Q. 236. HOW SHOULD ONE BEHAVE IF ONE IS INSULTED OR RIDICULED ?
A. BY SRILA PRABHUPADA.
ativādāḿs titikṣeta
nāvamanyeta kañcana
na cemaḿ deham āśritya
vairaḿ kurvīta kenacit
SYNONYMS
ati-vādān — insulting words; titikṣeta — one should tolerate; na — never; avamanyeta — one should disrespect; kañcana — anyone; na ca — nor; imam — this;deham — material body; āśritya — identifying with; vairam — enmity; kurvīta — one should have; kenacit — with anyone.
TRANSLATION
One should tolerate all insults and never fail to show proper respect to any person. Avoiding identification with the material body, one should not create enmity with anyone. (Srimad Bhagavatam).
visṛjya smayamānān svān
dṛśaḿ vrīḍāḿ ca daihikīm
praṇamed daṇḍa-vad bhūmāv
ā-śva-cāṇḍāla-go-kharam
SYNONYMS
visṛjya — giving up; smayamānān — who are laughing; svān — one's own friends; dṛśam — the outlook; vrīḍām — the embarrassment; ca — and; daihikīm — of the bodily conception; praṇamet — one should offer obeisances; daṇḍa-vat — falling down like a rod; bhūmau — upon the ground; ā — even; śva — to the dogs; cāṇḍāla — outcastes; go — cows; kharam — and asses.
TRANSLATION
Disregarding the ridicule of one's companions, one should give up the bodily conception and its accompanying embarrassment. One should offer obeisances before all — even the dogs, outcastes, cows and asses — falling flat upon the ground like a rod. (Srimad Bhagavatam).
PURPORT
One should practice seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead within all creatures. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised all devotees to consider themselves lower than a blade of grass and to be more tolerant than a tree.
In such a humble position, one will not be disturbed in the prosecution of pure devotional service to the Lord. A devotee does not foolishly think that a cow or an ass is God, but rather the devotee sees the Supreme Lord within all creatures, and on this higher, spiritual plane he does not discriminate.
In the Sri Caitanya Caritamrta it is stated:-
taru-sama sahiṣṇutā vaiṣṇava karibe
bhartsana-tāḍane kāke kichu nā balibe
SYNONYMS
taru-sama — like a tree; sahiṣṇutā — forbearance; vaiṣṇava — devotee; karibe — should practice; bhartsana — rebuking; tāḍane — chastising; kāke — unto anyone; kichu — something; nā — not; balibe — will utter.
TRANSLATION
"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.
kāṭileha taru yena kichu nā bolaya
śukāiyā mare, tabu jala nā māgaya
SYNONYMS
kāṭileha — even being cut; taru — the tree; yena — as; kichu — something; nā — not; bolaya — says; śukāiyā — drying up; mare — dies; tabu — still; jala — water; nā — does not; māgaya — ask for.
TRANSLATION
"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.
PURPORT
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.
tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
SYNONYMS
tṛṇāt api — than downtrodden grass; su-nīcena — being lower; taroḥ — than a tree; iva — like; sahiṣṇunā — with tolerance; amāninā — without being puffed up by false pride; māna-dena — giving respect to all; kīrtanīyaḥ — to be chanted; sadā — always; hariḥ — the holy name of the Lord.
TRANSLATION
One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.
PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
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