A tree was home to a weaver’s bird’s nest. There was a monkey in the same place. The sky darkened as torrential rain began to fall. The showers turned into a storm when they were joined by swift, frigid gusts. While the monkey shivered, the bird sat calmly in its nest, which was impervious to even heavy rain. The bird, seeing his plight, could not hold back its words:
“Haath tere, Paanv tere, minakh sareekhi deh re ,
Jhonpdi tu chhap bundar upar barse meh re.”
You have a man’s hands, legs, and body. If you want to stay dry when it rains, why don’t you build a shelter for yourself? Hearing this, the monkey became furious and responded,
“Shuchimukhe durachari, rande punditvaadini ,
Asamrtho Grihaarumbhe samartho gribbhanjane.”
You’ve got a needle for a face, and you’re supposed to be my construction instructor. Only destruction is within my skill set, not construction. After making this proclamation, the monkey jumped on the nest, destroying it. The monkey may have benefited from the bird’s advice, but it didn’t make the bird’s words any easier to take for the monkey. This is not just an animal flaw but rather a fundamental human one. A poet has summed up the events described above as follows:
“Seekh una ko dijiye, jaako seekh suhaaya,
Seekh bundar ko devtan, ghar bayan kaa jaaya.”
Advice should only be offered to those who respect its significance. The unfortunate weaver lost his house after he gave some “free advice” to a monkey.
Often, those who provide solid advice to others also have to bear a lot as their counsel is not received and digested, and they wait completely for the receiver. When someone offers constructive criticism and it wounds their ego, they often lash out in retaliation. Such a vile mindset can only emerge in a society where tolerance is lacking.
Why should we tolerate it? This is a really significant inquiry. When one is alone, it is pointless to discuss concepts like tolerance. Man, however, is a social creature; therefore, an appreciation for tolerance is crucial. There will always be people with different perspectives, ideas, methods of functioning, habits, and preferences in a group. Opposing points of view are inevitable under these conditions. Tolerance education is crucial for social cohesion, but it faces resistance from certain quarters. We need to think about what factors contribute to these problems.
Emotional strength is the key to tolerance. Feelings go much beyond what can be understood intellectually. Both the mind and the sense organs are under the influence of emotions. Therefore, emotions are the foundational mechanism that controls our actions.
Tolerance and power development obstacles may be broken down into two categories: physiological and psychological. Our actions may be traced back to certain organs. When the liver isn’t working well, it might make a person snap at others. When the digestive system isn’t working properly, it may cause feelings of depression and unease, which might lower a person’s threshold for pain. Lack of food might also make you lose interest in other things.
If you want to increase your tolerance, you should work on your physical fitness first!
We must also consider physical substances and nutrition. The two are intrinsically linked. There are five primary components that make up the human body. Space, air, fire, water, and earth are the five elements. The study of these has been a major contribution to the ancient Indian scriptures. An imbalance in the elements, or an overabundance of air and fire, might reduce our resistance to emotional stimulation. Our diet is a major contributor to the problem. We men put an unnatural strain on our bodies. Frozen, junk, hot, and greasy meals, for example, are known to trigger the components in processed foods and should be avoided. Both salt and sugar, when consumed in large quantities, have negative effects on our mental and physical health. To increase one’s tolerance, it’s important to learn how one’s eating habits, the five elements, and hormones all influence one’s mood and actions. One may increase their stamina and live a more harmonious existence through increased awareness and the application of relevant information.
According to Tatvavidya (Element Knowledge), the five fingers on each hand stand in for the following:
The ring finger stands for the earth, while the little finger stands for water. The thumb symbolizes fire, the index finger represents air, and the middle finger represents space.
When one element is out of whack, the other four may be brought back into harmony by the use of certain hand gestures (called mudra). For instance, the element of fire may be calmed by water. (If the little finger and thumb tips are united, a ‘Varun Mudra’ is formed.) To improve one’s ability to endure stress, holding this position for 35–45 minutes may assist. It’s also not a good idea to take any medications that overstimulate the brain, cause excessive sweating, or alter one’s behaviour while doing these mudras.
Emotions are complex, and so is the process of bringing about change and altering them. We need to look at the problem from multiple angles if we want to make a change. We need to raise our focus from the neck up. This is because our minds are located in our necks, while our hearts are in our heads.
The expressions on our faces reveal how we’re feeling. A person’s facial expressions provide insight into his mental state, whether he is experiencing happiness or worry. All states of being, i.e., pride, dishonesty, greed, and hate, may be discerned from our looks. Emotional psychic centers are located in the upper body, just as there are physical psychic centers in the mid and lower regions.
Tolerance is just one of the many positive emotions that can develop in people who regularly meditate on the body’s psychic centers, such as the Center as per Mudita Meditation: of Intuition (in between the brows), the Centre of Peace (frontal brain), the Centre of Knowledge (top of head), and the Centre of Energy (lower end of spinal cord).
The hypothalamus, according to scientific theory, is where feelings are born. It is linked to the pineal and pituitary glands, also known as the master glands. These two glands regulate all the others.
According to Mudita Meditation, the pituitary and pineal glands are affected by the centers of intuition, energy, and peace, while the hypothalamus is affected by the centers of knowledge. Focusing on the intuition center has a significant physiological effect on the pituitary gland. As a result, adjustments in conduct, routine, and outlook are possible. In the same way, practicing Mudita meditation at this intuition center may help you create positive, lifelong habits.
Focusing on the Center of Intuition for five minutes a day eventually becomes a half-hour-a-day practice if you want to boost your tolerance strength. For the next three months, you should keep up this routine. After three months, he will notice a significant increase in his tolerance. Tolerance won’t grow if we only speak about it. We have to improve tolerance for such activities. Reducing stress and stoking less enthusiasm, this focus exercise also influences the adrenal gland and its adrenaline release. The consequence is an increase in the body’s overall vitality. Meditation by focusing on these four centers helps to expunge and cleanse bad emotions such as intolerance, ego, dishonesty, greed, avarice, hate, fear, and desire.
The ‘Contemplation of Tolerance’ is a kind of meditation in which one recites a series of positive affirmations while focusing on the center of one’s body.
Negative feelings are created by intolerance. It impedes one’s capacity for rational thought. To increase our capacity for tolerance, we need to take stock of the situation and give some thought to the factors at play; they need our undivided focus. Tolerance may be achieved through introspection, thought, evaluation, and reflection. After an occurrence, an honest evaluation of one’s error and an effort in resolving it will avoid mistakes in the future and will therefore help awaken and grow the power of tolerance in oneself.
“When I endure, my tolerance increases, ultimately leading to the cessation of karmas, thus resulting in the purification of my soul.”
Tolerance may be learned with the assistance of this realization. The cultivation of tolerance is a path to a better self. It makes one more valuable to society and sets a good example for others to emulate. If we adopt this attitude and strive to become Sarvaradhak, an “aspirant who practices spirituality from all angles to enhance tolerance power,” then the spiritual maxim will also take on great significance in the larger social context. Peace and prosperity in society may be brought about by adding Sarvaradhak wherever leadership and personality are on display.
