Category:Tolerance of a Devotee of God
Theme Analysis
In the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the quality of tolerance (titiksa) is not merely a passive acceptance of suffering but a dynamic spiritual attribute essential for advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee's tolerance is intrinsically linked with compassion (karuna). While a devotee patiently endures personal insults, physical tribulations, and the dualities of the material world without retaliation, this endurance is motivated by a higher purpose: the desire to deliver fallen souls. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that this tolerance has specific spiritual boundaries; while a devotee accepts personal distress as God's mercy, they never tolerate blasphemy against the Lord or the suffering of other devotees.
- The Definition of a Sadhu: A saintly person is characterized by two primary features: he is titiksavah (tolerant) and karunikah (merciful). He endures the disturbances of the material world without being disturbed.
- Personal Endurance vs. Divine Protectiveness: A Vaisnava is advised to be more tolerant than a tree regarding personal insults, yet he acts like fire when God or His devotees are blasphemed.
- The Motivation for Tolerance: Great souls like Haridasa Thakura and Lord Jesus Christ tolerated severe physical torture not out of weakness, but out of deep compassion to preach the message of Godhead to envious persons.
- Dependence on the Supreme: Tolerance springs from the conviction that all conditions are sanctioned by the Supreme Lord. Examples like Maharaja Ambarisa and Prahlada Maharaja demonstrate that when a devotee tolerates injustice, the Lord Himself takes up the fight on their behalf.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Merciful Tolerance of a Devotee of God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 10 subcategories, out of 10 total.
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Pages in category "Tolerance of a Devotee of God"
The following 77 pages are in this category, out of 77 total.
A
- A devotee can very peacefully chant the holy name of the Lord by behaving more humbly than the grass, being tolerant like a tree and offering respects to everyone, without expecting honor from anyone else. Such qualifications make it easier to chant
- A devotee is always very understanding if there is some discrepancy behavior on the part of nondevotees, and even some devotees misbehave, he is always very tolerant and understanding
- A devotee of the Lord cannot tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or His other devotees, and the Lord also cannot tolerate blasphemy of a devotee
- A devotee of the Lord, silently tolerated all the sage's (Durvasa Muni's) injustices & thereby emerged victorious. The King (Ambarisa) was able to control his senses because of the following qualifications, as mentioned in SB 9.4.18-20. BG 1972 purports
- A devotee should be so advanced that in spite of being troubled by the asuras, he should tolerate, titiksavah, and still he should be kind upon him, not that "This man is talking against me, against God. Therefore I shall be angry and drive him away." No
- A devotee should be tolerant and should be very much compassionate toward others. For example, if he suffers personal injury, he should tolerate it, but if someone else suffers injury, the devotee need not tolerate it
- A pure devotee, free from the reactions of the material modes of nature, executes devotional service with tolerance like that of a tree. He also feels humbler than the grass
- A sadhu is advised, titiksavah, tolerate. Tolerate all this nonsense. What can be done? We have no other alternative to tolerate. Nobody's coming to help us, our business is so thankless task
- A saintly person eligible to enter into the kingdom of God is very tolerant and very kind to all living entities. He is not partial; he is kind both to human beings and to animals
- A saintly person is always tolerant and merciful, he is a friend to everyone, never an enemy to anyone, and he is peaceful. These are some of the good qualities of a devotee
- A Vaisnava is always tolerant and submissive like trees and grass. He tolerates insults offered by others, for he is simply interested in chanting the holy name of the Lord without being disturbed
- A Vaisnava is personally tolerant for the benefit of others. When he does not show his prowess, this does not mean that he is lacking in strength; rather, it indicates that he is tolerant for the welfare of the entire human society
- All pure devotees of the Lord come to this material world with full compassion to deliver the sinful. They undergo all kinds of tribulations, suffering them with tolerance, because that is another qualification of a Vaisnava
- All the devotees felt very unhappy to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in pain. Indeed, they could not tolerate it. Then Jagadananda Pandita devised a remedy
- Although a devotee may sometimes have to suffer, he tolerates the suffering. At the same time, he is very kind to conditioned souls and tries to elevate them to Krsna consciousness. This is one of the primary features of a devotee's life
- Although he (Jada Bharata) did not protest, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His agent could not tolerate the injustice of the dacoits; therefore he was saved by the mercy of Krsna, and the dacoits were killed
