Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our respectful homage. All glories to your lotus feet.
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
On this special day when we celebrate your Vyāsa-pūjā, we wish to take this opportunity to express our eternal gratitude and appreciation for your mission to save fallen souls throughout the world. In Benin, the desire of all devotees is to have a temple for good preaching. Guided by your disciples and their younger followers, this goal has been achieved. This seems to align with your vision of seeing temples erected in every city.
You have acted in many other areas to change the mindsets of those who join the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. These include:
(1) Publishing books such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhagavad-gītā, and other such titles. These form the basis of the movement.
(2) Distributing the chanting of the holy names of God, which gradually cleanses hearts and resonates through the streets.
(3) Establishing ISKCON, the Bhaktivedanta Institute, and the BBT as means to effectively continue the movement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we owe you an eternal debt that seems very difficult to repay. Therefore, we pray that you will bless us and give us the strength in this life to feel your presence in your words and make us true instruments in helping to spread Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement. We also pray that Your Divine Grace will help our temple, which reopened two years ago, to continue to grow as a center for spiritual education on bhakti culture, love, and sincerity.
Your humble servants,
The devotees from Cotonou, Benin