Dearly respected Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet, which traversed the earth
to uplift innumerable fallen souls in this Age of Kali. Had you not left Vrindavan to broadcast the
message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, there was no chance that we could have heard about Śrī
Kṛṣṇa, His abode Śrī Vrindavan Dhāma, and His transcendental devotional service.
This year, 2025, commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the inauguration of the Śrī Śrī
Krishna-Balaram Mandir on the auspicious day of Śrī Rāma-navamī in 1975. It was a day of
jubilation, the culmination of a lifetime of struggles you endured to establish a divine temple
in Vrindavan. You wanted a place where devotees from around the world would be welcomed, a
place specifically for your disciples, life members, and international guests. You also particularly
aspired to establish a temple for the worship of Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, along with Śrī Śrī
Gaura-Nitāi and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara. Since the area of Raman-reti is the eternal līlā-
sthana of Kṛṣṇa’s and Balarāma’s cowherd pastimes, They now reside here permanently in the
magnificent temple you constructed.
Vrindavan is your eternal home; it was also the first place that your disciples built a house for
you to live in. Eventually you chose to enter the nitya-līlā of Śrī Kṛṣṇa at this place, surrounded
by your loving disciples. You encouraged all the residents of the temple to dedicate their lives to
serving here, and described that the entire spiritual world is contained within the four walls of the
temple compound. We have tried to mold our lives according to the multitude of instructions you
gave for Vrindavan. You wanted this temple to be “heaven on earth” and a center for education.
After establishing the temple in 1975, you then proceeded to establish the Bhaktivedanta Swami
Goshala and Bhaktivedanta Swami International Gurukula. You also sent devotees far and wide
for saṅkīrtana by bullock cart and buses. Your vision for this temple was glorious, and to this day
we strive to fulfill all the plans you gave us to expand the preaching efforts here.
You instructed that anyone who resides in Vrindavan should be on the level of a gosvāmī, fully
dedicated to serving the Lord with body, mind, and words. You envisioned the temple to be a
sanctuary for renounced brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs, with gṛhasthas and vānaprasthas residing near
the temple to render service. During the fifty years since the grand opening, many devotees have
served together to carry out your vision for Vrindavan, and there has been ever-increasing expan-
sion of the project. Now there is a hundred-and-twenty-acre gurukula and ecofarm, and a number
of preaching centers and temples established both within the Vraja area and throughout the
nearby cities.
Truly, Vrindavan is your eternal home, and as our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, as
dīkṣā-guru or preeminent śikṣā-guru, we have inherited this treasure of the Śrī Śrī Krishna-Balaram
Mandir to maintain for many generations into the future. As we gather together each morning to
glorify you at your divine samādhi, we pray, “By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the
benediction of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advance-
ment.” And then joining together for guru-pūjā we pray, “Make the teachings from the lotus
mouth of the spiritual master one with our heart and do not desire anything else.” That is our life
and soul, to carry out your instructions throughout our life.
In honor of the Golden Jubilee festival this year, we have invited devotees to attend a grand
festival with twelve days of parikrama to the twelve forests of Vrindavan, and then six days of hear-
ing and chanting about the grand opening from senior Vaiṣṇavas. As you did in 1975, we will also
distribute prasādam to thousands of people throughout the day with the same menu you chose
in 1975. There will be cultural programs and dramas, just as you wanted, and twenty-four-hour
kīrtana, which you personally inaugurated at the opening. Mahā-abhiṣeka, a Jhulan-yātrā, Śobha-
yātrā, and nāgara-saṅkīrtana will grace the festival in glorification of Their Lordships.
We pray that you will be satisfied with our humble endeavors to please you, and that you
will always keep us under the shelter of your lotus feet so that we may continue to serve you at
ISKCON Vrindavan eternally.
Your servants in the dust of your lotus feet,
The residents of ISKCON Vrindavan

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