Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
Our spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj has given a beautiful discourse on the Srimad Bhagavatam verse 4.11.13. We would like to share the nectar with everyone seeking the blessings of Guru Maharaj and Krishna.
titikṣayā karuṇayā maitryā cākhila-jantuṣu
samatvena ca sarvātmā bhagavān samprasīdati
The Lord is very satisfied with His devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.
1. Tolerance Satisfies Krishna: If we cultivate these four qualities, then Bhagavan is completely satisfied. And it is our duty in the human existence to satisfy the Lord. Unless you satisfy Krishna, your life becomes completely useless and useless life has no meaning. That is why it is useless. And as soon as something is useless it is to be thrown in the dustbin. If your life is useless, not satisfying the Lord, it is supposed to go in the dustbin. If you want to throw yourself in dustbin then don't follow this path. If you don’t want to throw yourself in the dustbin then you have to follow this program - bhagavān samprasīdati. And the first thing is - titikṣayā karuṇayā. titikṣayā, you have to be very tolerant. Tolerate always. In marital relationships also if we tolerate each other it continues. In social relations also, if you tolerate each other the society goes ahead. In cities also, if you tolerate each other the city functions very efficiently. In the country also, if you tolerate each other, then the country functions very sophisticated. And the globe, this is earth planet, if you tolerate each other then whole globe functions nicely. And in this universe, this is one of the globes, if all of the planets tolerate each other the universe functions very efficiently. And there are innumerable universes in the material manifestation, if all the universes tolerate each other, the whole bunch of material manifestation functions very efficiently. Otherwise one globe will bang the other globe and both will be destroyed or one universe will bang with another universe and the whole thing will be destroyed. The whole manifestation functions on this quality - tolerance. Herein our temples also there are different personalities staying, different mental capacities are there, different modes of material nature are playing around and even then the temple is functioning. And if you tolerate each other, then the temple will function very efficiently. If you don't tolerate then there will be clashes and as soon as there is a clash, immediately there is destruction. That’s why we avoid clashes. We work in the offices, we work in our own businesses and we avoid these clashes. So this is the first quality to be cultivated if you want to satisfy the Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna.
Then you must be extra-tolerant and Caitanya Mahaprabhu very nicely instructs us in one line taror api sahiṣṇunā - more tolerant than the tree. It's very beautiful to understand this line. The tree, we beat the mango tree with a stone and the tree gives you mangoes. You cut the chandan tree and you are cutting, you are destroying the tree but it gives you the nice chandan flavor. It never resists. If somebody hits you with a stone what will you do? You'll run after him with a stone. But that's not what the scriptures say. Then Krishna will not be satisfied. The tree, if it is hit by the stone it gives mango. If somebody hits you, you are much better than the tree, isn't it? Why do you run after him with the stone?
There was one King in Maharashtra, his name was Shivaji, famous king. So once it so happened, there was one lady and her children were very hungry, because for three or four days she could not provide any food for her children. So naturally the mother was worried because she wanted to feed her children so she went to the forest and she had a stick in her hand. So she thought that she would beat the mango tree, get a few mangoes and feed the children. It so happened that Shivaji was also riding on a horse and going under the same tree, so she raised the stick and she wanted to hit the mango. But instead of that, she missed the mango and the stick hit the turban of Shivaji. The king was hit, so all the soldiers were very angry, "She's beating the king!" So the next day Shivaji called her to court and he asked her, "Why did you hit my turban?" So she said, "Please excuse me King, I did not want to hit your turban but my children were hungry for the past three, four days so I wanted to get some mangoes for them. So I wanted to hit the mango tree but instead of that, I missed it and I accidentally hit your turban." So Shivaji thought for a moment, "Yes, if she would have hit the tree, the tree would have given her mangoes. I am better than the tree, so if the tree can give the mangoes when hit, then I must give her something more." And then instead of any punishment, the king gave her ten acres of land and 10,000 rupees. So the king said to her,"You go, till the land and give the food to your children."
So this is the way we should cultivate the tolerance. It's very easy to lecture about tolerance, but when it comes to the point we can't tolerate anything. We cannot tolerate anything. This cultivation has got to be there and unless you tolerate, you cannot function properly. Even husband and wife, if they don't tolerate each other, they cannot function. And that is the trouble all over the world. That is the reason why our couples are separated. Divorces and again marriage and again divorce, so many things happen because we don't tolerate. In Indian families also, they are degrading very fast but even now we see a bit of permanence. And if the couples are not together and the marital relations are not sound, then you are not interested to do anything. You just become lazy and life is completely destroyed, you die before you are gone. It's a living death because we are not tolerating! And this tolerance is the quality that in the end, will satisfy the Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna according to Srimad Bhagavatam.
Krishna willing, we will continue to hear more nectar from Maharaj in the subsequent offerings.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Kalacakra Krsna das.
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.