Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, after consulting various scriptures, has enumerated the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows: (1) beautiful features of the entire body; (2) marked with all auspicious characteristics; (3) extremely pleasing; (4) effulgent; (5) strong; (6) ever youthful; (7) wonderful linguist; (8) truthful; (9) talks pleasingly; (10) fluent; (11) highly learned; (12) highly intelligent; (13) a genius; (14) artistic; (15) extremely clever; (16) expert; (17) grateful; (18) firmly determined; (19) an expert judge of time and circumstances; (20) sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures; (21) pure; (22) self-controlled; (23) steadfast; (24) forbearing; (25) forgiving; (26) grave; (27) self-satisfied; (28) possessing equilibrium; (29) magnanimous; (30) religious; (31) heroic; (32) compassionate; (33) respectful; (34) gentle; (35) liberal; (36) shy; (37) the protector of surrendered souls; (38) happy; (39) the well-wisher of devotees; (40) controlled by love; (41) all-auspicious; (42) most powerful; (43) all-famous; (44) popular; (45) partial to devotees; (46) very attractive to all women; (47) all-worshipable; (48) all-opulent; (49) all-honorable; (50) the supreme controller. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean. In other words, the extent of His qualities is inconceivable.
Forbearing
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
According to Bhagavad-gītā there are eighteen items in culturing knowledge. By such culture of knowledge one becomes gradually prideless, devoid of vanity, nonviolent, forbearing, simple, devoted to the great spiritual master, and self-controlled. By culture of knowledge one becomes unattached to hearth and home and becomes conscious of the miseries due to death, birth, old age and disease. And all culture of knowledge culminates in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Therefore, Vāsudeva is the ultimate aim in culturing all different branches of knowledge. Culture of knowledge leading one to the transcendental plane of meeting Vāsudeva is real knowledge.
This child will be as strong as a lion, and as worthy a shelter as the Himalaya Mountains. He will be forbearing like the earth, and as tolerant as his parents.
On the surface of the earth there are so many disturbances caused by the inhabitants. In the modern age the people have begun to detonate atomic weapons on the surface of the earth, and still the earth is forbearing to the inhabitants, like a mother who excuses a little child. Parents are always tolerant to children for all sorts of mischievous acts. An ideal king may be possessed of all these good qualities, and the child Parīkṣit is foretold to have all these qualities in perfection.
Without cow protection and cultivation of the brahminical qualities in human society, at least for a section of the members of society, no human civilization can prosper at any length. By brahminical culture, the development of the dormant qualities of goodness, namely truthfulness, equanimity, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, general knowledge, transcendental knowledge, and firm faith in the Vedic wisdom, one can become a brāhmaṇa and thus see the Lord as He is. And after surpassing the brahminical perfection, one has to become a devotee of the Lord so that His loving affection in the form of proprietor, master, friend, son and lover can be transcendentally achieved. The stage of a devotee, which attracts the transcendental affection of the Lord, does not develop unless one has developed the qualities of a brāhmaṇa as above mentioned.
The pure devotee's mundane frustration is meant to elevate the devotee to a higher transcendental position. By placing Arjuna and the Pāṇḍavas in frustration due to the intrigue of their cousin-brothers, the prelude of the Battle of Kurukṣetra was created by the Lord. This was to incarnate the sound representative of the Lord, Bhagavad-gītā. So by placing King Parīkṣit in an awkward position, the incarnation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was created by the will of the Lord. Being distressed by hunger and thirst was only a show, because the King endured much, even in the womb of his mother. He was never disturbed by the glaring heat of the brahmāstra released by Aśvatthāmā. The King's distressed condition was certainly unprecedented. The devotees like Mahārāja Parīkṣit are powerful enough to forbear such distresses, by the will of the Lord, and they are never disturbed. The situation, in this case, was therefore all planned by the Lord.
The devotees of the Lord are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves.
SB Canto 3
(Vidura said:) You must now return the legitimate share to Yudhiṣṭhira, who has no enemies and who has been forbearing through untold sufferings due to your offenses. He is waiting with his younger brothers, among whom is the revengeful Bhīma, breathing heavily like a snake. Surely you are afraid of him.
