This morning, after waking up when I looked out of the window, the weather seemed inviting - clear blue sky, sparrows and mynas chirping on the mango tree, the air filled with fragrance of flowers from the garden adjoining my residence. I decided to chant my rounds outdoors. While I was on my way back, I saw on a bench in the garden, sat a young lady somewhere in her late twenties carrying her newborn in her arms, eyes filled with love, expectations, hope, aspirations and a future for her baby. This set me on a chain of cogitation - Bringing life into this world requires a very important jewel called 'Patience'- nine months of perseverance and patience. Thus, the Lord teaches us this divine quality through His amazing mechanisms and creations.
We have become increasingly accustomed to a fast-paced life where our success is measured by the shortcuts we take and how quickly we emerge the foremost winner in the race of life. However, in a bid to constantly run ahead of time, we fail to realize the detrimental by-products of such impatience. There is a sharp rise in stress levels, dissatisfaction, frustration and depression due to such acute lack of forbearance.
Why is patience so important?
The classic example portraying the vitality of the virtue of patience is King Shantanu from the Epic, Mahabharata. One day when King Shantanu happened to place his eyes on the ethereally beautiful Mother Ganga, he expressed his desire to marry her. Ganga put forth a condition to Shantanu that he would never question her actions. In the event should such a fallacy occur or a friction arise on that account, she would immediately leave him for good. The king agreed and they got married. This agreement was necessary, since Ganga had to redeem the Vasus who had been cursed by Sage Vashishtha for stealing the sacred cow Nandini, daughter of the wish yielding cow - Kamadhenu. Of the eight Vasus, seven of them were only accomplices to the crime. The main Vasu, who planned the theft to satisfy his wife’s desire to have the cow, was considered the most sinful of the lot. They were born in this lifetime, as the sons of Ganga by Shantanu. She threw the first seven into the river as soon as they were born to redeem them from the curse. Shantanu patiently witnessed his sons being drowned in the water because questioning was taboo, according to the contract. But when she was about to repeat the same with the eighth son, it was the end of his endurance. Santanu’s emotions took the better of him with a vehement outburst at Ganga’s perceived cruelty. With the pre-decided promise broken, Ganga decided to renounce him. Due to King Shantanu's uncontrolled expression of patience, he suffered threefold miseries: Firstly, the grave loss of the divine association of his celestial consort. Secondly, he was engulfed in the ocean of years of separation from his newborn son. The last and most devastating effect was on his son, Bhishmadeva, who had to suffer pangs of intense emotional turmoil all through his mortal existence till his last breath when he lay on a bed of arrows awaiting his earthly annihilation.
Another instance of the barbaric effect of impatience is when Diti, the daughter of King Daksha, overcome by lust pleaded her husband Sage Kashyapa to bless her with an offspring. However, being highly enlightened and foresighted, the Sage explained that it was an inauspicious time to conceive and asked her to hold her patience. Disregarding wisdom and giving in to impatience, she insisted her desire be satisfied resulting in the birth of the twin demons - Hianyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Such lack of patience resulted in havoc and oppression throughout the three worlds.
Today's lifestyle is characterized by challenges at every step, giving rise to growing failure to accept delay, difficulty, extreme intolerance, impatience, rage and anger, resulting in turbulence and chaos. Common examples of our patience being tested are when we expect traffic free roads, crashing of computers, zero waiting at restaurants, tantrums thrown by kids etc. On the contrary, cultivating and nurturing patience invokes a feeling of equanimity, serenity and composure that facilitates a smooth ride to life’s ups and downs, without being tossed about like a boat in a storm. Development of fortitude is essential when people or circumstances do not conform to our expectations.
Power of Patience:
We can comprehend the power of patience so beautifully through nature. In China, there is a typical species of bamboo trees. When we plant the seed of this tree, nothing comes out of the ground, there is absolutely no visible growth for the entire first year. In the second year too there is no trace of development. In the third year, there is no movement. The fourth year unfolds and there is nothing. One may think - why waste water, time and energy anymore on this tree? But the people there have faith, they keep watering the tree. And in the fifth year, within six weeks it grows to 90 feet!
We may not always get instant results for our actions. We should have faith, and one of the symptoms of faith is patience. In his book Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu', Srila Rupa Goswami, describes that we need both enthusiasm and patience for success in devotion. Combination of these two qualities is a great art. If we don't have enthusiasm nothing will ever happen, but if we don't have faith, we will give up when we do not see immediate results.
Let me share a story that inspired me. Once, a King announced that anyone desiring the post of personal assistant must assemble at his palace. Many people gathered in the assembly. The king led them to a pond and said, "The one who fills this pond's water in this pot will be chosen for the coveted post. But remember, there is a hole in the pot." Some people left without even trying. While some people tried once and then left saying that the king must have already chosen someone else. But one man kept filling the pot with pond water patiently. He filled the water in the pot from the pond but everytime the water spilled on the ground. Inspite of this he persisted and continued drawing out water from the pond to fill the pot innumerable number of times. Finally, the pond became empty. The man found a diamond ring at the bottom of the empty pond. He returned it to the king. That's when the king exclaimed, "This ring is a reward for your patience and hard work. You are fit for the job." Thus, we can infer that patience is an opulence that is beautiful and rewarding.
Real success is our attitude, an attitude of faith that if we are doing the right thing, we know we are doing something wonderful for God, who is our creator, our maintainer, our protector. With patience, the results will come, but how they come is beyond our control. In Mahabharata, we witness the example of the Pandava brothers. They remained faithful to Lord Krishna although they were banished to the forest for twelve years; they lost everything, but they persevered. When the proper time arrived, they fought the battle of Kurukshetra, and ultimately they were crowned as kings. That's enthusiasm and patience.
Whether it is our personal or professional life, we must pray for persistent patience. Even in spiritual life, we must perform devotional service with great patience. We should never give up the execution of devotional service because few attempts have not been successful. We must continue with conviction. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also confirms that one should be very enthusiastic and execute devotional service with patience and confidence. Patience is necessary for developing the confidence that “Kṛiṣhṇa will certainly accept me because I am engaging in devotional service.” The need of the hour is to simply execute service according to righteous principles to insure success.
Lord Krishna in the manual of life for mankind, 'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' beautifully explains that when one is fully qualified yet is humble and gentle, and when one is able to keep his balance both in sorrow and in the ecstasy of joy, he has the precious ornament called patience. Therefore, let us endeavour to offer sincere prayers to the Lord to help us cultivate the proper consciousness within our lives. Patience is a glorious virtue that paves the route to breakthroughs, enables us to tap into positive opportunities, leads us to balanced decisions, aids in achieving self-confidence and success. Ultimately, we can master the art of patience by having unflinching faith in the power, the glory and the grace of the Supreme.
Article by:
Meghna Choudhury
(H.G. Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)
Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author
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