Kindness

We all appreciate nice people. During the course of our day, we may encounter many different types of people, good and bad, some nicer than others. Rude people really ruin our day and put us in a bad mood. On the reverse side, we remember the nice people very fondly. We think to ourselves, “Boy, I really liked such and such.” “Such and such was a really nice guy.”

Simple kindness goes a long way. We get much more accomplished by being nice than when we are belligerent. If we eat out at restaurant, kind service from a waiter or waitress is remembered. This niceness plays an important role in determining whether we will return to that restaurant in the future. The inverse of that is when we meet someone who isn’t very nice. We immediately make a mental note and we remind ourselves to be wary of such a person.

When meeting someone for the first time, we usually classify them in the category of someone that we either like or don’t like. The easiest way to be liked is just to be nice to someone. When dining out, shopping, or even when working, we prefer to associate ourselves with people that were kind to us previously. Kindness towards others really pays.

In the same way, kindness towards God is even more beneficial. If being nice to our fellow man can benefit us, just imagine what will be in store for us if we display that same kindness towards the Supreme Person, Lord Krishna. Krishna is automatically kind to us. He has no animus towards us. Through his Paramatma feature, He has expanded Himself in all of us and resides within our heart. In this way, he is neutral towards every living entity. He has no dislike or hatred for anyone to start.

God makes one exception however for his devotees. Devotees offer their kindness to God by constantly glorifying and remembering Him. Instead of simply eating for his own satisfaction, a devotee prepares and offers wonderful foodstuffs to Krishna first. A devotee offers humble obeisances to God and to His bona fide representative, the spiritual master. Krishna is very pleased when we show kindness to his pure devotees. The best way to show kindness to the spiritual master is to learn from him and follow his teachings.

In the Ramacharitamanasa of Tulsidas, Maharishi Valmiki states that devotees “work for the good of all and are beloved of all. They speak what is both true and kind.” Through practice of devotional service, or bhakti yoga, devotees completely surrender everything to the Supreme, and God in turn repays that kindness by providing complete protection. Lord Krishna is the origin of everything, so if we show kindness to Him, we are automatically being kind to our fellow man. In this age, the simplest and best way to show our kindness is to constantly chant the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Ram, Hare Hare.”