1970

Question: How can we teach ourselves to love people who hurt us? People who are bad?

Sri Chinmoy: Now here is the question. You say that in this world, you feel that some people are bad, really very bad. In this world, all people are not nice. Now by feeling that a person is very bad or by hating that person, are you gaining anything? Alright, you think someone is very bad. But either you will love him, or the opposite thing, you will hate him. Usually it is very difficult to be indifferent to someone when he has done something very hateful to you. Your immediate reaction will be to hate that person. But you will see what you have gained by hating that person, whether in fact, you have gained something or lost something. That particular person has not gained anything from your hatred. But what have you done? By hating that person, you have lost something very sweet in you. You have lost something. Why should one lose something very precious of her own, just because she wants to correct someone by hating him? In this world, we have to be very wise. You will say that he is very bad and that you have to do something. But hating is not the right instrument. If you want to use the right weapon, the most effective weapon will be love. You may think that love is not a strong enough weapon, whereas hatred is just like a sharp knife. No. The power of love is infinitely more powerful than the power of hatred, because when you love someone, at that time his divine qualities have to come forward. Someone has done something nasty to you. Alright, but now what do you want? You want to punish him and strike him? After striking him, what will happen? In you, there is something called a conscience. That conscience will prick you. You will say, “What have I done? He has done something wrong, true, but now I have done something worse. Then in which way am I superior to him?”

From:Sri Chinmoy,Earth’s Cry Meets Heaven’s Smile, part 3, Aum Press, Puerto Rico, 1978
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ech_3