EAGERNESS AND TOLERANCE

     

     In our recent Temple of the Heart sanga we were reading and discussing Lord Chaitanya's pastimes from the Chaitanya Charitamrta, Antya-lila chapter 14.  Upon reading the account of the woman who stood on the Lord's shoulder near the Garuda column in order to better see the Deity of Lord Jagannatha in the temple the value of eagerness to find Lord Krishna became apparent. 

     Seeing the woman's eagerness, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Lord Jagannātha has not bestowed so much eagerness upon Me.
     She has fully absorbed her body, mind and life in Lord Jagannātha. Therefore she was unaware that she was putting her foot on My shoulder.
     Alas! How fortunate this woman is! I pray at her feet that she favor Me with her great eagerness to see Lord Jagannātha."
CHAITANYA CHARITAMRTA, ANTYA LILA CHAPTER 14:28-30 (LINK)

     Govinda, the Lord's personal attendant seeing the woman as a disturbance to the Lord made her get down and was chastised by the Lord. 

     Gaurahari prabhu extracted the essence of the pastime by emphasizing how eagerness to go to Krishna is so valuable in devotional service that the Lord Himself welcomes it even if it seems to be a disturbance or even an offense by regulatory standards. 

     This is the main point.. 

     As is my habit, I strayed a bit from the main point and began to consider the value of tolerance. How tolerant the Lord is. That even if there is some inconvenience to Him He does not see it as disturbing if it is because the devotee is trying to find Him. 

     Reminded of Siksastaka: 

     "One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly"..
SIKSASTAKA (VERSE 3) (LINK)


     Lord Brahma, the secondary creator of the universe, prays for a position that will allow him to be immersed continually in tolerance:

     "My dear Lord, I am therefore not interested in either material opulences or liberation. I am most humbly praying at Your lotus feet for You to please give me any sort of birth within this Vṛndāvana forest so that I may be able to be favored by the dust of the feet of some of the devotees of Vṛndāvana. If I am given the chance to grow just as the humble grass in this land, that will be a glorious birth for me. But if I am not so fortunate to take birth within the forest of Vṛndāvana, I beg to be allowed to take birth outside the immediate area of Vṛndāvana so that when the devotees go out they will walk over me. Even that would be a great fortune for me. I am just aspiring for a birth in which I will be smeared by the dust of the devotees' feet.
KRISHNA BOOK VOLUME 1 CHAPTER 14 (LINK)

So how do tolerance and eagerness fit together in devotional service? There is no need for any separate endeavor to tolerate. If the so-called offender is eager to find Krishna and the so-called offended is also eager to find Krishna then there is no offense. If there is eagerness in the mood of devotional service tolerance is automatically there. Tolerance acts to enhance the loving mood. There is nothing to forgive. Only a mood of well-wishing prevails. 

Perhaps in the light of this, we can better appreciate Srila Prabhupada's repeated and continued use of the sign off, Your ever well-wisher...