Repentance & Return
Turning away from sin and returning to divine favor through confession and reform.
Deuteronomy 30:2-3
“And you return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to all that I command you today, you and your children. Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.”
Teshuvah (return/repentance) as covenant restoration
Quran 66:8
“O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and to their right; they will say, 'Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent.'”
Tawbah (repentance and return to God)
1 John 1:9, John 20:23
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness. Jesus said to the disciples, 'If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.'”
Confession and absolution in Christianity
Bhagavata Purana 6:1:13-14
“Through sincere repentance and penance (tapas), even the greatest sinners can be purified. The Lord does not hold grudges against those who genuinely turn from evil and return to righteousness. Tapasya (austerity) burns away karmic debts like fire burning dry wood.”
Tapas as karmic purification
Dhammapada 183
“The wise understand that misdeeds create suffering, and through mindful awareness and right action they purify themselves. True repentance comes from understanding the nature of karma and committing to the path of virtue.”
Buddhist karmic purification through right conduct
Guru Granth Sahib 281
“Pashchatap—sincere remorse for past misdeeds—opens the door to God's infinite mercy. The Guru says, 'Remember God at all times, and your past sins shall be erased. Return to His name, and all shall be forgiven.'”
Sikh concept of pashchatap (regret and reform)