True sainthood means tolerant mercy toward all beings and dedication to awakening Krishna consciousness in fallen souls.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Harikeśa: titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ [SB 3.25.21] Prabhupāda: This is sādhu. Not the dress. Now, what is the... Harikeśa: "The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures and all his characteristics are sublime." Prabhupāda: This is sādhu.
The first qualification is titikṣava, very tolerant. And Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has said, kṣamā-rūpaṁ tapasvinām. Those who are tapasvīs, their first duty is how much he is forgiving, how much he has learned to forgive. Kṣamā-rūpaṁ tapasvinām.
Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena damena [SB 6.1.13]. So what is the explanation? Harikeśa: Purport? "A sādhu, as described above, is a devotee of the Lord. His concern, therefore, is to enlighten people in devotional service to the Lord.
That is his mercy. He knows that without devotional service to the Lord, human life is spoiled. A devotee travels all over the country, from door to door, preaching, 'Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Be a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Don't spoil your life in simply fulfilling your animal propensities. Human life is meant for self-realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.' These are the preachings of a sādhu. He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks about others.
He is the most compassionate personality towards all the fallen souls. One of his qualifications, therefore, is kāruṇika, great mercy to the fallen souls. While engaged in preaching work, he has to meet with so many opposing elements, and therefore the sādhu, or devotee of the Lord, has to be very tolerant. Someone may ill-treat him, because the conditioned souls are not prepared to receive the transcendental knowledge of devotional service.
They don't like it; that is their disease. The sādhu has the thankless task of imposing upon them the importance of devotional service. Sometimes devotees are personally attacked with violence. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was caned in twenty-two marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya's principal assistant, Nityānanda, was violently attacked by Jagāi and Mādhāi.