STO-207 – Haridas (forgiveness)
Haridas was a contemporary of Chaitanya and one of his foremost disciples. According to some Hindus, Haridas was born in an untouchable family, but Chaitanya, who was opposed to the rigid caste system (based on birth rather than individual merit), accepted Haridas as a great saint.
Once the tyrannical ruler of the district ordered that Haridas be beaten with sticks in twenty-two market places. In effect this was a death sentence. However, the constables in charge of executing the sentence were astounded when, upon reaching the final marketplace, Haridas was still alive. He was happily absorbed in remembering Krishna and chanting his holy names. The constables were visibly shaken and Haridas inquired as to the cause of their trepidation. One of them replied, “If we fail to kill you, we will have failed in our duty and undoubtedly lose our own heads!” Haridas, a great yogi, immediately feigned death and the relieved constables threw his limp body into the Ganges.
This story illustrates how saintly people do not see in terms of ‘friends’ or ‘enemies’, nor do they bare any ill-feeling to those who harm their bodies. There are many similar stories within the Hindu tradition. It is noteworthy that the notion of martyrdom is not strongly prevalent in Hinduism, and particularly absent is the idea of dying for a specific faith as opposed to others.