Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

Please accept my prostrated obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
Though the passage of time deteriorates everything and everyone in this material world, this
same passage of time, over all these years since your blessed appearance and subsequent disap-
pearance, has not diminished the purity of your instructions, your spiritual legacy, or your gift of
devotional service to the world.
Throughout your lifetime you reminded us that your legacy will be based on how much we
can remember Kṛṣṇa and serve Him in pure devotional service. I pray at your lotus feet, Śrīla
Prabhupāda, that you gift me with your causeless mercy to be an unworthy but enthusiastic
instrument in your service.
This material world has become increasing complex, and the living entities are filled with,
among other things, disagreements, quarrel and strife. In this connection, Śrīla Prabhupāda, I am
reminded of an instruction from the avadhūta to Prahlāda Mahārāja in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.13.42.
This instruction gives me great inspiration and hope. The verse and your superexcellent transla-
tion of it read as follows:

nāhaṁ ninde na ca staumi
sva-bhāva-viṣamaṁ janam
eteṣāṁ śreya āśāse
utaikātmyaṁ mahātmani

Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my business either to
praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their welfare, hoping that they will
agree to become one with the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, as I reflect on your life in this world, I realize that you lived this verse on a
daily basis. Your deep compassion for humanity and all living entities was born from this highly
elevated mood of accepting diverse mentalities and not condemning or praising them for the sake
of the same. Instead, your instructions, your love, your chastisements and firmness in dealing
with all living entities arose from a deep desire for their spiritual welfare. Instead of criticizing the
living entities or finding fault with them, you served them by breaking open the treasure house of
the holy names and devotional service and distributing them freely to one and all, in every town
and village.
In an instructive purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.9, which so aptly describes you and your
sincere disciples, you wrote:

Prahlāda Mahārāja is a typical Vaiṣṇava. He prays not for himself but for all living
entities – the gentle, the envious, and the mischievous. He always thought of the
welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlāda Mahārāja did
not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac
father. This is the attitude of a Vaiṣṇava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire
universe.

My humble prayer, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is to remain absorbed in your instructions and strictly
follow them. Please guide me through your books, your instructions, and the hallowed saṅga of
the devotees in ISKCON so that I may achieve this state of purity and true freedom from envy
that was your hallmark and that you lived by your example.

Your servant,
Devakīnandana Dāsa (MVG)
Singapore

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