The Lord Himself comes to display His transcendental pastimes, typically represented at Vṛndāvana, Mathurā and Dvārakā. He appears just to attract the conditioned souls back to Godhead, back home to the eternal world. But for want of sufficient piety, the onlookers are not attracted by such pastimes of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that only those who have completely surpassed the way of sinful reaction can engage themselves in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The entire Vedic way of ritualistic performances is to put every conditioned soul on the path of piety. By strict adherence to the prescribed principles for all orders of social life, one can attain the qualities of truthfulness, control of the mind, control of the senses, forbearance, etc., and can be elevated to the plane of rendering pure devotional service to the Lord. Only by such a transcendental vision are one's material hankerings fully satisfied.
In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is clearly stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes. There are undoubtedly many demigods, the chiefs of whom are Brahmā and Śiva. Lord Viṣṇu is the Lord of Brahmā and Śiva, not to speak of the brāhmaṇas in this material world. As mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord is very favorable towards all activities performed according to brahminical culture, or the qualities of control of the senses and mind, cleanliness, forbearance, faith in scripture, and practical and theoretical knowledge. The Lord is the Supersoul of everyone. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord is the source of all emanations; thus He is also the source of Brahmā and Śiva.
SB Canto 4
Dakṣa is described here as most hardhearted and therefore unqualified to be a brāhmaṇa. Brahma-dhruk is described by some commentators to mean brahma-bandhu, or friend of the brāhmaṇas. A person who is born in a brāhmaṇa family but has no brahminical qualifications is called a brahma-bandhu. Brāhmaṇas are generally very softhearted and forbearing because they have the power to control the senses and the mind. Dakṣa, however, was not forbearing. For the simple reason that his son-in-law, Lord Śiva, did not stand up to show him the formality of respect, he became so angry and hardhearted that he tolerated even the death of his dearest daughter. Satī tried her best to mitigate the misunderstanding between the son-in-law and the father-in-law by coming to her father's house, even without an invitation, and at that time Dakṣa should have received her, forgetting all past misunderstandings.
SB Canto 8
The Supreme Personality of Godhead sometimes puts a devotee to severe tests that are almost unbearable. One could hardly even live under the conditions forced upon Bali Mahārāja. That Bali Mahārāja endured all these severe tests and austerities is the mercy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord certainly appreciates the devotee's forbearance, and it is recorded for the future glorification of the devotee. This was not an ordinary test. As described in this verse, hardly anyone could survive such a test, but for the future glorification of Bali Mahārāja, one of the mahājanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only tested him but also gave him the strength to tolerate such adversity. The Lord is so kind to His devotee that when severely testing him the Lord gives him the necessary strength to be tolerant and continue to remain a glorious devotee.
SB Canto 9
The great sage Viśvāmitra saw that Mahārāja Hariścandra, along with his wife, was truthful, forbearing and concerned with the essence. Thus he gave them imperishable knowledge for fulfillment of the human mission.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya personally bathed these girls, touching them and washing them with his own hands, yet he remained calm and passionless, as a great devotee should be. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu certified that this was possible only for Rāmānanda Rāya. Similarly, Dāmodara Paṇḍita was notable for his objectivity as a critic. He did not even spare Caitanya Mahāprabhu from his criticism. This also cannot be imitated by anyone else. Haridāsa Ṭhākura is exceptional for his forbearance because although he was beaten with canes in twenty-two marketplaces, he was nevertheless tolerant. Similarly, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, although he belonged to a most respectable brāhmaṇa family, was exceptional for his humility and meekness.
"A devotee engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate."
"For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying, it does not ask anyone for water."
This practice of forbearance (taror iva sahiṣṇunā) is very difficult, but when one actually engages in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra regularly.
When Lord Caitanya declares tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā, He indicates that one must be above the material conception of life. When one thoroughly understands that he is not the material body but a spiritual soul, he is even humbler than a man of the lower castes, for he is spiritually elevated. Such humility, in which one thinks himself lower than the grass, is called su-nīcatva, and being more tolerant than a tree is called sahiṣṇutva, forbearance. Being situated in devotional service, not caring for the material conception of life, is called amānitva, indifference to material respect; yet a devotee thus situated is called māna-da, for he is prepared to give honor to others without hesitation.
