Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet!
The material world and so much in it is impermanent. But even in the material world there are things that are eternal, which do not fade with the passage of time. In fact, their value only increases with the number of anniversaries that pass. Such is your person, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Despite the increasing number of generations who have not been able to meet you personally, you still represent the origin, the point of reference, and the basis of reference in terms of theoretical and practical matters in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You are an inspiration, an authentic example to countless souls. On the occasion of your appearance day, please accept my imperfect but all the more sincere, heartfelt offering, which I express to you now in words and through my daily service for the rest of the year.
The accounts I have heard of your years on earth speak of your exceptional brilliance. It is even more evident from the perspective of so many years that it was not a worldly quality of yours, but an eternal characteristic that permeates the movement that you have left behind to this day. Your legacy – the strength of our present and the guarantee of our successful future – is no less than the priceless treasure of our existence: to be in touch with Kṛṣṇa. With deep gratitude in my heart, I try to walk the path you marked out and to continue on it, clinging to your effulgence in times of difficulty. During my thirty years in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I have been in various ways, but always connected with the distribution of prasādam. On several occasions, I have personally experienced the real power of this devotional service. I have seen how people’s hearts change month after month, year after year, simply by eating prasādam every day. They do not do any other spiritual activity, but they would take prasādam regularly, every day, and even without their knowledge, since they were not the ones offering the food. In many cases, I have also observed how, through the distribution of prasādam, someone becomes more and more involved in other forms of devotional service and eventually accepts Kṛṣṇa. I am often reminded of the anecdote in which you told the sādhus who were expecting a miracle from you that your miracles, your dancing white elephants, are the devotees.
In one of your lessons, you said that you are just a postman, only a messenger who received a message and passed it on without change. Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, the miracle you spoke about to the sādhus has now taken on a huge dimension, the reason for which is undoubtedly that you are a very special postman. Although you have not changed the message, it has become even more valuable and attractive through your person, through your special brilliance, through your unique qualities, through the love you have for the recipients of the message.
It is an understatement to say that I feel lucky that your message reached me, just as it is an understatement to say that you are just a postman. But this is also part of the miracle, for which words are not enough. Where words end, action, music, dance – that is, the colorful, miraculous life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness itself – begins. Thank you for this life, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Your servant,
Bhakta-vatsala Dāsa, leader of Food for Life in Hungary