Although we have got this rare human body, there is no guarantee on the number of years we will be alive in this body. We have to accept the bitter truth that this is temporary and can dwindle down any time.

The only method of controlling the senses is to chant and hear the holy name of the Lord; otherwise, one will always be disturbed, as a householder with more than one wife would be disturbed by them for sense gratification.

All of us work hard and slog to earn more and money and save it for ourselves and our family members, thinking that this will save us from all problems. But the reality is neither money nor our family members can save from the repeated cycle of birth and death.

Even when we are given the rarest chance to be at the lotus feet of Krishna, we find all the favourable arguments in material energy to say 'not now!'. I will read Bhagavatam but just give me one year. I will slowly do these things but I need some more time. When the eagerness is not there, there is no way to go to Krishna. That is the reason why we are always in trouble. That is the reason why we are not pacified. 

"Wealth, lands, farms, cattle, spouse will not accompany us in our final journey. Friends and relatives will accompany us till the grave. Body will be with us only till funeral pyre. Whatever you have heard or remembered about Krishna will accompany you. Otherwise nothing accompanies us."

if we keep meditating on bad qualities of others more, then in the final moment it will be difficult or impossible for us to remember the Lord. We will simply remember the bad moments and would be voluntarily accepting another body based on the bad quality which we are meditating throughout our life. Will this action of ours do any justice to all the sincere efforts and wishes of our spiritual master? 

We are just a tiny spark of this wonderful creation and we are existing only because of the will of the Supreme creator. Lord is Vibu and we are anu.

if the houses, lands, cars, garages and all other property to which we are all very attached, really belonged to us, then definitely it would be accompanying us in our final moment. But reality is that we are not the owners of the same. All these things existed before we were born, and will continue to be occupied by others once we leave. So it is foolishness to claim that we are the owners.”

4. Apramattah - Being very alert: 5. Alakshyamaana - Without being Recognised: 6. Alpa Bhaashanah - Very little Speaking

- "If you want your mind to be peaceful, and if you want to control your mind, then you should control it by expressing gratitude. Until you learn to express gratitude, until you learn to see the hand of Krishna in everything, you cannot be peaceful in the mind.

The avadhuta brahmana in verse 11.9.14 is explaining the following qualities of saint and let us try to meditate on the same one by one. 1. ekacaari - moving alone 2. guhaashayah - remaining secluded 3. aniketah - without fixed residence 4. apramattah - being very alert 5. alakshyamaana - without being recognized 6. alpa baashanah - speaking very little

5.Eagerness will give us inspiration: "inspiration comes from the purity of the message of Bhagavatam. 6. We can become pacified in our life on the strength of detachment: "Simply by hearing about Your lotus feet with eagerness and devotion and by meditating upon them within the heart, one at once becomes enlightened with knowledge, and on the strength of detachment one becomes pacified.

"Are we really devotees in true sense"? None of us are qualified to be initiated by our spiritual masters. It is simply because of their magnanimity and compassion, they have showered their "causeless mercy" on us. 

Srimad Bhagavatam verse 3.31.18, wherein the child in the womb prays to the Supreme Lord as follows: "My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy I am awakened to consciousness, although I am only ten months old. For this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the friend of all fallen souls, there is no way to express my gratitude but to pray with folded hands." 

3.Importance of hearing about the lotus feet of the Lord: 4. Hear with Eagerness and Devotion: So the first qualification is to hear about His lotus feet; the second qualification is to hear with eagerness; the third qualification is that eagerness should be in the platform of devotion.

The glories of Lord Narasimha and His dear devotee Prahlada Maharaja are infinite and can be discussed for the rest of eternity. We can see a few lessons from this pastime on this auspicious day - 1. Lord Narasimha is all pervading: -2. Serving the Spiritual Master:-

1. Prabhupada made an academic exercise into practical exercise: 2. Take shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna:

If you are grateful to someone, you will never be duplicitous. You will be straight forward. There is no point in coming and saying to someone, "Prabhu, you are very good. You are excellent. You are very nice." And in the heart you are thinking, "You are hopeless. You are a rascal. "

6. The Culture of Gratitude  : if we want our mind not to be dusthita matih, we don’t want it to oscillate like a pendulum, we have to see the hand of Krishna and we have to see and be grateful to not only devotees but to all living entities. This culture of gratitude is the foundation for bhakti.