CC Madhya-lila
The thirty-three vyabhicārī-bhāvas, bodily symptoms manifest in ecstatic love, are as follows: (1) nirveda, indifference; (2) viṣāda, moroseness; (3) dainya, meekness; (4) glāni, a feeling that one is in a faulty position; (5) śrama, fatigue; (6) mada, madness; (7) garva, pride; (8) śaṅkā, doubt; (9) trāsa, shock; (10) āvega, intense emotion; (11) unmāda, craziness; (12) apasmāra, forgetfulness; (13) vyādhi, disease; (14) moha, bewilderment; (15) mṛti, death; (16) ālasya, laziness; (17) jāḍya, invalidity; (18) vrīḍā, shame; (19) avahitthā, concealment; (20) smṛti, remembrance; (21) vitarka, argument; (22) cintā, contemplation; (23) mati, attention; (24) dhṛti, forbearance; (25) harṣa, jubilation; (26) autsukya, eagerness; (27) augrya, violence; (28) amarṣa, anger; (29) asūyā, jealousy; (30) cāpalya, impudence; (31) nidrā, sleep; (32) supti, deep sleep, and (33) prabodha, awakening.
"Devotees are always tolerant, forbearing and very merciful. They are the well-wishers of every living entity. They follow the scriptural injunctions, and because they have no enemies, they are very peaceful. These are the decorations of devotees."
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Besides these, there are other transcendental qualities which are described by Lord Śiva to Pārvatī in the Padma Purāṇa, and in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in connection with a conversation between the deity of the earth and the King of religion, Yamarāja. It is said therein, "Persons who are desirous of becoming great personalities must be decorated with the following qualities: truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, perseverance, renunciation, peacefulness, simplicity, control of the senses, equilibrium of the mind, austerity, equality, forbearance, placidity, learning, knowledge, detachment, opulence, chivalry, influence, strength, memory, independence, tactfulness, luster, patience, kind-heartedness, ingenuity, gentility, mannerliness, determination, perfection in all knowledge, proper execution, possession of all objects of enjoyment, gravity, steadiness, faithfulness, fame, respectfulness and lack of false egotism." Persons who are desiring to become great souls cannot be without any of the above qualities, so we can know for certain that these qualities are found in Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme soul.
A person who tolerates all kinds of troubles, even though such troubles appear to be unbearable, is called forbearing. When Kṛṣṇa was residing at the place of His spiritual master, He did not mind taking all troubles in rendering service to His guru, although His body was very soft and delicate. It is the duty of the disciple to execute all services unto the spiritual master, despite all kinds of difficulties. The disciple living at the residence of the spiritual master has to go begging from door to door and bring everything back to the spiritual master. When prasāda is being served, the spiritual master is supposed to call each and every disciple to come eat. If by chance the spiritual master forgets to call a disciple to partake of the prasāda, it is enjoined in the scriptures that the student should fast on that day rather than accept food on his own initiative. There are many such strictures. Sometimes, also, Kṛṣṇa went to the forest to collect dry wood for fuel.
A person who is very peaceful, forbearing, considerate and obliging is called dhīra-praśānta. This dhīra-praśānta trait of Kṛṣṇa was exhibited in His dealings with the Pāṇḍavas. On account of the Pāṇḍavas' faithful devotion to the Lord, He agreed to become their charioteer, their advisor, their friend, their messenger and sometimes their bodyguard. Such is an example of the result of devotional service toward Viṣṇu. When Kṛṣṇa was speaking to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about religious principles, He demonstrated Himself to be a great learned scholar, but because He accepted the position of younger cousin to Yudhiṣṭhira, He was speaking in a very gentle tone which enhanced His beautiful bodily features. The movements of His eyes and the mode of His speech proved that He was very, very expert in giving moral instruction.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
"O dear ocean, why are you roaring all day and night? Don’t you like to sleep? We think you have been attacked by insomnia, or, if we are not wrong, our dear Śyāmasundara has tactfully taken away your gravity and power of forbearance, which are your natural qualifications. Is it a fact that for this reason you are suffering from insomnia like us? Yes, we admit that there is no remedy for this disease."
Sri Isopanisad
The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.
As advised in Chapter Thirteen of the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 13.8-12), one should culture knowledge in the following way:
(1) One should become a perfect gentleman and learn to give proper respect to others.
