An old man once sought out a teacher known for his wisdom. He said him: “I am old and will soon die, and I need to ask your forgiveness for a great crime I committed in my youth. I loved a girl, but she did not love me, so in a fit of rage I raped and killed her. No one ever knew who did it but me. Please forgive me.”
The teacher said: “No man can ever redeem any other. I cannot forgive you, because I do not hate you, and my own feelings in any event mean nothing. What you have to do is live with the picture of that crime until you can stand across from that woman in peace. There is no time for that now, in this lifetime. You have sought me out only because you are hoping to continue to avoid paying for that crime. When you die, her image will be all you see. It will torture you. You will not only feel her pain, but the much greater pain of separation from all living souls which is necessary to commit such a crime. You will be covered in the darkness that existed in you when you did this, and you will be alone. The memories of living comforts, and the intuition of God will torture you. These are the true flames of hell, and you will wish that hell consisted in actual flames, as these will burn you from the inside out. Time will cease, and you will be conscious only of pain for a very long time.
Flames die down after a time, however, and when they do, you will be someone else, someone capable of empathy, someone capable of doing good.”