Today is Ekadasi, an auspicious day for advancement in spiritual endeavors. Today is a good day to meditate upon our faults and offenses against others. In His 3rd prayer, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed us how to really chant the Holy Names: be respectful, be tolerant, and be humble. I am the most fallen, I am the most sinful, I am the most unworthy, this should be our state of mind.
So today, I beg forgiveness for all I have offended in my mind and in my actions. I ask forgiveness from my pet fish who I sometimes neglect. I ask forgiveness from the plants, especially Tulsi, who I forget to water. I ask forgiveness from the little insects I have squished, intentionally or otherwise. I ask forgiveness from the dogs waiting for their food. I ask forgiveness from the cows, the pigs, the chickens, consumed in my house, and I just tolerated it. I ask forgiveness from Mother Earth for my greed and carelessness.
I ask forgiveness for the people around me whom I disrespected: for judging and criticizing them; for not receiving them politely and making them comfortable; for neglecting their wellbeing, their health and their happiness; for thinking bad about them, for talking stink behind their back, for using them as amusement in gossip, for making fun of them. I ask forgiveness for destroying their trust, for taking lightly their love, for not being thankful for their efforts. I ask forgiveness from them for not working harder to give them the real happiness of love for God. I ask forgiveness for seeing them as bodies, as objects of my pleasure, instead of what they really are: spirit souls, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, God, whose real function is to please Him, not me.
I ask forgiveness for all the people who have given their lives to the Lord, including those who are trying to come to that state, for not desiring their association, for feeling anger at their advice, for envying their advancement, for finding, judging and criticizing their faults, for neglecting their wellbeing.
I ask forgiveness, most of all, from Govinda, God, Who is the Father of all living creatures, Who loves all His children more than they can ever love their very selves, and to His confidential loving servant Who is the well-wisher of all living entities. When we hurt someone, like a mother to her dear child, Govinda's delicate heart is pierced. When this happens, we lose all attraction to God and we stray further into the darkness of material existence.
Thus, our relationship with others must not be taken lightly. From the greatest living entity down to a simple ant, we must give all respect, all tolerance, all our love. Because God loves them. We must especially give respect and love to those who are dedicating their lives to God. As pleasing them will make God happy, displeasing them similarly makes God displeased.
In the end, let Jesus' commandment guide us in this matter: Love the Supreme Lord with all your heart, mind, and entire being. And like unto it, love others. If we can make this instruction our life and soul, this will make Govinda very happy, and in turn will give us perfection in life.
Haribol!
