Our 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
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken full shelter at His
lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhānta
Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and
delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Please accept our most humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace. On this most auspi-
cious occasion of your divine appearance, we are given yet another opportunity to put into words
our gratitude and to try to glorify you, the most magnanimous person we have ever known.
Lord Caitanya is described as mahā-vadānyāya, the “most munificent,” but we know you are
mahā-mahā-vadānyāya because you brought the process of bhakti out of Bhārata-varṣa all the way
to us, the most fallen, in this Western part of the world. You freely distributed it to everyone with-
out consideration of age, caste, or creed. You made numerous sacrifices at such an advanced age
to do so, and there is no doubt that you were always carefully taken care of personally by Lord
Kṛṣṇa Himself. Who else in this world would even make such an effort as you did? And how can
we ever repay you? You gave hope and a sense of meaning to our hopeless, aimless lives.
You carefully tailored the practice of devotional service, making it easy for us, and you gave
everything to make it practical and feasible. You provided absolutely everything possible and are
training us, even today, like a father securely holding the hands of a young child and guiding that
child with so much love and care to traverse the path out of this horrid material existence. You
have given us real life. You are teaching the real meaning of this rare human birth and how to
navigate the trials and tribulations of material life while simultaneously using this life as an offer-
ing to Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya instructed Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Caitanya-
caritāmṛta, Madhya 1.211: “If a woman is attached to a man other than her husband, she will appear
very busy in carrying out her household affairs, but within her heart she is always relishing feel-
ings of association with her paramour.” You are teaching us to make Kṛṣṇa the center of life, what-
ever our material circumstances and duties. We pray your blessings and eternal guidance make us
develop, progress, and go deeper into our relationship with you, our dear guru, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
On this most auspicious day, nay, every day, we express a most heartfelt thank you for every-
thing: your many books, detailed and practical instructions, meticulous temples, most beautiful
Deities, amazing festivals, prasādam, kīrtanas, devotee association, and the dedicated disciples
and granddisciples who continue to guide us. You have given us windows to the spiritual world!
Thank you, our dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
Your insignificant servants at the Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Gauracandra Mandir

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