I'd rather not be talking as though I feel that everything that's being said today was said way back in India by our sainted ancestors. It's sort of become a standing joke...what, in the idiom of today, may be called a meme...when someone, especially someone my age, says anything that can be construed as something akin to 'We had drones and AI from the Ramayan times.'
But...I mean, come on, society seems to keep regurgitating the same damn ideas over and over again, so what's one to do? Technology may change but ideas about how to lead life seem to oscillate between the same basic ideas and, thus, it IS bound to be something that SOME ancestor has already told before. No point blaming me for pointing it out.
Thiranalla tharpirar seyyinum nonondhu aranalla seyyaamai nandru - Tirukkural
If someone does evil to you, it's best to not let the pain cause you to likewise do evil to them - Loose Translation
There! No eye for an eye! This quality of forgiveness thing seems to be widely prevalent among philosophers though, to be honest, Tiru does not go so far as asking you to forgive that evil so-and-so in this Kural. He merely asks you to abstain from doing evil back to him. And, thankfully, he only says it's best not to do so and not that mealy-mouthed 'Then what's the difference between you and him.'
That, though, is the real problem with revenge. If you CAN do the same evil to the other person, because of the provocation then it DOES change you. Either the guilt of what you have done eats at you; or you actually become closer to the other guy in terms of mindset. What you did today as an act of justified revenge could well turn into something that you do tomorrow merely because you managed to justify it to yourself.
The problem lies in the quest for vengeance. For unrequited vengeance can eat at your soul and embitter you. If Society should punish in such a manner as to give you closure, fine. But if it is not an injury which Society can punish, it can fester inside you.
So...it is not so mealy-mouthed after all. It IS best for YOU to be able to forgive and move on!
