When someone hurts us, we may become filled with anger and resentment. Entertaining revenge fantasies, we may hold grudges against them.

Just as heavy weights burden us physically, grudges burden us emotionally. Physically burdened people can’t enjoy the scenery through which they may be walking. Similarly, emotionally burdened people can’t enjoy anything during their life-journey. A grudge may well be the heaviest thing to hold because under its weight, our whole life gets crushed by negativity and misery.

Just as putting aside weights offers physical relief, putting aside grudges offers emotional relief. However, our mind viscerally opposes the idea of letting go: “This person has hurt me so much. How can I just let them go scot-free?”

Letting go of grudges doesn’t necessarily mean letting others go scot-free; it essentially means letting ourselves go free. Unburdened by grudges, we give ourselves the freedom to act according to our life’s higher purpose, not with the petty purpose of getting back at others. Guided by that higher purpose, we may well do the needful to correct wrongdoers, but we will do it without animosity.

Gita wisdom shares a profound worldview founded on the sublime purpose of loving service. We are spiritual beings on a multi-lifetime journey of inner evolution towards eternal love for our all-attractive source, Krishna. The engine for our evolution is our loving service to him. And service can take many forms, including the form of acting assertively against wrongdoers.

The Bhagavad-gita (11.55) urges Arjuna to work without animosity towards anyone. Though his work involves fighting against the evil Kauravas, still he is exhorted to do so in a mood of service, not animosity.

When we learn to hold on to our mood of service to Krishna, we can let go of grudges, and relish relief and release.

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