Question: If someone affects our service in some way and we develop some offensive thoughts, how can we avoid it?

Jayapataka Swami: By remembering that all the devotees are dear to Lord Caitanya, dear to Lord Krsna. If they develop some critical mentality, we should not reciprocate with the same type of evil thought. There is the example of a great bear, that a hunter was running from the tiger. He climbed up into the tree. The tiger said to the bear that you should push down the hunter. If he hunts you he can eat you. But he said he has taken shelter of my tree, so I am not going to push him off. And the bear went to sleep. The tiger told the hunter you push the bear and I will eat him and I won’t bother you. So the hunter pushed the bear, but the bear fell down on to a branch and saved himself. The tiger told the bear, see, he pushed you down. So you push him down. But the bear said, we never reciprocate a bad action with a bad action. He may have behaved bad to me, but that does not mean I will behave bad to him. So this is a story of the great saintly bear. So like that if someone develops a bad attitude to us, we should not reciprocate with him or her. We should remain transcendental.
26-OCTOBER-2019 SRIDHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA