Rising After Pain: The Gita’s Lessons on Forgiving and Letting Go
Riya Kumari | Jan 18, 2025, 23:59 IST
You ever have one of those days when you’re this close to texting your ex at 2 AM, because, you know, maybe just maybe they can explain why they ghosted you after two months of “I’m really into you” promises? Yeah, I’ve been there. But hold up—before you hit send on that emotional grenade, let’s hit pause. Because I’ve just come across this ancient wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita that might save us all from drowning in a sea of regret and bad decisions.
You ever feel like you’ve been hit by a wrecking ball of life—one that leaves you broken, hollow, and wondering how you’ll ever move forward? You know that pain, the kind that feels like it’s clawing at your chest and won’t let go? Yeah, we’ve all been there. It’s the kind of pain that feels endless, like you're standing at the edge, staring down into a bottomless pit of regret, loss, and unanswered questions. You could fall in. Or, you could choose to rise. Enter the Bhagavad Gita. Not the stuffy, dusty kind of wisdom that makes you want to zone out, but the kind of life-changing perspective that slaps you awake and says, "This moment? This pain? It’s your breaking point, and from here, you get up." It’s not a question of whether you’ll ever hurt again, because, spoiler alert: you will. It’s about what happens after the fall.
Forgiveness: The Moment You Choose to Let Go
Forgiveness is that thing we think we know how to do but don’t really. People say, “Oh, just forgive and forget,” as though it’s as simple as flipping a switch. But when you’ve been wronged, hurt in ways that feel like betrayal, the idea of forgiveness can feel impossible—like asking a broken mirror to magically fix itself. But here’s where the Gita hits home: Forgiveness is for you. It’s not about giving the person who hurt you a free pass. It’s about breaking free from the chains that keep you tethered to them. It’s the choice to let go of the thing that’s been feeding your pain. Holding onto resentment is like holding a burning coal, expecting the other person to feel the burn. But it’s you who’s getting scorched.
Krishna, in his wisdom, points out that when you forgive, you’re not letting the other person off the hook. No, you’re giving yourself the gift of freedom. You’re breaking free from a cycle that keeps dragging you down. It’s like stepping out of a storm and into the sunlight—not for anyone else, but because you deserve to breathe again.
The Power of Detachment: Learning to Stand Tall
Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, fine, I’ll forgive them. But how do I move on from this pain? How do I rise after feeling completely shattered?” That’s where detachment comes in. Not the kind of detachment that turns you cold or numb, but the kind that allows you to stand tall despite the wreckage of your past. Krishna teaches us the art of detachment—a sort of emotional freedom that comes from no longer allowing the actions of others to control your inner peace. When you detach, you stop letting life’s unfairness define your worth. The pain may still linger, but it no longer owns you. You realize that you can be whole again—even without the apology you thought you deserved.
It's like stepping back from a storm you’ve been caught in for too long. You’re drenched, battered, exhausted. But when you finally step out, the storm fades. You stand there, and you realize: You survived. And in that moment, something inside you shifts. The past is no longer an anchor; it’s a lesson, and you’ve learned it well.
Transformation: The Moment You Realize You’re More Than Your Hurt
Here’s the thing about pain—it can break you, but it can also shape you into something stronger. When Krishna speaks of duty, of acting without attachment to the results, it’s not just about selflessness. It’s about realizing that the pain and suffering you’ve gone through don’t define you. What defines you is how you rise after the fall. You emerge from that deep wound, not as the same person, but as someone who has learned to bend but not break. Someone who’s stronger than before. The lesson? You can heal, you can grow, and you can emerge from your hurt, not as a victim, but as a warrior.
Pain doesn’t have to be your breaking point. It can be your becoming point. And the Gita reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we have the power to turn the page, to start over, to rewrite our story. When you forgive, when you detach, when you rise—you are rewriting your story from a place of power, not victimhood. And maybe that’s the real transformation. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not the pain that matters. It’s what you do with it that defines you.
Forgiveness: The Moment You Choose to Let Go
Sorry
Forgiveness is that thing we think we know how to do but don’t really. People say, “Oh, just forgive and forget,” as though it’s as simple as flipping a switch. But when you’ve been wronged, hurt in ways that feel like betrayal, the idea of forgiveness can feel impossible—like asking a broken mirror to magically fix itself. But here’s where the Gita hits home: Forgiveness is for you. It’s not about giving the person who hurt you a free pass. It’s about breaking free from the chains that keep you tethered to them. It’s the choice to let go of the thing that’s been feeding your pain. Holding onto resentment is like holding a burning coal, expecting the other person to feel the burn. But it’s you who’s getting scorched.
Krishna, in his wisdom, points out that when you forgive, you’re not letting the other person off the hook. No, you’re giving yourself the gift of freedom. You’re breaking free from a cycle that keeps dragging you down. It’s like stepping out of a storm and into the sunlight—not for anyone else, but because you deserve to breathe again.
The Power of Detachment: Learning to Stand Tall
Meditate
Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, fine, I’ll forgive them. But how do I move on from this pain? How do I rise after feeling completely shattered?” That’s where detachment comes in. Not the kind of detachment that turns you cold or numb, but the kind that allows you to stand tall despite the wreckage of your past. Krishna teaches us the art of detachment—a sort of emotional freedom that comes from no longer allowing the actions of others to control your inner peace. When you detach, you stop letting life’s unfairness define your worth. The pain may still linger, but it no longer owns you. You realize that you can be whole again—even without the apology you thought you deserved.
It's like stepping back from a storm you’ve been caught in for too long. You’re drenched, battered, exhausted. But when you finally step out, the storm fades. You stand there, and you realize: You survived. And in that moment, something inside you shifts. The past is no longer an anchor; it’s a lesson, and you’ve learned it well.
Transformation: The Moment You Realize You’re More Than Your Hurt
Cry
Here’s the thing about pain—it can break you, but it can also shape you into something stronger. When Krishna speaks of duty, of acting without attachment to the results, it’s not just about selflessness. It’s about realizing that the pain and suffering you’ve gone through don’t define you. What defines you is how you rise after the fall. You emerge from that deep wound, not as the same person, but as someone who has learned to bend but not break. Someone who’s stronger than before. The lesson? You can heal, you can grow, and you can emerge from your hurt, not as a victim, but as a warrior.
Pain doesn’t have to be your breaking point. It can be your becoming point. And the Gita reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we have the power to turn the page, to start over, to rewrite our story. When you forgive, when you detach, when you rise—you are rewriting your story from a place of power, not victimhood. And maybe that’s the real transformation. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not the pain that matters. It’s what you do with it that defines you.