Forgiveness: The Ornament of a Vaishnava

SB 4.6.48 :My dear lord, if in some places materialists, who are already bewildered by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Godhead, sometimes commit offenses, a saintly person, with compassion, does not take this seriously. Knowing that they commit offenses because they are overpowered by the illusory energy, he does not show his prowess to counteract them.

1. It is said that the beauty of a tapasvī, or saintly person, is forgiveness.
2. A Vaiṣṇava 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.

SB 4.6.49 :My dear lord, you are never bewildered by the formidable influence of the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you are omniscient and should be merciful and compassionate toward those who are bewildered by the same illusory energy and are very much attached to fruitive activities.

1. A Vaiṣṇava is never bewildered by the influence of the external energy because he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
2. A Vaiṣṇava should take care of those who are bewildered by this māyā instead of becoming angry with them, because without a Vaiṣṇava’s mercy they have no way to get out of the clutches of māyā. Those who have been condemned by māyā are rescued by the mercy of devotees:

The Path to unlimited happiness:Detachment, A Lesson from the Hawk

In SB 11.9 " Detachment From All that is Material" the Avadhuta Brahmin speaks at length about how one can detach oneself from all that is material so that one can endeavor towards the highest perfection of life. He begins with what he learns from the hawk.

SB 11.9.1: The saintly brahmana said: Everyone considers certain things within the material world to be most dear to him, and because of attachment to such things one eventually becomes miserable. One who understands this gives up material possessiveness and attachment and thus achieves unlimited happiness.

SB 11.9.2:Once a group of large hawks who were unable to find any prey attacked another, weaker hawk who was holding some meat. At that time, being in danger of his life, the hawk gave up his meat and experienced actual happiness. 

Purport: Incited by the modes of nature, birds become violent and kill other birds to eat them or to steal meat captured by them. Hawks, vultures and eagles are in this category. However, one should give up the envious propensity to commit violence against others and should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereby one sees every living entity as equal to oneself. On this platform of actual happiness one does not envy anyone and thus sees no one as his enemy.

The Purport to the verse above is very instructive - it exhorts us to give up the envious propensity to commit violence to others and see every living entity equal to oneself. If I hate and berate the instruments of my karma - its because

• I do not have the humility to accept that everything that happened to me is my karma coming back to me .
• I fail to see the instrument of karma also as a soul who is part and parcel of Krishna
• I am envious of them being in a better and calmer position than me in spite of  them "harming" me
• I fail to see Krishna's will in whatever has happened in my life.

By continually remaining in such a consciousness I am actually committing violence to them in my mind and through my words and actions.Interestingly I am committing violence to myself also by wanting to hold on to such burning coals of my incorrect view of the situation and of them.

The hawk in the above verse could continue fighting for the meat in a losing battle which would eventually consume the hawk's life. However the hawk chose to give up its attachment towards the meat and thus experienced true happiness.

Similarly I can continue fighting a losing battle while holding onto such personally debilitating thought processes and never be able to grow as a devotee and also never receive the love, mercy and blessings of the persons who I think have "harmed" me. Instead I must learn from the hawk and give up the attachment to such a thought process. I must bring my consciousness to the point mentioned in the purport to the verse: "However, one should give up the envious propensity to commit violence against others and should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereby one sees every living entity as equal to oneself. On this platform of actual happiness one does not envy anyone and thus sees no one as his enemy."

I must see that I am a servant of Krishna and my job is to serve Lord Krishna and His parts and parcels.I must accept what is happening to me as a token of the reactions I deserve. As a servant I must cultivate my relationship with Krishna through connecting with His parts and parcels. If I cannot connect with that which is KRISHNA'S how will I connect with Krishna.

The success of my devotional service depends upon the depth of my relationships with Krishna nd His devotees. Why is that? To have deep relationships based on service with devotees I will have to work on my false ego. Thus deep relationships with devotees are possible only when one is situated in the real ego- I am Krishna's servant , He is my master, they are His parts and parcels and my duty to is to serve them favorably with love.
I must respect and love the individual because they are a part of Krishna by separating the act from the person. The act was ordained by the Lord.

Taking Responsibility

After Jarasandha was killed , Lord Krishna released the 20,800 kings held captive by Jarasandha.The kings recd the Lord's darshan and also spoke words of glorification to Him. They also offer prayers to the Lord and one of them is:

SB 10.73.9: O master, Madhusūdana, we do not blame this King of Magadha, since it is actually by Your mercy that kings fall from their royal position, O almighty Lord.

The kings had been imprisoned for many many years by Jarasandha. They had suffered a lot during their time of imprisonment and had also suffered the pain of being away from their kingdoms and their loved ones.

Inspite of this and the various atrocities meted out by Jarasandha the kings say in the above verse that they do not blame the King of Magadha for their situation and they accept it as the Lord's mercy.

