Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Bhaktivinode Thakur has sung in Kalyanakalpataru (3.2.8):
`ami ta' vaisnava', e buddhi ha-ile,
amani na ha'ba ami
pratisthasa asi', hrdaya dusibe,
ha-iba niraya-gami
If I say, "I am vaisnava," then I cannot become amani and manada; I'll be unable to offer respect to others. Rather, I will demand respect, "Hey, don't you know I am vaisnava? You should pay respect to me, you rascal! Don't you know who I am?" Then, pratisthasa asi hrdaya dusibe ha-ibe niraya-gami— I will run after name, fame, and adoration. If I do that then my heart will be polluted and I'll go to hell.
Then Bhaktivinode further describes:
amani manada, ha-ile kirtane,
adhikara dibe tumi
tomara carane, niskapate ami,
kandiya lutiba bhumi
"O guru and Gauranga, only if I develop the mood of trnad api sunicena taror iva sahisnuna amanina manada will I get the adhikara, qualification, for chanting `hare krsna'. Please grant this to me, otherwise I will not be able to chant without duplicity. If you grant me that mercy, then with a simple heart I will shed tears and roll on the ground at the lotus feet of guru and Gauranga." This is the mood. One who has this mood gets Krishna. One who has gotten Krishna can stay anywhere, in a palatial building or underneath a tree.
Devotee: One vaisnava said that if someone wants to take my watch, I won't give it. There will be some fight. I'll punch the person in the face.
Gour Govinda Swami: No, that is not proper. If someone abuses or beats you then you should tolerate.
Devotee: But if I see that a vaisnava has been attacked by somebody...
Gour Govinda Swami: If we see that a vaisnava is being persecuted, we cannot tolerate it; Krishna cannot tolerate it. It is our duty to give protection.
But the vaisnava who is being persecuted, he will tolerate with no complaint.
Devotee: I've heard the example given of a snake. Sometimes we should act like a snake if someone is harassing us or causing disturbance.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, there is a story. Once there was a very big poisonous snake that was biting innocent men and animals. Narada Muni came, "Hey! What are you doing? Why are you killing innocent persons and animals? Don't do that.
You must tolerate. Don't bite anyone."
The snake thought, "All right. If a sadhu says, then I'll not do it." So from that day he gave up biting. He just lay there as if dead. Some naughty boys came with a big stick and began pelting the snake with stones. He tolerated it, thinking, "Narada Muni has instructed me, so I won't bite." Then they came and started dancing on his body. Still he tolerated. His bones were broken and he became skinny. Finally, after two or three weeks, Narada Muni came and found him, "What happened?" "You said that I should not bite anyone. Some naughty boys are coming and are dancing on my body, beating me, and pelting me with stones."
Narada said, "I said that you should not bite, but I never told you not to hiss! Don't bite anyone, but you should hiss. Then they'll become frightened and leave you alone.
— From a lecture in Bhubaneswar on 23 April 1992.
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