by Haripada dasa
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada always said that in this world of ignorance, which is contrary to serving God or Krishna, full of trials and tribulations, only patience, humility and respect for others are our friends to do devotional service to God or Krishna and His representatives.
Regarding patience, I am very clear that only people who live in the mode of goodness can have it. People who live in the modes of passion and ignorance cannot be patient. Also Srila Prabhupada talks about this quality in the Nectar of Instruction, verse 3:
These activities must be executed with patience. One should not be impatient in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Indeed, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started single-handedly, and in the beginning there was no response, but because we continued to execute our devotional activities with patience, people gradually began to understand the importance of this movement, and now they are eagerly participating. One should not be impatient in discharging devotional service, but should take instructions from the spiritual master and execute them with patience, depending on the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. The successful execution of Kṛṣṇa conscious activities requires both patience and confidence.
[Nectar of Instruction verse 3]
On humility, Srila Prabhupada says in Bhagavad-gita 13.8 that humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. Another point is that although one can do wonderful things to please God or Krishna and Srila Prabhupada, one understands that this is all purely the mercy of God or Krishna and Srila Prabhupada.
About respect, there is a very beautiful verse in the Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.5.26. This verse was spoken by the incarnation of Krishna called Risabadeva to his children:
“My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity—be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me.”
[Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.26]