Dearest 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 humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace!
I consider myself highly unqualified to compose this offering on the auspicious 129th appear-
ance day of Your Divine Grace, yet I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to express my heart-
felt appreciation for the invaluable gift of the society you gave us.
On this most auspicious occasion, I offer my heartfelt gratitude and devotion unto you. You
are the eternal representative of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, who has come to liberate the fallen souls from
the endless cycle of birth and death. By your boundless compassion and unshakable faith in the
instructions of your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, your divine mercy
has illuminated the path of bhakti for countless lost souls, including myself.
As Lord Kṛṣṇa declares in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41):
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca
buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām
Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved
child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your unwavering determination and unshakable faith have become the guiding
light for thousands. You accepted all hardships to fulfill the order of your Guru Mahārāja, bring-
ing the supreme gift of kṛṣṇa-bhakti to the suffering jīvas of this age. By your mercy, we received
the most precious treasure – the opportunity to serve the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā in everyone’s heart and
the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses the desire for material enjoyment from
the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are
in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.17)
Through your transcendental books, temples, and devotees, your presence remains ever vibrant.
You have given us kṛṣṇa-kathā, which purifies our hearts and awakens within us the dormant love
for Kṛṣṇa.
I am eternally indebted to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Without your mercy, I would be lost in the
darkness of material existence. You gave me the greatest gift – the opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa and
be engaged in devotional service.
On this auspicious day, I beg you for one blessing:
janme janme prabhu sei patita pāvana
bhajite bhajite māṅ labo prema-dhana
Lifetime after lifetime, may I always remain your servant, O savior of the fallen! By
serving you and chanting the holy name, may I one day attain the treasure of pure
love for Kṛṣṇa.
Please bless me so that I never deviate from your teachings. Śrīla Prabhupāda, your causeless
mercy is the only hope for fallen souls like me. Your compassion reminds me of the words spoken
in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.151: guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja – “By the
mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, one receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.”
Without your boundless compassion, I would be adrift in the vast ocean of saṁsāra, trapped in
the endless cycle of birth and death. You have bestowed upon me the most precious gift – the
refuge of Kṛṣṇa’s divine lotus feet.
By your mercy, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have been able to serve in our small capacity.
On the auspicious day of Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī, we organized a seven-day Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
discourse by His Grace Govinda Bhakta Prabhu. During the Lord’s appearance day, over 150,000
pilgrims took darshan of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara, and we distributed more than 15,000 full
plates of prasādam and over 50,000 packets of dry prasādam.
With your blessings, on Utthāna Ekādaśī (November 12, 2024), we celebrated the third brah-
motsava of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara over a four-day festival (November 10–13). His Grace Gopati
Prabhu, president of ISKCON Ravet, graced the occasion, and we distributed around 5,000
plates of prasādam to the assembled devotees.
In our endeavor to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness among the youth, we successfully organized
the mega youth festival UTSAV, “A Festival of Joy and Happiness.” With the inspiring presence of
His Grace Devakīnandana Prabhu, we welcomed 3,500 students from fourteen or fifteen colleges,
introducing them to the sublime path of bhakti. On this occasion, we distributed 500 transcen-
dental books.
Furthermore, with your mercy, on Gītā Jayantī, we had the great fortune of distributing 26,543
copies of the Bhagavad-gītā, making Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s divine message accessible to thousands.
Another milestone in our service was the establishment of a BACE (Bhakti Academy for Cul-
tural Education) in Solapur, where six students now reside, strictly following the four regulative
principles, chanting sixteen rounds daily, and attending the full morning program. Our focus for
the upcoming year is to expand youth outreach and congregational preaching, bringing more
souls into the fold of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s divine mission.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, without your guidance and the ISKCON society you established, we would
remain lost in the miseries of material existence. Your divine movement not only imparts knowl-
edge but profoundly transforms lives. Your selfless sacrifice has given us a spiritual family, a pur-
pose, and the strength to transcend the illusory energy, māyā.
Your only desire was to satisfy Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and in reciprocation, He empowered you beyond
imagination to spread His glories across the world. Generations to come will continue to seek
refuge in your books, your teachings, and your example.
When people get to the point of understanding the need to reevaluate and formulate new goals,
and they then become serious about searching for the truth, they will meet you, the founder-
ācārya of ISKCON, and you will show them the way out of the material world by giving them
true knowledge and real guidance.
As stated in the Mukunda-mālā-stotra (5):
nāhaṁ vande tava caraṇayor dvandvam advandva-hetoḥ
kumbhīpākaṁ gurum api hare nārakaṁ nāpanetum
ramyā-rāmā-mṛdu-tanu-latā-nandane nābhirantuṁ
bhāve bhāve hṛdaya-bhavane bhāvayethāṁ bhavantam
O Lord Hari, I do not pray for liberation from the horrible hell known as
Kumbhīpāka, nor do I seek the pleasures of the heavenly planets, nor do I desire to
merge into the spiritual effulgence. My only prayer is that in birth after birth, You may
manifest within my heart.
Your causeless mercy is my only hope. Without it, I have no shelter. With it, I have everything.
Your servant,
Krishnabhakta Dāsa

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