क्षमा याचना / Seeking Forgiveness

Last week we spoke about forgiveness. Forgiving others is a great virtue that has the capability of conquering the world.

Just as we should forgive others easily, it is also important to seek forgiveness for our wrong-doings. Humility was a way of life for our ancestors – we have already seen that we should begin our day with “पादस्पर्शं  क्षमस्व मे” (…O Goddess Earth, forgive me for I am now going to tread on you.) (https://pravin03458.wixsite.com/prajaktas-bloom/post/good-morning-part-2-%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%82-%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87)

Now you may say, Yes, I do accept my mistakes, seek forgiveness, and try not repeat them in the future. But sometimes it so happens that you hurt someone and then are not able to say sorry to that person and get a closure. Maybe, you are not on talking terms anymore, or it becomes awkward to broach the topic or sometimes, unfortunately, by the time you realize your mistake, the person is no longer there – in your life or in this world. In such cases, these open ends continue to gnaw at us for a long time.

What can be done in such a case? There is a shloka for क्षमा याचना (Seeking Forgiveness) that is recited at the end of the day before you go to bed. You seek forgiveness for all the sins that you may have committed knowingly or unknowingly in the day. You clean your slate, and go to sleep with a calm, peaceful mind.

The shloka goes thus –

करचरण कृतं वाक्कायजं कर्मजं वा । श्रवणनयनजं वा मानसं वापराधं । विहितमविहितं वा सर्वमेतत्क्षमस्व । जय जय करुणाब्धे श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥

karacharan krutam

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It means -

करचरण कृतं वाक् कायजं कर्मजं वा      those (deeds) done with my limbs, those born out of speech, body or actions

श्रवणनयनजं वा मानसं                those (deeds) born out of ears or eyes or the mind

वा अपराधं विहितम् अविहितं वा           the errors ordained or prohibited

सर्वम् एतत् क्षमस्व                  for all these, forgive (me)

जय जय करुणाब्धे श्रीमहादेव शम्भो      Victory to Thee, O Compassionate One, O Mahadeva Shambhu (Lord Shiva)

In short, it says, whatever sins that I may have committed through the day, knowingly or unknowingly, please forgive me for them, O Lord Shiva. This shloka is the last shloka of the शिव अपराध क्षमापन स्तोत्र (Shiva Aparadha Kshamapan Stotra) composed by Sri Adi Shankaracharya.

As a human, with every breath we take, every step we put forth, the food we eat, the resources we consume, we are causing harm to so many seen and unseen beings. So with great humility, at the end of the day, surrender to Mahadev Shambhu and seek forgiveness for your actions. As a part of this prayer, you can also include those acts and deeds where you want to seek forgiveness from a person but aren’t able to.

Does this mean that I keep doing errors, sins and hurtful acts and keep seeking forgiveness every day??

Well, in Hinduism, absolving yourself from a sin/wrong-doing is a three-step process – पश्चाताप (repentance), क्षमा याचना (seeking forgiveness) and then प्रायश्चित्त (atonement).

Only when you feel truly repentant, will you want to seek forgiveness. And once you seek forgiveness, think of the atonement you want to do.

Say, if you broke someone’s watch, you will atone by repairing it. But when you have broken someone's heart, atonement may be difficult, right? That is when you go deep within, try and understand what action of yours caused the hurt and try not to repeat that action with anyone else in the future!

Thus, प्रायश्चित्त ensures that mistakes don’t get repeated!

Reciting this shloka at bedtime makes us aware of our actions during the day, makes us realize the excesses we commit through our body, mind and speech. The surrender makes us feel humble and gives us the strength to carry on the next day with the hope that we will do a better job than today!