- Although Srila Haridasa Thakura tolerated the insult by Gopala Cakravarti, Krsna could not. The Lord immediately punished Gopala Cakravarti by making him suffer from leprosy
- Although the disease of a devotee is due to mistakes committed sometime in the past, he agrees to suffer and tolerate such miseries, & he depends fully on the SPG. Thus he is never affected by material conditions of lamentation, jubilation, fear & so on
- Although the gopis were seemingly anguished by the Lord's (Krsna's) teasing behavior, when Krsna would leave them they could not tolerate the separation and used to follow Him with their eyes and minds
- Anywhere, those who are actually sadhu, saintly persons, they are very tolerant. Ksama-rupa tapasvinam. That is the qualification of sadhu: titiksava. At the same time karunika, merciful. The others are torturing him, but still he is merciful
- As described in this verse (of SB 8.22.29-30), hardly anyone could survive such a test, but for the future glorification of Bali Maharaja, one of the mahajanas, the Lord not only tested him but also gave him the strength to tolerate such adversity
- As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, taror api sahisnuna. Just like a tree, a devotee can tolerate all kinds of curses and reversals in life. This is the excellence of a devotee
B
- Bali Maharaja's tolerance and devotion were undoubtedly superexcellent. Garuda arrested Bali Maharaja to show the entire universe the greatness of the King's tolerance
- Because Narada Muni is the most elevated of sadhus, devotees, to deliver Prajapati Daksa he silently tolerated the curse
- By mildly tolerating your (Parvati's) curse, he (Citraketu) has certainly excelled the glory of your beauty and your power to curse him
D
- Devotee means he is able to tolerate all kinds of discomfort and whims of the material nature, and because he is so much absorbed in serving Krishna, he takes no time to become angry or take offense with others or find out some fault, no
- Devotees take it for granted, even there is distressed condition of life, they take it that "It is created by God. I am now in distress. It is creation of God. So why shall I hate it? Let me tolerate. Let me undergo this distressed condition of life"
- Do not fight with anyone, try to remain always very humble and meek like the advanced Vaisnava devotee, always thinking yourself lower than the straw in the street and more tolerant than the tree
H
- Haridasa Thakura was beaten with cane in twenty-two bazaars, but he was never disturbed; instead, he smilingly tolerated the beating. Despite the disturbing dualities of the material world, devotees are not disturbed at all
- Haridasa Thakura was caned in twenty-two marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya's principal assistant, Nityananda, was violently attacked by Jagai and Madhai. But still they were tolerant because their mission was to deliver the fallen souls
- He (the devotee of the Lord) is said to be always tolerant and merciful. A friend to all living entities, he has no enemies. He is peaceful, & he possesses all good qualities. These are but a few of the characteristics of a person in Krsna consciousness
I
- If a thunderbolt falls on my head or if my son dies, I can tolerate it. But I cannot endure the unhappiness of separation from You
- If he (Lord Jesus Christ) wanted, he could take steps, but he was tolerating. So this is the sign of brahminical symptom
- In India there are examples like Haridasa Thakura, Prahlada Maharaja. And the Western countries also, Lord Jesus Christ, he is saktyavesa-avatara, God's son. And he tolerated so much. These are the examples of mahatma
- In the Adi-lila of Caitanya-caritamrta, Chapter Eight, there is a description of some of the qualities of devotees. For example, Sri Pandita Haridasa is described as being very well-behaved, tolerant, peaceful, magnanimous and grave
- In the case of Dhruva Maharaja, the ksatriya spirit was so strong that he could not tolerate a slight insult from his stepmother which injured his ksatriya prestige
- It is said that a saintly person is always tolerant and merciful, he is a friend to everyone, never an enemy to anyone, and he is peaceful. These are some of the good qualities of a devotee
- It should be noted herewith (in SB 4.6.47) that a Vaisnava should not tolerate the blaspheming of Visnu or Vaisnavas, although he should tolerate personal insults to himself
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- Lord Jesus Christ is so tolerant that he was crucified; still, he did not curse anybody. This is sadhu: titiksavah, tolerant. The very great example of tolerance, Christ, Jesus Christ
- Lord Siva forbade Parvati to commit the mistake of cursing a devotee like Citraketu. He indicated that although she was powerful, the King, without showing any power, had excelled her power by his tolerance
- Lord Sri Krsna advises in Bhagavad-gita (BG 2.14), tams titiksasva bharata: My dear Arjuna, please try to tolerate all these disturbances. Be fixed in your Krsna conscious activities
O
- One of the qualifications of a sadhu is that he is very tolerant and is merciful to all fallen souls
- One quality of a devotee is that he is always very much tolerant of other people, so I request you simply to tolerate the faults of others and always think that I am myself the most faulty. In this way your humble attitude will qualify you to advance
- One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaisnava should be tolerant and not angry