(2) One should not pose himself as a religionist simply for name and fame.
(3) One should not become a source of anxiety to others by the actions of his body, by the thoughts of his mind, or by his words.
(4) One should learn forbearance even in the face of provocation from others.
Self-realization is possible in the human form of life, but not in other forms. There are 8,400,000 species, or forms of life, of which the human form qualified by brahminical culture presents the only chance to obtain knowledge of transcendence. Brahminical culture includes truthfulness, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full faith in God. It is not that one simply becomes proud of his high parentage. Just as being born the son of a big man affords one a chance to become a big man, so being born the son of a brāhmaṇa gives one a chance to become a brāhmaṇa. But such a birthright is not everything, for one still has to attain the brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as one becomes proud of his birth as the son of a brāhmaṇa and neglects to acquire the qualifications of a real brāhmaṇa, he at once becomes degraded and falls from the path of self-realization. Thus his life's mission as a human being is defeated.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised, therefore, just to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how one should be tolerant. He has said, tṛṇād api sunīcena: "Just you become humbler than the grass." Just like one grass so many people are trampling over. It does not protest. Tṛṇād api sunī..., taror api sahiṣṇunā: "And tolerant more than the tree..." Just like tree. Somebody is taking his branches, somebody is snatching its fruit, sometimes cutting it, but still, the tree is giving you shelter, fruit, and leaves and fruits and flowers. Very good example. So anyone who is desiring to go back to home, back to Godhead, he has to learn to be tolerant and forbearing. That is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā, amāninā mānadena: "For himself, one should always think that he has no respect. He doesn't require to command any respect. But all respects he offer to others." In this way, if we become practiced, then we become fit for going back to Godhead, back to home.
One should not pose himself that he knows something, he can speculate something, he can invent something. Just like the so-called scientists, they are simply speculating and wasting labor. Nothing can be done by you. Everything is already arranged. You cannot change. You can simply see how the law is working; so much you can do. But neither you can change the law, you can make a better facility for the law. No. That you cannot do. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Duratyayā means it is very difficult. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was informed this statement of Brahmā, that one should give up the speculative method, that he can create something... These nonsense habits should be given up. He must become very humble. Humbler than the grass. Just like we trample over the grass; it does not protest. "All right, sir, you go." That type of humble. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. Taru means tree. Tree is so much forbearing.
If you want to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you have to become tolerant. What kind of tolerant? Just like a tree. Don't you think a tree, how much tolerant it is? Everybody is committing offense on the tree. Somebody is snatching its twigs, somebody is snatching its flowers, somebody snatching leaves, somebody cutting, but it does not protest. Rather, on the contrary, it supplies you fruits, flower, and gives you shelter. So tree is the nicest example for tolerance. So Lord Caitanya teaches us that we should become tolerant just like a tree. And tṛṇād api sunīcena, and forbearance just like a grass. Just like you trample over grass. It does not protest.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
The varṇāśrama must be there in the human society. So varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. Vibhāga means division. Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya. Everyone has got his dharma. That is dharma, the brāhmaṇa. Dharma means his occupational duty. Dharma means his occupational duty. That is dharma. A brāhmaṇa is..., he has got his duties, to practice how to become truthful, satya; śama, how to control the senses; and dama, how to control the mind. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā, how to learn toleration, forbearance. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā, ārjavam, how to become simple, not crooked. Jñānam, full knowledge in everything. Vijñānam, practical application. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam (BG 18.42), full faith in the Vedic literature. That is called āstikyam. That is called theism, to believe in the śāstras without any deviation.
If somebody is aggressor, he must be killed immediately. Dharma-yuddha. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja is thinking that "Although there was fight, the fight was between our own men, my brother, my nephews, my grandfather. So they are family members. I have killed them for my kingdom." He is thinking in that way. He is a pious man. Violence is required. We don't say nonviolence. Just as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He gave us the instruction, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā: "One should be tolerant, forbearing like the tree, like the grass." Amāninā mānadena: "One should give respect to others. In this way one should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra." Because in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, there will be so many aggressors. The nature is so cruel. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, a five-years-old boy. His only fault was that he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and the father was aggressor, giving him trouble so many ways. So we must be prepared.
