Hatred is like poison. It harms the person who nurtures it. Wake up to the fact that hatred is not helping you in any way, it is in-fact harming you physically, mentally and even spiritually.

1. Self-doubt: Hatred is born out of self-doubt that manifests into hatred for others. If we cannot accept ourselves then how can we accept others. So, the first steps starts with accepting oneself and loving and respecting ourselves. Next step will come naturally i.e. we will start accepting others and respecting them for who they are. Stop doubting yourself, accept yourself the way you are, know that you are lovable and loved (even though it may not be apparent in the beginning).

2. Ignorance (Natural or self-imposed or due to conditioning from the outside such as Radio, TV, other news media, movies etc): Reason for hatred can be ignorance or just the fact that you are not accustomed to the other person/ community’s “way of doing things and ideologies”… in other words their customs and traditions. This can be overcome if we start accepting others “as they are”, educate ourselves about their traditions and beliefs and develop an all-accepting matured outlook. Just don’t blindly follow others or accept what they tell you. Use your intelligence and power of discrimination.

3. Happening (somebody did something to you or your loved ones that makes you hate them): The most common and most difficult one generates from someone’s actions. Lots of negative feelings and emotions are generated when this happens. First step at that time should be to take a step back and free yourself from such transitory stuff (feelings, emotions etc). Use compassion and forgiveness to douse the fire of anger, frustration and hatred. Know that you cannot solve a problem while you are inside it. Accept the situation as it is and look at it as a 3rd person. Try to find out how you can prevent this from happening in the future by mutual understanding. If that is not possible, offer your prayers to the higher power to bring togetherness and love in all living beings and unburden yourself and move forward. Yes, this is the most challenging but you have to get over this in order to progress in life.