The Ladder of Forgiveness

"Forgive and Forgive again." Rumi

The Ladder of Forgiveness

The bridge between our separate self and our awakening soul is Forgiveness. Every moment of forgiveness is a step on a ladder that bridges the gap between dualism and non-dualism. Guru Nanak, the 1st Sikh Guru, understood that fearlessness itself wasn’t enough to climb out of the separation created by our judging ego minds, but what was also needed was transparency, where no past conflicts are carried into the future. In short, to make

No Enemy of our history.

No Enemy is the meaning of Nirvair, the 7th sound in the Mool Mantra. Guru Nanak’s 

Jap Ji – the Song of the Soul, begins with the Mool Mantra, which describes the experience of the living Divinity that is being human. The living Divinity of the One brings every act into one of justice, not one of revenge, resentment, or punishment. It’s an act of mercy and compassion, uplifting and defending from oppression, and awakening the oppressor. The real oppressor is, of course, our own ego, scared of what it can’t see, what it doesn’t know, and what it cannot forgive.

In Kundalini Yoga, we have the 6th body, the Arc Line (third eye), the nucleus of the 7th body, the Aura. The Arc Line is the body that knows and sees all and gives us access to the future; the Aura is a view through the window directly back to the past. That view is often coloured by the patterns of our thoughts, formed over time from undigested attachments which create our projected personality. Any attachment to our past is karmic. This means it’s likely to repeat itself and carry feelings of blame, shame, guilt, revenge, resentment, and regret, all stored in the Auric magnetic field. The liberation of the shadow is to climb the ladder of forgiveness, one rung at a time.

Ram Dass first met his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, Maharaj-ji, in India in the late 60s. Immediately, he was struck by Maharaj-ji’s otherworldly ability to be all-knowing and all-seeing. Within ten minutes of meeting him, Maharaj-ji shared he knew the disease and the organ from which Ram Dass’s mother had died the year before. Even though he’d been speaking in Hindi with a translator, Maharaj–ji leaned in and spoke the word ‘spleen’ in English. In that moment, Ram Dass, then Richard Alpert, fell apart. Here he was on the other side of the world—no one knew about his mother dying of cancer of the spleen. How could this old man in a blanket know this? His mind was blown open; it was like something ancient and shut had suddenly opened inside him, and everything he had believed to be true was now gone. He sobbed and sobbed, then cried for two days.

Through those tears came a new trust in something greater than the mind, a surrender into a greater wisdom that could only be described as truth and love. A fear washed over him. If Maharaj-ji could see everything in his head, then he could also see his hidden dark, shadowy secret parts as well. He couldn’t look up; his shame had frozen him in a cycle of blame and judgement. Then the realisation—Maharaj-ji must also know and see this moment too. Slowly, Ram Dass raised his head, looked into his Guru’s eyes, and saw an absolute transparent beam of unconditional love projected back. Maharaj-ji saw it all and loved

him unconditionally anyway.

With a transparent Aura, we have the capacity to let go of the past hurts. We let go of the stories and build trust. This trust opens the door to a new way of relating to ourselves, remembering the Divine exists within us always. This remembrance brings a kind of fierce grace that guides and encourages us to continue up the ladder of forgiveness. Just as Richard Alpert, we look up and out from our fears, beyond the judgements, and see unconditional love mirrored back, and we become Ram Dass. You see beyond the patterns that coloured your beliefs and shaped you, to a place beyond separation with no enemies, and immediately you are Nirvair – free.

This 7th month invites you to utilise the presence of double 7 (month of 7, and Gift number—2 + 5 = 7). It’s a time to reflect on and hear where you may still be clinging or judging. Often when we’re judging others, there’ll be a place within us that is still clinging.

See it for what it was and forgive it.

Just like a rainbow requires the exact right quality atmosphere for all 7 colours to be seen, we too need to create the right-*safest*- atmosphere in ourselves to project the colours of our divine true nature. With forgiveness, the Aura expands, not with a bigger projection, but an absolute transparent quality of light. The harmony of the seven colours allows the usually obscured light to radiate through, and we get a glimpse of what would otherwise go unnoticed. Living in harmony, we too get to see what we often overlook—that the same flame of life flickers within us all. In that moment, the illusion of separation dissolves, and we experience the wholeness that was always present. The journey up the ladder of forgiveness is not about becoming something new, but about remembering the original divine light we come from, the One that exists in all. 

That is Nirvair. 

That is freedom.

That is the blessing of 7.

love, light, and laughter

devpreet

Resting In I Am Workshop