As Guru Maharaj says, Everyone of us have our own motives and even if we do not have some financial motives, we have the tinge of motive for getting adoration, recognition, name and fame. This is very subtle and is ingrained in our blood. We may say that Krishnaarpanam astu if we get some adoration, but internally we feel that it is very good and we want it. As Maharaj says, Everyone is hankering for adoration and recognition

To cultivate the desire to serve the Lord, we should first of all desire to give up the desires for sense gratification (na tu kaama kaamyayaa). Still we are hanging on to so many material attachments and this is because we have not desired to give them up. We have not desired to give them up because we have not realized the futility of these desires for sense gratification.

Actually our bowing down is a symbol of our humility. It is said in the shastras namante phalino vrkshaah namante gunino janaah - Only a tree with lots of fruits will bow down and similarly only a person with all good qualities (such as humility, tolerance, honesty, respectful, obedience etc) will bow down to others.

The more we walk, the more we can walk. Our Guru Maharaj used to say, "With every step of our walk, we are kicking our death that much farther."

Krishna prasadam has immense potency. But many a times we don't realise its power.  Once Sripad Ramanujacarya was walking along a pond with few of his disciples. He took some prasadam and threw it into the water for the fishes. The fishes that took the prasadam assumed the four handed forms, rose up in the air and reached Vaikuntha.

A son was demanding pocket expense from his father. His father said that you don't realize how difficult it is to earn money. To make him realize the value of hard-work, the father asked his son can to earn atleast one rupee per day. The son immediately said, "OK. Tomorrow I will earn and show you when you return home." Next day morning when the son was getting ready to go out to earn money, his mother stopped him and said - "You take this one rupee and show it to your father."

These chanting and studying of Bhagavatam we should increase instead of running around here and there. In this way we live our life for the real purpose and not hanker for unwanted things in the name of duty and devotional service."

We are all very lucky to come under the roof of Srila Prabhupada and he is the saint who has guided us practically through these pages. He is the first saint who has not only given us philosophy, but also the practical side. We have now large communities who are following these divisions.

The dhiras understand that the Lord appears in the womb of Devaki, Kousalya, Aditi, Renuka etc but He does not suffer the pains of a normal child because He appears in His spiritual form with no tinge of matter in His personality. Every child is born with His eyes closed and crying. But the Lord is born with His lotus eyes wide open and smiling.

Devotional service means, some service must be there. Unless you perform some type of service, even your grhastha ashram is a failure. The second ashram, the second 25 years, whatever work you are doing should be performed very nicely. As soon as you are bit successful there, then the retirement will be alright. You will get pension or you might have already earned money so that you can rely on. So third ashram also goes very nicely.

The protection is offered to a devotee even from the very beginning of his devotional service. The Lord is so kind and merciful that He gives the devotee proper guidance and all protection, and thus the devotee very peacefully makes solid progress in Krishna consciouness without outward disturbances."

First our body must be healthy and that is the first requirement. Unless the body is healthy, the pressure is normal, and the circulation is going on alright, the digestion is going on alright, then only we can sit here and think about our own destination and the whole function of the body requires the peace of mind.

"He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination."

Of all the senses the tongue is the most difficult to control and is always very greedy to taste things. But Krsna is so merciful that he gives us His prasada, the remnants from His own mouth, to help us conquer the tongue.

And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.

If we also serve the Lord and His devotees according to our functional capabilities (ie, through loving service and dedicated sadhana), we will also become jubiliant by the transcendental touch of the Lord.

Only attention engaged in the service of the Lord, especially in dressing and decorating the temple, accompanied by musical kīrtana and spiritual instructions from scriptures, can save the common man from the hellish cinema attractions and rubbish sex-songs broadcast everywhere by radios.

"One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes."

"Hearing about and glorifying the Lord are identical with the transcendental nature of the Lord, and by so doing, one will be always in the association of the Lord."

And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari.

As Maharaj always says we should be workers and not shirkers. The real way of practically implementing this concept is to realize that Krishna has given us this work and by doing our work meticulously and consciously, others will appreciate our work. This is vaikuntha gunaanuvarnane. And all this appreciation is a direct glorification of Krishna. It is not only that we are glorifying Krishna through this, but we are also making others unconsciously appreciate the service to Krishna.

O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Do this with great care.

As our Maharaj says, "We cling on to material possession and even though we know that it is destructive (nashvaram) still we don't want to give up" - teshaam pramatto nidhanam pashyan api na pashyati.

"O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth - women, vaishyas [merchants] and shudras [workers] - can attain the supreme destination."

"Then all the rishis headed by Lord Brahma concluded that this scripture called Bhagavata purana is the self-same form of the Personality of Godhead. And in the age of Kali, hearing and reading of this purana bestows speedy entrance into Sri Vaikuntam, the spirtitual Kingdom of God."

Ungratefulness is the cause of our destruction. We have to be grateful to every living entity. We have to be grateful to one who smiles at us and makes us happy. We have to be grateful to one who frowns at us and points-out our mistake. In this way we have to be grateful to every living entity. And most importantly we should never be ungrateful to Srila Prabhupada.

The above episode was just one of the many times in which I saw Gurudev following this process of Bhakti genuinely no matter what the condition was. For hours Gurudev would spend time alone lovingly reading Srimad Bhagavatam. No matter who was there and who wasn't there, Gurudev just carried on in a self-satisfied manner to please Krsna. 

"O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else."

Even the doctors use oxygen as the last resort to save the patient. Yet we spend so much money to go to ICU to breathe oxygen. In ICU (I See You), apart from Yamaraj, no one else can come and see you. 

The precious time should not be wasted, because our lifespan is reducing every moment. Yamaraj has no mercy. Hence our duty is to do Hari kirtana.

Srila Prabhupada says, "One's devotion and sincere desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the only qualifications. Rupa Gosvami has also said that the price for achieving God's favor is simply one's sincere eagerness to have it (laulyam ekam mulyam)."