Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet.
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
All glories to Your Divine Grace on this most sacred occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā. We humbly pray
for your guidance so that we may serve as instruments in your hands, assisting in the propagation
of your profound teachings and mission.
This year marks the 129th anniversary of your auspicious appearance. With each passing year,
we gain newer insights into the limitless depths of your glories and transcendental qualities. Your
Vyāsa-pūjā is a divine opportunity for us to reflect on your deeply inspiring, oceanic personality
and rededicate ourselves to your service. This year also marks the sixtieth anniversary of your
arrival in the United States. In just six decades, by your sincere and strenuous efforts, the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement has expanded exponentially, touching millions of lives and establishing
a global spiritual revolution.
In the purport to The Nectar of Instruction (3), you imparted a vital lesson: “Devotional service is
not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you did not merely write these words – you lived them. Tirelessly, without
concern for personal comfort, you served Kṛṣṇa and the guru-paramparā with unwavering deter-
mination. It would be an understatement to say that without your relentless efforts, millions of
devotees like us would be bereft of bhakti and any true understanding of the self.
By your mercy, this past year has been exceptionally fruitful in book distribution. In 2024,
we increased our remittance to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) by an inspiring 56 percent,
building upon a 27 percent increase the previous year. We are striving to surpass this in the
coming year.
One of the most significant milestones in our book distribution efforts has been the distribu-
tion of Braille Bhagavad-gītā sets. Inspired by your vision, devotees have published the Bhagavad-
gītā As It Is in Braille for the visually impaired, and we successfully placed these sets in nine public
libraries. We remain committed to expanding this initiative, ensuring that more libraries across
the United States house these sacred texts.
In total, we distributed 410 Bhagavad-gītās and 41 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets last year. By compari-
son, the previous year’s distribution totaled 19 sets of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and 1,024 Bhagavad-gītās.
Beyond book distribution, we have been striving to expand our preaching efforts. Pyāri Mohan
Prabhu has initiated classes on Śrī Īśopaniṣad, with the goal of holding at least two sessions each
month. The response so far has been promising.
Additionally, we have established two new bhakti-vriksha programs in West Hartford and
Glastonbury, complementing the existing program in Hartford we initiated last year. We pray for
your blessings so that these programs continue to grow and inspire more souls toward devotional
service.
By your divine grace, attendance at our Sunday feast programs and Vaiṣṇava festival celebra-
tions has steadily increased. This year, we eagerly anticipate an even greater turnout at our Ratha-
yātrā festival on June 7.
During your lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.15, given in Māyāpur on February 22, 1976, you
stated: “My Guru Mahārāja used to say that this material world is not fit for living for any gentle-
man. No gentleman can live here.” Again, during a morning walk in Vṛndāvana on April 9, 1976,
you declared: “Anyone who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa is not a gentleman. That is the test.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, with impeccable logic and compassion, you demonstrated how surrender to
Kṛṣṇa is the true mark of a gentleman. During your physical presence, you transformed countless
unrefined souls into exemplary gentlemen and mercifully revealed the process by which anyone
can attain such refinement.
On this auspicious occasion, we pray that by your mercy, we may become true gentlemen in
the highest sense – fully surrendered servants of Kṛṣṇa. We also seek your blessings to help others
embrace this process, as there is nothing more pleasing to you than seeing more and more people
take up this path of devotion, following in the footsteps of the great ācāryas.
Please continue to guide us, as you always have, and remove any obstacles on our spiritual
journey, by your boundless mercy.
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare / Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare
Hare
Your humble servants at ISKCON Glastonbury, Connecticut
(written by Gaṇapati Govinda Dāsa)

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