Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
Yesterday was the auspicious day of Akshaya tritiya and Parasurama Jayanti. 'Kshaya' means dimunition and 'Akshaya' means that which does not undergo dimunition and which will always grow. People have the wrong understanding that if gold/silver is purchased on this day, then their wealth will increase and not reduce. But this wealth increase will happen only for the shop keepers selling gold/silver and not the people who are buying. On the other hand, on this day if we perform devotional service or give charity, our spiritual assets will increase without dimunution and that is the real purpose of this holy day. In this offering, we will meditate on some of the glorious qualities of this glorious incarnation of the Lord.
After Lord Parasurama exterminated all the irreligious kshatriyas by fighting a ghastly war, He wanted to perform austerities (to teach public in general how a brahmana should live). But He did not use the land which He conquered from the kshatriyas. Rather, whatever lands He conquered, He donated to the sages and did not retain anything for Himself. The Bhagavata purana described this as follows in SB 9.16.21 and 22,
dadau prācīṁ diśaṁ hotre brahmaṇe dakṣiṇāṁ diśam
adhvaryave pratīcīṁ vai udgātre uttarāṁ diśam
anyebhyo ’vāntara-diśaḥ kaśyapāya ca madhyataḥ
āryāvartam upadraṣṭre sadasyebhyas tataḥ param
After completing the sacrifice, Lord Parasurama gave the eastern direction to the hotaa as a gift, the south to the brahmaa, the west to the adhvaryu, the north to the udgaataa, and the four corners - northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest - to the other priests. He gave the middle to Kashyapa and the place known as Aryaavarta to the upadrashta. Whatever remained He distributed among the sadasyas, the associate priests.
And for performing austerities, He created a separate land by throwing his chopper into the ocean. By this action, the Supreme Lord taught how one should be detached from the fruits of one's labor. The general tendency is to become fruitive in our devotional service as well as our material duties. But one who takes shelter of Lord Parasurama can become free from fruitive mentality and attain real peace. Srila Prabhupada practically explains how a devotee should perform his duties in material sphere without attachment/aversion. "Even though engaged in worldly affairs, he does not take pleasure in them, but remains always absorbed in the Lord's service. While thus serving the Lord, he deals externally with worldly affairs without being affected. For example, although he has no attraction for his children, he cares for them and educates them to become devotees. Similarly, he speaks to his wife with affectionate words, but he is not attached to her. By rendering devotional service, a devotee acquires all the good qualities of the Supreme Lord. Lord Krishna had sixteen thousand wives, all of them very beautiful, and although He dealt with each of them as a beloved husband, He was not attracted or attached to any of them. In the same way, although a devotee may enter family life and act very affectionately toward his wife and children, he is never attached to these activities," SB 5.1.6.
This is a very advance stage which cannot be achieved overnight. But one can move at least in that direction by the grace of Lord Parasurama by surrendering unto Him in devotional service. By His above action, the Lord also taught that one can be so detached only when we are free from all material hankerings in both our material and spiritual duties. Material hankerings makes our mind completely restless and destroys our peace. The more we associate with the Supreme Lord and His devotees by devotional service, the more we can free from material hankerings like the Supreme Lord and His pure devotees. The process is gradual but sure and safe. And when we become free from all material hankerings, we overcome envy and finally the fear of death. The sruti mantras also beautifully state this point in Atharva Veda 10.8.44,
akāmo dhīraḥ amrita svayambhūḥ
rasena tṛpto na kutaścanonah
tameva vidvān na bibhāya mṛtyor
ātmānam dhīraṁ ajaraṁ yuvānam
The Supreme Lord is free from all material desires, He is sober, immortal, completely independent, satisfied in His own spiritual bliss and He is full in Himself lacking nothing. One can overcome the fear of death only by realising the Supreme Soul who is sober, free from old age and eternally youthful.
So let us pray at the lotus feet of Lord Parasurama, our beloved Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada so that we'll imbibe these qualities and advance in Krishna consciousness.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,
Narahari Krishna Das
Chennai.
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