People generally return evil for evil but the noble and most effective kind of revenge is to return good for evil.
If the wrong doer is paid back in his own coin, the gulf between the two parties will widen more and a thirst for revenge will make both of them restless while if good is returned for evil the wrong doer will be filled with shame and remorse and his heart is likely to yearn for his enemy’s forgiveness.
But there are exceptions to this theory where some people cannot be moved by this noble gesture, because they do not understand the underlying nobility in it, and rather take it for weakness on the part of the opponent and become more aggressive in their efforts.
In spite of what can be discussed on the issue from various angles, it is true that forgiveness is nobler than revenge.
History has been the witness to many such incidents where the act of forgiveness has worked wonders.
There have been many such noble men who taught people to chivalry that lies in the act of forgiveness and practiced it themselves too.
Example of forgiveness
Nelson Mandela
Former South African leader Nelson Mandela was sent to prison in 1963 on charges of trying to sabotage the nation’s government, which advocated a policy called apartheid that treated people of different races differently (Mandela advocated a democratic society in which all people would be treated equally).
Mandela spent the next twenty seven years in prison, but after he was released in 1990, he forgave the people who had imprisoned him.
Mandela later became South Africa’s president and delivered speeches internationally in which he urged people to forgive each other because forgiveness is God’s plan and therefore always the right thing to do.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was known as the father of the nation. He was the one who taught us to fight back but through a path of peace and not violence.
Revenge through forgiveness and not through violence. He said when someone slaps you in one cheek give your second cheek to him.
So that he is filled with remorse. He said never to reply violence with violence. Instead reply violence with love. This will teach the wrong doer a lesson. Gandhiji didn’t curse the person who had shot him.
Even at that moment when he was hit by bullet he didn’t utter a word of hatred. Instead he uttered “hey ram”. This shows the amount of kindness and forgiveness one has to bear in one’s heart.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was the epitome of forgiveness. Once there was an incident where Mother Teresa approached a wealthy shopkeeper near Kalighat area to ask for some money to help the leper that she found on the roads.
She held out her hands asking some help. The shopkeeper just spat on her hand and shooed her off.
She was asking help for others and not for herself; still she got treated in that way. She went away from there without uttering a word.
Later when she had established herself that same shopkeeper showed up and asked for forgiveness as at that time he didn’t know who she was. She forgave him immediately without a second thought.
Jesus Christ
He is one of the biggest instance of forgivers that we ever came across. Jesus Christ not only preached forgiveness but also set an example for us to follow.
His story of forgiveness is famous worldwide. When he was taken on the cross, and being nailed to it even at that time he kept on praying for his wrong doers.
When he was left to starve he raised his head to the sky and said “father please forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.
He forgave all of his wrong doers even though they were responsible for his tragic death. His kindness and forgiveness lead the wrong doers to rethink about their action and feel remorse.
It is at that time that they realized what a sin they have committed.
These are a few examples of famous men and women who have created instances for centuries to follow.
What they have achieved at that age to hard to achieve but we can always try to better ourselves keeping them in mind and making them our ideal role models.
But there has been some instance where a person didn’t understand the meaning of forgiveness and took it to be a sign of weakness of his opponent.
In that case he became more aggressive and more persistent in his efforts. And this ultimately leads to his downfall. Such people are shame on the society.
They lack the basic humanity. That is the reason why they fail to recognize an act of forgiveness.
History has been witness of such people as well for example – Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler was the most hated person every in history. He was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent lives. People didn’t revolt against his power.
He took it for granted. He kept on living Jews as much as he could. There was no end to his torture. He kept on thinking the common people to be weak and kept on exercising his wrong deeds.
The more lives he slaughtered the more daring and sinful he became. But what was the result? Ultimately it leads to his downfall. He couldn’t survive.
One day or other you have to fall when you are overburdened by your wrong deeds. His major downfall was such that he had to shoot himself by his own hands.
Such terrible are stories of people who have ignored the acts of forgiveness shown to them and have continued in their rampant brustalistic approaches with hatred and sin.
Conclusion
A true act of forgiveness has never excited violence or hatred in return. It has always returned love and remorse in the part of the wrong doer.
We can correct the wrongs and change the wrong doer for life by such a virtue.
It has the power to kindle love even in the cruelest of villains. Hence we can rightly say forgiveness is the noblest revenge.
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