My dear spiritual father, Śrīla Prabhupāda,
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 most auspicious day of Your Divine Grace’s Vyāsa-pūjā, I beg to offer my prostrate obeisances unlimited times.
Recently, I was reading your Jaladuta Diary again. Every time I read it, I am amazed. Almost seventy years old, suffering various problems, enduring seasickness and heart attacks – Your Divine Grace sacrificed so much. You went completely out of your comfort zone. At the age of 69 or 70, aboard an Indian cargo vessel, without any money – that is no small feat!
On coming close to the American coast, Your Divine Grace prayed to Lord Kṛṣṇa in a very humble and surrendered mood:
How will I make them understand this message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.
Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now, my Lord, it is up to You to make me a success or failure, as You like.” (Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma, written aboard the Jaladuta ship, 18 September 1965)
Your Divine Grace was so surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Every time I read the Jaladuta Diary, I feel more and more indebted to you.
Your Divine Grace said that your books will be the lawbooks for the next ten thousand years. We have sufficient instructions through your books, your personal lectures, and your letters to understand what is required of us to satisfy your desires. Your Divine Grace has done so much for all of us. We should try to finish our business and not compel you to come again. Your instructions are our guiding light. They are our great inspiration.
The desires of Your Divine Grace should be our interest. We should not think about why we cannot do something, but rather how to do it, how to fulfill it. Where we have failed, we should ask how to not fail in the future and how to resolve the issues.
“Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy” – this is what Your Divine Grace told us. Your desire was not only that devotees distribute your books; you also encouraged devotees to study your books and get the degrees. You said that everyone who takes second initiation, including those who have already taken it, should have the Bhakti Śāstrī degree. Everyone who takes sannyāsa should have Bhakti Vaibhava: “Anyone wishing to be initiated as a brahmana will have to pass the Bhakti Sastri exam and anyone wishing to take sannyāsa will have to pass the Bhakti Vaibhava examination as well.” (Letter to All Governing Body Commissioners, Nellore, South India, 6 January 1976, signed by Tamāl Krishna Goswami and approved by Śrīla Prabhupāda)
And: “Sannyasis will be asked to sit for the Bhakti Vaibhava examination which will include the first six cantos of Bhagavatam.” (Letter to Tusta Krishna, Bombay, 9 January 1976, signed by Tamal Krishna Goswami and approved by Śrīla Prabhupāda).
Your Divine Grace also said that all spiritual sons and daughters should become qualified and become gurus. You were saying we should have the Bhaktivedānta degree: “By 1975, all of those who have passed all of the above examinations will be specifically empowered to initiate and increase the number of the Krishna consciousness population.” (Letter to Kirtanananda, 12 January 1968)
But Śrīla Prabhupāda, so far we have not instituted your programs. And as a result, we are lagging behind in fulfilling Lord Caitanya’s predictions and vision. We have to establish your standards.
There are so many instructions you gave, and we need to see how we can implement them – not how we are not able to follow your order. Because we failed, we are only progressing a little bit. If we could follow all your instructions, we could achieve Lord Caitanya’s mission in the shortest possible time.
Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, the father of Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī, was half-brāhmaṇa and half-śūdra. He got liberation when Balarāma touched him with kuśa grass. I am born a pure mleccha. Only by your mercy did I become a Vaiṣṇava. My forefathers, my grandparents – every one was a mleccha. They believed in God – I can say that. But as mlecchas they were habituated to eating meat, taking intoxication, and so on. You graced us. You came to the West and taught us to be Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs.
We cannot begin to estimate what you have done, how much we owe you, how much we need your mercy. Meditating on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I came to realize that unless we follow your instructions, there is no way – no way – we can ever achieve success in this life.
I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975 all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So we should not simply publish these books for reading by the outsiders, but our students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization. (Letter to Hamsaduta, 3 December 1968)
Please have your mercy on us. Please give us this blessing that we can follow your instructions and establish Lord Caitanya’s dream and His prediction.
Your insignificant servant,
Jayapatākā Swami