Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your divine lotus feet. Please allow us to make an attempt to glorify you, as far as our humility and qualifications permit.
Reflecting on life, we become increasingly convinced of how boundless the Lord’s mercy can be! And His mercy consists of sending us such compassionate, exalted souls as yourself so that we can cross the ocean of material suffering, called the material world. Your glory will spread from age to age, despite the darkening hues of Kali-yuga, and sincere souls will be able to take advantage of the boat you have left for us. It is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.31) that ācāryas, being compassionate saints, cross the ocean of material existence and reach the spiritual world. However, they do not simply leave. Rather, they leave behind a boat – their teachings, sacred scriptures, and spiritual practices – so that sincere souls seeking the Supreme Refuge can also cross over to the other shore.
By leaving the boat of your teachings, you give every person the opportunity to safely cross the material ocean, even though you are no longer physically present in this world. Your mission in this world is invaluable: just as a pious mother cannot evaluate her child, so spiritual values manifested by you cannot be measured. Without your mission, the lives of all conditioned souls have no meaning. You have given people light and hope for a truly bright future, which flows into eternity, full knowledge, and bliss, in the infinite happiness of love in relationship with the Lord.
Our endless gratitude to you for this and for the opportunity to try to become an instrument in the hands of the guru, who is an instrument in your hands.
Your servants,
The devotees of the New Navadvīpa community in Kyiv