From the purport: "

It is significant that upon seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa and thus becoming purified of their sins, the kings did not feel any mundane hatred or bitterness toward Jarāsandha, who had imprisoned them. Simply by seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa, the kings came to the position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and spoke these verses, which show deep spiritual wisdom.

"

When we are in a difficult situation especially when it involves some people "causing harm" to us - it is extremely difficult to accept the difficulty as the Lord's mercy. I usually carry anger towards the persons involved in the situation and consider them to be the reasons for my pain and difficulty.

However, it is the Lord's mercy because through that difficulty Krishna is taking away from me all that I am attached to and all that is blocking me from His service. I must be thankful to Him as His mercy in this form is easing out my forward march towards Krishna's lotus feet.

Instead of thinking like that I am caught into thinking about how I have been harmed by certain people and how I want them to understand the pain I went through because of their actions.

Taking responsibility is liberating
Because of such a thought process I am carrying a lot of baggage of expectations towards those persons and am constantly feeling like a victim - remembering all the pain and all the time fearing their next action towards me.Such a thought process is not liberating or uplifting. It is rooting me down to material conceptions- it does not help me grow.

On the other hand if I accept the situation as a result of my own actions and as a part of the Lord's divine plan to lead me in the positive direction it will make me feel very light, happy and positive. I can at the same time still be watchful of the same people and their harm causing potential but not bog myself down with all the fear and the anger.

Takes Humility

It will take some humility on my part to accept everything as a result of my actions and also take responsibility for my feelings. Humility is difficult because it forces me to hold myself accountable for the situation. Blaming is easy - when I do that I don't have to hold myself responsible.

In my situation, everything that is happening is for my benefit- the difficult situations helped me become a stronger person- it made me realize that Krishna is our only shelter, that we cannot change Krishna's plan- that Krishna is more powerful than us. It also helped me understand people and the world more closely- it helped me see how weak people are and how they take shelter of unjust means to control someone in order to hide their own weaknesses.

Oh Lord Krishna please help me understand this in this way- Please help me see everything in my life as Your mercy - Please remove this covering , please help me overcome this thought process so that I can live a life of freedom in devotional service to You- please help me Krishna so that I can offer myself fully to You.

Please help this servant of Yours so that she can overcome her anarthas to serve you completely.

Krsna exemplifies Srila Rupa Goswami's definition of a forgiving person

After the pastime of the lifting of the Govardhan Hill by the Lord - Indra realizes his mistake and offers his apology to the Lord.Indra reveals his mind to the Lord and the Lord reciprocates by revealing His intention.

The manner in which the Lord speaks is very very instructive and it underlines some of the many qualities the Lord posseses.

The Lord says the following three verses:

SB 10.27.15: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Indra, it was out of mercy that I stopped the sacrifice meant for you. You were greatly intoxicated by your opulence as King of heaven, and I wanted you to always remember Me.

SB 10.27.16: A man blinded by intoxication with his power and opulence cannot see Me nearby with the rod of punishment in My hand. If I desire his real welfare, I drag him down from his materially fortunate position.

SB 10.27.17: Indra, you may now go. Execute My order and remain in your appointed position as King of heaven. But be sober, without false pride.

The Lord being self- satisfied only does this pastime to give pleasure to the devotees of Vraja and to correct Lord Indra.

Some of the following qualities of the Lord come to my limited mind.

• Forgiving(Ksamasila)
• HH Mahanidhi Swami writes in the Book "Art of Chanting Hare Krishna" under the chapter "The Holy Name and Krsna's qualities" for the quality - "Forgiving"
• Krsna perfectly exemplifies Srila Rupa Goswami's definition of a forgiving person "a person who tolerates all kinds of offenses of the opposite party"/ Certainly Brahma committed a grave offense by kidnapping Krsna's cows and boyfriends. What to speak of Indra, who tried to kill Indra's cows, destroy Vrindavana and annihilate Krsna's family. Yet Krsna tolerated their grievous offenses and compassionately forgave the two demigods.
• Lesson: HH Mahanidhi swami writes : "To preserve the purity of one's spiritual consciousness in the material world, which is full of agitating situations and disrespectful people, one must always remain tolerant. From momemnt to moment we must be ready to forgive and forget all kinds of offenses.
• Possessing Equilibrium (sama)
• The nectar of devotion defines a balanced person as "a person who is unaffected by attachment and envy is said to posses equilibrium". When Indra acted out of pride- Lord Krsna  arranged the pastime of Lifting the Govardhan Hill - not out of a personal agenda an "angry retaliation" or a "show of superiority" or out of feeling disrespected. As we can read in verse SB 10.27.15 the Lord performed the pastime only out of compassion for Indra. He took the task of lifting the Govardhan Hill for 7 days just to correct His deviant son Indra.
• In many situations I react because I am personally hurt or feel disrespected or cheated- However learning from the Lord I must act only out of the mood of service to Guru and Krsna and not out of any other motivation. This will help me maintain equilibrium in service.
• Liberal (vinimayi)
• Krsna does not take away Indra's service in spite of such a gross offense of creating a situation that would have killed the Lord's dear devotees. Instead the Lord , just corrects Indra through this pastime and allows him to continue the service.
• The Lord says in SB 10.27.16 ".If I desire his real welfare, I drag him down from his materially fortunate position." One may feel why does the Lord say this when in the very next verse He tells Indra to continue his service as King of Heaven  SB 10.27.17: "Indra, you may now go. Execute My order and remain in your appointed position as King of heaven. But be sober, without false pride."
•  This shows the quality of the Lord being liberal- He teaches the lesson but still allows the devotees to continue their service to Him, He gives them a chance to change while continuing their service.
• Partial to His devotees
• In the various pastimes where demons attacked Krishna , Krishna killed them - even when their offense was relatively much smaller than the offense of Indra who attacked not only the Lord  but all His devotees and the cows. However the Lord did not attack Indra at all and in fact He forgave him allowed him to continue the service as King of Heaven.

