On the Eve of ISKCON’s Sixtieth Anniversary

Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on the holy occasion of your
Vyāsa-pūjā.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, by your overflowing mercy I have survived yet another year in your service.
I am deeply grateful and indebted to you for granting me shelter within your glorious ISKCON
and for allowing me to associate with your ever-glorious devotees. Your presence is felt in the
ringing of every bell and the blowing of every conch shell. Your order is carried in the heart of
every follower, and your spirit of love and sharing continues to pour from the pages of your
books into the hearts of all who follow you. Your words and writings are the sanctified ghee that
will continue to ignite the devotional lives of countless fortunate souls who come to your move-
ment. In this way, you will live forever through your books and instructions.
Both your written and spoken words remain sacrosanct. While on the Jaladuta, you prayed to
Lord Caitanya:

taba kṛpā ha’le mor kathā śuddha habe
śuniyā sabāra śoka duḥkha je ghucibe

Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this
transcendental message penetrates their hearts they will certainly feel engladdened and
thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you prayed in your mother tongue and preached in the language of those you
sought to save. Your transcendental message has certainly gladdened the hearts of millions, and
your unparalleled sacrifice and compassion have indeed lifted us out of the unhappy conditions of
life.
Humanity has neither currency, words, nor capacity to thank you for the greatest gift ever
given. You have given us a sense of purpose and changed the direction of many lives.
Just as the beauty of a mountain is best seen from a distance, your glories will only grow
exponentially with the passage of time. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, adorned with the beauty of a
golden mountain, opened the storehouse of love of Godhead to share the bliss and sweetness of
Kṛṣṇa’s holy name. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you delivered that bliss and sweetness to the most unde-
serving, in foreign lands and without reservation.
This is the unique characteristic of our sampradāya – the strong desire to share and share.
Even at an advanced age, Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī wrote the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You, too, at an
advanced age, translated those words into the language of the most undeserving. Śrīla Bhakti-
vinoda Ṭhākura was unable to find a copy of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta despite extensive research.
Yet you made it easily available – today and forever – to every human being on the planet.
When the world was asleep, you wrote to awaken it. You gave us the gift of your precious
time. Your compassion, captured in the pages of your books, remains available to even the most
ordinary person. It continues to touch the lives of people you never met and those yet to be born.
There is simply no record in human history of a such a precious gift, prepared and delivered under
the most trying of circumstances.
On your thirty-five-day voyage aboard a cargo ship, you endured seasickness and a massive
heart attack, yet you remained unwavering in your resolve to fulfill your spiritual master’s order.
Your unmatched determination is akin to Dhruva Mahārāja’s steadfast commitment and resilience
in seeking the Lord. He got a planet. We got ISKCON.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of your ISKCON, we thank you again
and again. And again.
Somehow, I remain in your service. I pray to Your Divine Grace to kindly allow my lowly self
to remain amongst your devotees and within your ISKCON.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, this year we made some bold decisions to ensure that your Back to Godhead
magazine remains available forever. The digital revolution has forced the printing industry to
redefine its role and find innovative ways to stay relevant in a digital world. We have relocated the
printing and publishing functions to Johannesburg, South Africa. Plans are underway to embark
on a digital strategy, accompanied by a regular BTG podcast. Kindly bless the BTG team as they
bring the moving pieces together to make your cherished magazine – the backbone of your move-
ment – permanently available to the world and your devotees.
This year, I have also intensified my GBC service. I am blessed to serve the devotees in East
Africa as a servant of your illustrious son, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Mahārāja, who
has inspired and built a spiritual metropolis of farms and temples throughout the region. From
one wonderful devotee so many other wonderful devotees have emerged – it is a wonder to
behold your magical influence. Another significant project has already been launched in the fast-
growing city of Eldoret.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, this year, we are also celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of your arrival in
southern Africa. Devotees have planned a garland of festivals and celebrations to honor your
blessed arrival on African shores, for which we remain forever grateful.
After a long struggle, your devotees in Mauritius have legally secured your Krishna-Balarama
farm. The Temple of Unity in Phoenix, now in an advanced stage of construction, will stand as a
landmark on the island. In South Africa, your young grandson, of African descent, is preparing to
take sannyāsa. Another bold and dedicated grandson is single-handedly preaching on the island
of Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, home to the world’s smallest capital city. And the African
Regional Governing Body has now been officially established, promoting a synergistic approach
to preaching.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are striving to fulfill your instructions for Africa. All glories to Your
Divine Grace on this most auspicious 129th anniversary of your appearance in this world. May
you forever be remembered for your extraordinary benevolence and the priceless gift you gave the
world. May your glories be spread across the African continent and throughout the entire world.

Your ever indebted servant,
Govardhana Dāsa

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