Why do we feel sad when we hurt others? Somewhere we feel that it might hurt them. How do we overcome this?

The reason why we feel sad when we may have hurt someone is because we have inflicted pain on them. The direct consequence of our wrong-doing is that we feel its effect. This is how the law of Nature works.

“The slightest pain that we have, is the reaction of the pain that we had given. So do what you find comfortable.” - Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan

So, every action has a reaction. If you give happiness to others, you will receive happiness; and if you hurt others, you too feel the effect of that hurt.

Therefore in life, we should never hurt anyone, be it at home, work, or our friends, because hurting others is like hurting ourselves. If we hurt someone even unintentionally, the results of our actions or words spoken or the deeds will naturally fall back on us by taking away our inner peace.

Therefore, every morning, you should decide that ‘May no living being be caused slightest hurt through my mind, speech and body. May no one’s ego be hurt by me, on any account.’

Yet if you end up hurting someone, you still continue to maintain your intent of not hurting anyone. ‘May no one be hurt,’ encompasses giving happiness to others.

How do we overcome the hurt that we may have inflicted on someone?

For times like that, Gnani, the Enlightened One, has given the support of pratikraman, “You should do pratikraman if you say (or do) hurtful things to others. When you do pratikraman for saying (or doing) hurtful things, it will allay the hurt you feel for having done so. So this is how everything is resolved.”

Pratikraman means we ask for forgiveness from the pure Soul of the one we have hurt

You can ask for forgiveness for hurting someone without saying a word to the concerned, in person. Yes, pratikraman can be done internally as soon as we hurt someone.

So, as soon as you may have hurt someone just do Pratikraman – it is a medicine for the mind. You will find internal peace with everyone and everything around you, thus destroying the very root of hatred and abhorrence by doing intent pratikraman, as has been shown by Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan.

Pratikraman consists of 3 steps:

• Alochana - Confessing the mistake

• Pratikraman - Asking for forgiveness for the mistake thereby cleansing it

• Pratyakhyan - Resolution to never repeat the mistake again

This only takes a few seconds to do, but the effect it brings is long-lasting. Asking for forgiveness brings peace, eliminates inner turmoil and creates harmony.

By making it a practice to do pratikraman as soon as you cause slightest hurt to any living being, you eliminate the differences between you and the other person and begin to see positive changes in your relationship.

The Foundation of all religions is that we should not hurt any living being.

So, this is the intent to keep! And even then if any hurt to others happens, we immediately ask for forgiveness, so that we do not have to carry the burden of hurting them! Because no one can ever be happy by hurting others.