Skip to Content

794. ‘Vengeance is God’s’

There are two themes that have captured human imagination. One is positive and the other is negative. Man's longing eternally for Romance is the first. The second is a craving for justice in life which expresses as a desire to wreak vengeance on those who inflicted the injustice. The boss takes the rewards of our work to another. The heart burns forever. One is punished for a crime he has not committed. Even in the most helpless conditions, the heart never fails to protest. A father discriminates and one son is a victim. No son can forget it. An excellent alliance is cancelled because a false rumour is carried to the other party. One misses a lifetime opportunity. It will haunt him all his life, harden his emotions. Pious men know it is wrong to seek vengeance, but their heart will overtake their piety and clamour for vengeance. The heart cries out, ‘It is not enough the rival is punished, but I must know it! I would prefer to meet out that punishment by my own hands.'

God says, ‘Vengeance is mine, leave it to me'. It is hard to accept the injunction of the Divine. The other side of vengeance is gratitude. Most people who seek favours easily forget them, do not even take the trouble to verbally acknowledge the help. There are others who are good in their souls who say, "It is not in me to receive something in return for nothing. I cannot rest quiet until I return it to him in one form or another." God says, "Do not be so self-righteous. You cannot recompense what you receive. It is not in your power. I shall take care of him. It is enough you feel gratitude to him or express it orally. At most, a token is enough."  This looks strange because it is good human emotion to act gratefully towards our benefactor. The grateful heart is not satisfied.

To cite an extreme example, suppose you are saved from drowning by a friend, how can you return it to him? Your professor discovers you have great mental gifts and that makes you a celebrity in your field. Is it possible to do a good turn equal to that to him? At best you can feel gratitude. But God rewards him in his own field. He gives the professor what you can never hope to give. As vengeance is God's, rewards too are left to God. What then is left to man? Will he not become ungrateful and thankless this way? To conceive that we can punish the wrong-doer or recompense the benefactor is egoistic.  That is to trespass into the domain of God. Next to God, Life takes care of such duties of Man. His responsibility is in his INNER emotions. It is enough he is right there, according to his best light. It is self-righteousness that is egoistic. Our urges move us in all directions. We are to remain unmoved. It is the greatest of duties.



story | by Dr. Radut