You can’t blindly apply a principle across all situations, like the principle of humbleness, and then just let people talk to you however they want, disturb your mental peace, and never set boundaries. So you have to find that balance. That’s where the skill comes in - being humble, being respectful, and still seeing the other person as a soul who belongs to Krishna. You’re not hating them, but you’re setting your boundaries. Those boundaries are okay to set, and they’re important to set. It’s okay to say no. Just because you’re practicing humbleness doesn’t mean you can’t say no.
Let’s say you’re in the ashram (a spiritual community) and you’re doing seva (selfless service), and someone else says,
“Oh, I also need this done. I also need some help here. Can you do this seva?”
And you know, for whatever reason, “I have this physical limitation. I’m tired. If I keep pushing myself, I’ll get stressed out. Then I’ll become more negative. I won’t have a positive frame of mind, which I need to maintain here in the ashram especially. I’ll pay for it later. If I push myself now, then I’ll be too sleepy for the evening kirtan (devotional singing) and satsang.”
For whatever reason, many times you have to say, “No, I can’t. I understand this needs to get done, but I can’t do that.”
Again, you have to set your boundaries to protect your own devotion. You know what’s good for your mental space. You know what’s good for your devotional feelings and attitude.
So you have to set those boundaries while, at the same time, maintaining that humble attitude taught by Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Ji and Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj. So with this in mind, both Mahaprabhu Ji and Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj say,
“Then remember Radha Krishna all the time. Always chant the name of Hari (name of Shree Krishna).
And Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “Always do Radhe breathing. You inhale “Ra,” you exhale “dhe.””
At the very least, we can be doing that throughout the day, if not chanting out loud, whenever the situation permits it.
