Kṣamā means tolerant. Suppose you are in this Kṛṣṇa conscious society. We are collecting members of the society from all classes of men. So there may be a man in goodness, a man in the passion and a man in the ignorance. But if you think, "Oh, this man is not good. That man is not good," No. You should be tolerant. You haven't got any connection with this man or that man. You are connected with the philosophy, with the process of life, and you are connected.
Lecture on BG 10.4 -- New York, January 3, 1967: Kṣamā means tolerant. Tolerant. You should not be disturbed. Suppose you are in this Kṛṣṇa conscious society. Now, you cannot expect that all the members of the society will be first-class men. How can we expect? We are collecting members of the society from all classes of men. So there may be a man in goodness, a man in the passion and a man in the ignorance. But if you think, "Oh, this man is not good. That man is not good," oh... No. You should be tolerant. You haven't got any connection with this man or that man. You are connected with the philosophy, with the process of life, and you are connected... Just like the same example: suppose you are on the ship. You do not find just all men to your choice. There may be different kinds of men. But what is that to you? You have to cross the Atlantic Ocean, patiently cross. Just sit down tightly on the ship and take advantage of the opportunity. That is your business. This is called kṣamā.
Kṣamā means excuse and tolerant.
Suppose somebody has offended you. Excuse him. This is also another kind of penance. Lord Caitanya has taught us:
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror api sahiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- [Cc. Ādi 17.31]
If you want to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you have to become tolerant. What kind of tolerant? Just like a tree. Don't you think a tree, how much tolerant it is? Everybody is committing offense on the tree. Somebody is snatching its twigs, somebody is snatching its flowers, somebody snatching leaves, somebody cutting, but it does not protest. Rather, on the contrary, it supplies you fruits, flower, and gives you shelter. So tree is the nicest example for tolerance. So Lord Caitanya teaches us that we should become tolerant just like a tree.