Why do we have guilt?
It is good to have a little bit of guilt, not too much. That little guilt can prevent you from committing the same mistake again.
What is guilt? Intellectually you know an action to be bad, but you have a temptation to do that action because it promises you some pleasure or joy. Your hearts wants something, but the mind says, 'It is wrong'. Between the mind and the heart, the heart wins most of the time and this is when guilt comes up in you. And little bit of that guilt can prevent you from derailing further, but it should not be too much.
How to get over it? It s simple -- listen to knowledge like Ashtavakra Gita, or Yoga Vasishta, this will help you rise up. Pranayama and meditation are also one of the best ways to get rid of guilt. When you do pranayama it removes guilt, uplifts the energy and brings a change at a very concrete level.
It is like, when you wash dishes, you need to put a little acid as that makes the vessels shine, but if the acid is too much it will eat the vessel. So, little guilt is okay, but too much of it will put you in a dark place.
In Christianity, confession is given a lot of importance. You confess to the priest of the wrong that you have done. When you offer all the wrongs that you have done, you leave it to the divine to take care of it.
In the Hindu and Buddhist tradition, people do ‘Kshama prardhana’, which means asking God for forgiveness. You say, "Knowingly and unknowingly I have done some wrong, please forgive me". Asking for forgiveness will take you out of guilt.
In the Jain tradition, there is one day in the month of September where they ask each other for forgiveness. They say, "Knowingly or unknowingly if I have hurt you or if anything wrong has happened through me, please forgive me". It is such a beautiful concept.
Ego doesn’t let you ask for forgiveness. It will say, "What I did is correct and that is what I will continue doing". All the wars and problems in the world have started because of this. If people can understand this one act -- asking for forgiveness for mistakes done knowingly or unknowingly -- you will find such harmony in the world. Don’t you think so? It makes you so humble and human, and creates a sense of connectivity with everybody. Distance creates ego and ego creates distance.