6. The Culture of Gratitude: We can start first by seeing the hand of Krishna in everything and appreciating whatever that is looking bad, or whatever that looks like a reversal, as daiva tantram. It is the enchantment of providence. It is Krishna. That is the starting point." 

4.From Acceptance comes the gift of Tolerance: We all might be in situations where we find it intolerable. First year of marriage, Maharaj says, everything is honey moon. After that everything is down. Very seldom it goes up. Once in a while it goes up but mostly it is a dream. Then it comes down again. It is like that for all of us. 5. Krishna is Deena naatha: The child in the womb mentions the words "causeless mercy" again in this sentence - "For this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the friend of all fallen souls, there is no way to express my gratitude but to pray with folded hands.

Beyond the modes of nature: It is important to note that Lord Parashurama did not kill all the rulers whimsically. He punished only those who were disobedient to brahminical culture. Kings like Janaka and Dasaratha were abiding by rules of the Lord and so Lord Parashurama did not punish them.

3. Starting point of our spiritual life 4.From acceptance comes the gift of tolerance:

1.The abominable condition of the child in the womb: 2.The causeless mercy of the Lord:

When in the room small electric bulbs are displayed, it does not mean that the electric powerhouse is limited by the small bulbs. The same powerhouse can supply power to operate large-scale industrial dynamos with greater volts. Similarly, the incarnations of the Lord display limited powers because so much power is needed at that particular time." Some of His incarnations display knowledge (like Vyasadeva, Kapila), some display bewitching beauty (like Mohini murti). The incarnations of Parashurama and Narasimha display great powers as Srila Prabhupada explains below. 

We are caught up by the modes whenever we start thinking or doing things which are different from what the Lord wants us to do. Before beginning any activity we should pray to Lord and seek His blessings and guidance for execution of the same. Lord always guides us through the instructions in scriptures, spiritual master or as caitya guru, as to what is right/wrong for us.

On the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Trithiya, Parasurama Jayanthi (appearance of Lord Parasurama) let us meditate on His glories. The Bhagavata purana is replete with glorification of Lord Parasurama. The following Bhagavatam shloka (2.7.22) explains the purpose of this glorious incarnation. 

Vairaagya means detachment. When we develop the quality of vairaagya, by understanding the temporary nature of this material existence, then mind will not keep hankering whimsically. Our beloved spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj says that Krishna has guaranteed and given trade mark for His creation as "duhkalaayam ashaasvatam". This life is temporary and full of miseries.

We were very fortunate to have the wonderful association of our beloved god brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji. He flooded the parched land of Abudhabi with nectar of Srimad Bhagavatam. Prabhuji is embodiment of obedience to Srila Gurudev and along with sincere study, he also practises Srimad Bhagavatam in daily life. We can learn from him as to how to sincerely serve the spiritual master. During this visit, the whole theme of his classes is on one pointed attention towards Bhagavatam. Prabhuji insisted that more than just academic reading, we need to put into practice in our day to day lives which alone can be of real value. 

"Knowledge is there that we have to be renounced. We have to be completely detached but even then unless and until you put into practice, there cannot be any austerity. Austerity is “tapa” and if we do not perform austeity, then it is opposite “pata”, means you fall down. It is better to perform austerities to come to the Lord, read Bhagavad Gita, and come early in the morning.

"When the child comes out, he is many times hungry and he does not know what to do. He cries and as soon as he cries, mother thinks that he is in trouble. May be he is sick, so she pours again the medicine, again injections and operations and God! We are going in a very wrong direction.