Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master,
servant of Bhakti siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya
deva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Please accept our humble and respectful obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to you.
We are in the year 2025, which marks sixty years since you first set your lotus feet on Western
soil to fulfill the instruction of your Guru Mahārāja. Oh, how blessed are we all to have somehow
or other come in contact with your message of the Supreme Absolute Truth.
The world has turned dramatically ever since you departed from it. The only way we can keep
ourselves sane and focused is by staying close to you and your words and advice. You came
to the West and carried the torchlight of knowledge in three volumes: your translated Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam, an endless truth and incarnation of the Supreme for this Age of Kali.
You gave the message of Kṛṣṇa’s love for us freely, as did Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda.
The only request you made is for us to stop entangling our minds with this material world. How-
ever, as Arjuna already says in the Bhagavad-gītā, the mind is harder to control than the wind. We
do struggle to control our mind, to loosen our attachment to Māyā in all her seemingly pretty
facets. She is waiting on every corner, ready to snap us up, making us question ourselves and even
your movement. The Age of Kali is progressing, and distraction is the new normal if we are not
careful.
Why am I saying all these things that should not affect a devotee? Because the truth is, we
are all affected in one way or another, whether it be by questioning our path to Kṛṣṇa, measur-
ing what other devotees do, or being tormented by our thoughts and the mind’s activities – the
clutches of Māyā are so manifold.
But the actual truth is that this is harm done unnecessarily, as you made your way to America
to bring us the knowledge that can untangle us from these clutches of the material world. Now,
sixty years later, we have to also make use of it. Daily sādhana is the medicine you brought us, but
like many children, we don’t like to take that medicine. Still, we all know how healing and reliev-
ing it is to be free of pain.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, on this special day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, and indeed every day, let us
remember what kept you going in your first year in America: your firm faith in your spiritual
master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, and your unalloyed devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
Although often you didn’t know how to pay your rent for the next week, and you didn’t yet
find people who were eager to get out of their darkness, you always stayed true to the instruction
of your spiritual master to help the people in the Western world out of the clutches of Māyā. You
showered them with the light of the Bhāgavata. We are here only because of you, and we can only
share what you gave us.
In the name of everyone here at Govinda Valley, I pray to you to keep us always close to your
lotus feet. Let us always share the light of knowledge with those whose hearts are open to receive
it, and please let us always be engaged in your service, for this is our life and soul and all we want
for this life.
As I was describing before, life seems overwhelming at times, distractions can be huge, but our
hearts are calling for Kṛṣṇa deep inside. Please grant us your mercy to get free of these conditions,
become deeply attached to Kṛṣṇa’s holy names, and develop a heart full of compassion so we can
help you in your mission and always stay faithful to you and Kṛṣṇa. We thank you from our hearts
for the life you gave us.
Your servants,
the sādhakas at Govinda Valley
(written by Mālinī Devī Dāsī)