kateka Å›uniba prabhu tomÄra nindana
nÄ pÄri sahite, ebe chÄá¸iba jÄ«vana

 kateka - how much; Å›uniba - shall we hear; prabhu - O Lord; tomÄra - Your; nindana - blasphemy; nÄ pÄri - we are not able; sahite - to tolerate; ebe - now; chÄá¸iba - give up; jÄ«vana - life.


Text

“How long can we tolerate the blasphemy by Your critics against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather than hear such blasphemy.

Purport

One of the most important instructions by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu regarding regular Vaiṣṇava behavior is that a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant like a tree and submissive like grass.

tṛṇÄd api su-nÄ«cena taror iva sahiṣṇunÄ
amÄninÄ mÄna-dena kÄ«rtanÄ«yaḥ sadÄ hariḥ

“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.†Nevertheless, the author of these instructions, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, did not tolerate the misbehavior of JagÄi and MÄdhÄi. When they harmed Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu, He immediately became angry and wanted to kill them, and it was only by the mercy of Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu that they were saved. One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant and not angry. But if there is blasphemy against one’s guru or another Vaiṣṇava, one should be as angry as fire. This was exhibited by Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu. One should not tolerate blasphemy against a Vaiṣṇava but should immediately take one of three actions. If someone blasphemes a Vaiṣṇava, one should stop him with arguments and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away. While Caitanya MahÄprabhu was in Benares or KÄśī, the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s blasphemed Him in many ways because although He was a sannyÄsÄ« He was indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana MiÅ›ra and CandraÅ›ekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya. They could not stop it, however, and therefore they appealed to Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu because this blasphemy was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their lives.