Humility & Tolerance
CHAITANYA CHARAN DAS
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To experience ceaseless spiritual happiness, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu advocated, “Being humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and offering all respects to others and expecting none in return, chanting the holy names of the Lord constantly .“ He explained that we are spiritual beings, eternal loving children of God.We can find lasting happiness -not in acquiring material positions and possessions, but in reviving our innate love of God. Humility and tolerance, virtues essential for achieving endless bliss, are also valuable assets for living peacefully and successfully in this world.
Pride, the opposite of humility, makes us crave for honour from others as our source of happiness. When a proud person is disrespected, his lack of freedom becomes appallingly obvious; he is forced by pride to lose his prudence and explode with words and actions, often hurting the other person and even himself far beyond what the situation warrants.Humility , on the contrary , brings freedom from the craving for external honour.
Tolerance too is an underutilised power. A relative behaves unreasonably , a colleague speaks impolitely , a power cut upsets our plans, another vehicle cuts across our path -such daily situations offer rich premiums for the tolerant. Lack of tolerance makes us a victim of our circumstances, whereas tolerance brings the freedom to choose an intelligent response and stay fixed in our values and goals, irrespective of our circumstances.
Pride, the opposite of humility, makes us crave for honour from others as our source of happiness. When a proud person is disrespected, his lack of freedom becomes appallingly obvious; he is forced by pride to lose his prudence and explode with words and actions, often hurting the other person and even himself far beyond what the situation warrants.Humility , on the contrary , brings freedom from the craving for external honour.
Tolerance too is an underutilised power. A relative behaves unreasonably , a colleague speaks impolitely , a power cut upsets our plans, another vehicle cuts across our path -such daily situations offer rich premiums for the tolerant. Lack of tolerance makes us a victim of our circumstances, whereas tolerance brings the freedom to choose an intelligent response and stay fixed in our values and goals, irrespective of our circumstances.
