Forgiveness can help both parties, i.e., the one who forgives and the one who receives forgiveness.

The paragraph written below is the famous mercy speech by Portia in the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

"The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown:

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice." 

In the above lines, Portia says that mercy ( forgiveness) is not a quality that is felt or shown under any compulsion. It is shown by humans as naturally as the gentle drops of rain fall from the sky to the earth below. Mercy is a double blessing. It blesses both the forgiver and the receiver, or the one being forgiven. It is the supreme quality that anyone, no matter how great, can possess. It is the most powerful quality in those who have the highest authority. It suits a king sitting on his throne better than his crown suits him. The golden rod of authority in the hands of a king is an indication of the force of his earthly power. The rod of authority is a symbol of the fear that kingship inspires in others, and it indicates the high dignity of the king. But mercy is something higher and greater than earthly authority, which is symbolized by the rod. Mercy occupies a lofty place in the hearts of kings. It is a quality and attribute of God himself. Earthly power acquires a divine quality when a man softens the hardness of the demands of justice by showing mercy.

So, the quality of mercy or forgiveness is one of the greatest possessions of people. In fact, animals also possess the quality of mercy, so why can't humans? The quality of mercy or forgiveness must be in the possession of every living being on earth.

 

Nishan Karki
Pestalozzi children's village society

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