Answer

In Jain Dharma, when we admit our faults and ask forgiveness, we ask forgiveness from:

• All living beings whom we may have hurt knowingly or unknowingly.
• Our own soul, because harmful thoughts, words, and actions bind karma to the soul.
• Arihants, Siddhas, Acharyas, Upadhyays, and Sadhus as witnesses and spiritual ideals, seeking strength to purify ourselves.

Explanation

The Jain spirit of forgiveness is expressed in the well-known bhavna:

“Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṁ”

This means:

“May the faults I have committed become fruitless.”

When we say this, we are not asking a creator God to erase our sins. Jain Dharma teaches that each soul is responsible for its own karma. Forgiveness is a sincere inner process of:

• Accepting our mistakes
• Feeling genuine repentance
• Asking forgiveness from all beings
• Forgiving others
• Resolving not to repeat the fault

Spiritual Understanding

In Jainism, every living being has a soul. If through anger, ego, deceit, greed, carelessness, speech, thought, or action we have caused pain to any being, we seek forgiveness from them.

This includes:

• Humans
• Animals
• Insects
• Plants
• Microscopic living beings
• All souls in all forms of life

We also forgive others, because holding anger or resentment harms our own soul.

Takeaway

In Jain Dharma, asking forgiveness means humbly saying:

“I ask forgiveness from all living beings. I forgive all living beings. I have friendship toward all, and enmity toward none.”

This is a powerful step toward cleansing the soul and reducing karma.