The Lord is so merciful in how he accepts Lord Indra's words and also in how he offers his correction to Indra. Oh Lord! Please bless me so that I can learn from Your example and the example of Your devotees- please give me Your mercy so that I can behave at least in some measure of all that I have received from You and the devotees.Oh Lord please help me follow this example of Yours in my dealings with the devotees.

Ambarisa Maharaj overlooks offenses by Durvasa Muni and forgives him

Ambarisa Maharaj prays to the Sudarshan Chakra to offer shelter and protection to Durvasa Muni - and because of his prayers the Sudarshan Chakra becomes peaceful and stops burning Durvasa Muni.

On seeing this attitude of Ambarisa Maharaj wherein he protects Durvasa Muni from the Chakra even when Durvasa Muni had created a fiery demon to kill him, Durvasa Muni si amazed and thus able to fathom the greatness of the devotees of the Lord.

He says:


SB 9.5.14: Durvāsā Muni said: My dear King, today I have experienced the greatness of devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for although I have committed an offense, you have prayed for my good fortune.

SB 9.5.15: For those who have achieved the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the pure devotees, what is impossible to do, and what is impossible to give up?

SB 9.5.16: What is impossible for the servants of the Lord? By the very hearing of His holy name one is purified.

SB 9.5.17: O King, overlooking my offenses, you have saved my life. Thus I am very much obliged to you because you are so merciful.

SB 9.5.20: Durvāsā Muni said: I am very pleased with you, my dear King. At first I thought of you as an ordinary human being and accepted your hospitality, but later I could understand, by my own intelligence, that you are the most exalted devotee of the Lord. Therefore, simply by seeing you, touching your feet and talking with you, I have been pleased and have become obliged to you.

Forgiveness is one of the greatest quality of a devotee. Ambarisa Maharaj did not take offense even when Durvasa Muni created a fiery demon to kill him, then do I even have any right to feel offended in anmy situation.
 
If I can see everything as a mercy of the Lord and maintain the mood of service towards the Vaishnavas I would be protected from committing offenses to Vaishnavas and also never feel offended.

Lord vishnu asks Prthu Maharaj to forgive Indra

Lord Indra disturbs Prthu Maharaj's 100th ashvamedha yagna as he doesnt want Prithu Maharaj to surpass him in being known as one who has performed 100 horse sacrifices.
However later he comes with Lord Vishnu to Prthu Maharaj to ask for forgiveness.
Lord Vishnu says the following powerful words asking Prthu Maharaj to forgive Indra.

Synopsis:
Whenever we feel offended we must realize that it arises from the bodily conception of life.For one who is advanced in spiritual life situated in the real ego, does not feel offended as He discovers that pleasure and pain as well as their interactions, which he attributed to his own self, are actually due to the false ego, which is a product of ignorance.

Knowing that the Lord's position as the ultimate giver of sanction and the condition soul's position as always empowered by Maya, saintly persons do not take seriously the offenses of the materialists - Ref:Unveiling His Lotus feet SB 4.6.47

Reference verses:

SB 4.20.3: O King, one who is advanced in intelligence and eager to perform welfare activities for others is considered best amongst human beings. An advanced human being is never malicious to others. Those with advanced intelligence are always conscious that this material body is different from the soul.

SB 4.20.4: If a personality like you, who are so much advanced because of executing the instructions of the previous ācāryas, is carried away by the influence of My material energy, then all your advancement may be considered simply a waste of time.

SB 4.20.5: Those who are in full knowledge of the bodily conception of life, who know that this body is composed of nescience, desires and activities resulting from illusion, do not become addicted to the body.