P
- Prahlada Maharaja maintained an attitude of noncooperation with the philosophy of his father, Hiranyakasipu, yet he was tolerant and humble
- Prahlada Maharaja was chastised by his father, Hiranyakasipu, in so many ways, but although Prahlada tolerated this, Krsna did not. The Lord therefore came in the form of Nrsimhadeva to kill Hiranyakasipu
S
- Sadhu is titiksava. He has to tolerate so many things, criticism, opposing elements. Because sadhu cannot sit down idly. Bhajate mam ananya-bhak. He is engaged fully in Krsna's service
- Simply by criticizing followers of another faith, a devotee's mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop agitation
- Since Narada Muni is an approved saintly person, when cursed by Daksa he replied, "tad badham: Yes, what you have said is good. I accept this curse." He could have cursed Daksa in return, but because he is a tolerant and merciful sadhu, he took no action
- Sometimes devotees are ill-treated by envious persons. It is advised that an advanced devotee should be tolerant; he should show complete mercy to persons who are ignorant or innocent
- Sometimes there may be disagreement and quarrel but we should not go away. These inebrieties can be adjusted by the cooperative spirit, tolerance and maturity so I request you to kindly remain in the association of our devotees and work together
- Sukadeva Gosvami said: O Maharaja Pariksit, when King Rahugana chastised the exalted devotee Jada Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly
T
- The brahmanas and Vaisnavas are personally glorified by their characteristic powers of tolerance, penance, knowledge and education. By dint of all these spiritual assets, Vaisnavas are more powerful than royalty
- The devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord's lotus feet by a thorn. This tribulation in the heart of a devotee cannot be understood by karmis, jnanis or yogis
- The devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord's lotus feet by a thorn. This was the attitude of the gopis when they thought of Krsna wandering in the forest, with pebbles and grains of sand pricking His lotus feet
- The devotees, who could not tolerate even thinking of the Lord's lotus feet being pricked by a thorn, were again put into tribulation by thinking of the Lord's disappearance, for the Lord had to return to His abode after finishing His pastimes
- The King (Ambarisa) tolerated everything, patiently depending fully on the mercy of the Lord. The Lord, however, is situated in everyone's heart (sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah (BG 15.15)), and He manages things as He desires
- The King (Ambarisa), although not as powerful a yogi as the sage (Durvasa Muni), but a devotee of the Lord, silently tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged victorious. BG 1972 purports
- The Krsna consciousness movement has been started to deliver the envious persons of the world from the clutches of maya, and even though devotees are sometimes put into trouble, they push on the Krsna consciousness movement in all tolerance
- The Lord does not feel pain or pleasure from any action or reaction of this material world, but the devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord's lotus feet by a thorn
- 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
- The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime - SB 3.25.21
- The vivid example is Maharaja Ambarisa. He was the emperor of the entire world and had many duties to perform, and in the course of these duties there were many disturbances created by persons like Durvasa Muni, but the King tolerated everything
- These are the symptoms of sadhu: very tolerant and kind, titiksava-karunika. And suhrdah sarva-bhutanam: and he's friend of all living entities, not that daridra-narayana seva and cow-narayana killing
- They (the paramahamsas devotees) are naturally qualified with all the good attributes, such as pridelessness, freedom from vanity, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, respectability, worship, devotion and sincerity
- They (vaisnavas) are not unhappy, and they can tolerate any unhappy position. Therefore they come to deliver so many fallen souls
- This Hiranyakasipu father tortured Prahlada Maharaja in so many ways, but he tolerated. There are many other examples. Lord Jesus Christ, he was crucified. The only fault was that he was preaching God consciousness
- This is sadhu. Titiksavah karunikah. In one side he is tolerant, and other side, merciful
- This is sadhu: titiksavah, tolerant. The very great example of tolerance, Christ, Jesus Christ. So similarly, Haridasa Thakura. There are many saintly persons, sadhu, who were very tolerant
- This is the position of sadhu. He is not disturbed. Titiksavah. In all circumstances he is tolerant. That is sadhu
- This is the qualification of sadhu. Sadhu is titiksava, tolerates all kinds of miserable condition. He is sadhu. Because this is a place of miserable condition. A sadhu learns how to tolerate. Sadhu is never disturbed
W
- When Prahlada Maharaja was offered benediction by Nrsimha-deva, due to his great devotion and tolerance he refused to accept any benediction from the Lord, thinking that such acceptance was not befitting a sincere devotee
- Without being devotee a man will become cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, in this way go to hell. And devotee cannot tolerate. We have studied in the life of Lord Jesus Christ