We have got this in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why should we neglect it? What is the reason? Other things may go on—this political fight or some fight. Fighting. This is a world of fighting. Āgamāpāyino 'nityaḥ tams titikṣasva bhārata. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). This is world of śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ. You cannot avoid it. So tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. Just try to tolerate. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also says the same thing:
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror api suhiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- (CC Adi 17.31)
We have to become tolerant than the grass on the street and forbearing more than the trees. In this way we have to tolerate whatever is going on in this material world. Tolerate does not mean unnecessarily we shall suffer. As far as possible, let us struggle, but we should not forget our real business. That is human life. Real business is that I am part and parcel of God.
So there are these snakelike persons. They are envious about our movement, and they are opposing. That is the nature. Prahlāda Mahārāja also was opposed by his father, what to speak of others. These things will happen, but we should not be disappointed, as Prahlāda Mahārāja never became disappointed although he was teased in so many ways. He was also served with poison, he was thrown amongst the serpents and he was thrown from the hill, he was put under the feet of elephant. In so many ways put... Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed us that "Do not be disappointed. Kindly forbear." Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. Be tolerant more than the tree. I mean to say, one shall be meek and humble more than the grass. These things will happen. In one life if we execute our Kṛṣṇa consciousness attitude, even there is suffering little, don't mind. Go on with Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Here, in India, the brāhmaṇas, they are doing everything. Still they are going in the name of brāhmaṇa. But here, these European brāhmaṇas, American brāhmaṇas, they're real brāhmaṇas, because they have given up all sinful activities. The brāhmaṇa's life is first of all truthful. Truthful. Satya śama dama titikṣa. Controlling the senses, controlling the mind, forbearance and simplicity, full knowledge, application of knowledge, belief in the Vedas—these are the symptoms of brāhmaṇa. Satya śama dama titikṣa ārjavam āstikyaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). So if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, these brahminical qualifications automatically come.
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
The female Sannyasins are to be immediately understood as pretenders or prostitutes. In India they have organized so many organizations where specially young females are maintained to attract rich women-hunters who pretend to pose as righteous in the society. This is the age of Kali which plunders away spiritual sense of the human being and it is only the Divine Grace of Lord Caitanya Who can protect us from all these dangerous pitfalls. You were not agitated by unfavorable criticism and yet you chanted Hare Krishna Mahamantra that is the way of chanting Hare Krishna. I thank you very much for this forbearance. I am very glad to note that you can know the foolishness of the modern society in spiritual understanding and I thank you very much for your appreciation of my association. This association is disciplic and as such all thanks are due to Lord Krishna Who infuses His powers through the bona fide disciplic succession.
1969 Correspondence
My Guru Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura, Lord Caitanya and at the end Lord Krishna Himself all are surely very much pleased for your noble activities. You have already made the city of London feel something about the Hare Krishna movement. This is a great credit for you all and I appreciate it very much. Please do your duty combinedly without any disruption of peaceful attitudes amongst yourselves. We are pushing our movement on the background of a peaceful atmosphere in the world, and if we show a little disturbance in our own camp that will not be a very good example. Therefore, everyone should be forebearing, tolerant and cooperative. That is my special request to you all.
1970 Correspondence
So after going there, work cooperatively with toleration and forbearance. Our philosophy is submissiveness, so I hope in India both you and Acyutananda will work very diligently. There is very good chance for our success in India. We should follow the same principle as I have prescribed here; namely chanting the beads regularly, following the regulative principles, leading the Sankirtana Party on the street, try to sell our literature and books, and work very seriously and sincerely. If you work on this principle the people of India will be charmed by your behavior and they will gratefully acknowledge your transcendental activities.
1974 Correspondence
I have received one letter from Sudama das Goswami that both of you had some hot conversation on the points of management, but I request both of you not to become agitated on any controversial point. A Vaisnava is supposed to be more tolerant than the tree and more forbearing than the grass. Besides that we have taken a great mission of the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, so everything should be done very diligently and soberly so that our missionary activity may not be hampered. All of our members are giving voluntary service, so they should always be encouraged in their service attitude.
| Page Title: | Forbearing |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Alakananda |
| Created: | 26 of Sep, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=12, CC=6, OB=7, Lec=8, Con=0, Let=4 |
| No. of Quotes: | 37 |