Our dear eternal spiritual master, our dear father, Your Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
You have accepted all of us as your spiritual children. In this material world, relationships may come and go, but the relationship between the spiritual master and disciple is eternal. You write in your book Elevation to Kṛṣṇa consciousness that whenever we feel separation from Kṛṣṇa or the spiritual master, we should just try to remember their words of instruction and we will no longer feel that separation. Such association with Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master should be association by sound vibration, not physical presence. It is best to remember the teachings. Similarly, you are always present in your books.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, to come closer to you by following your instructions, we at Śrī Hari Vaikuṇṭha Dhāma, ISKCON Manitoba, have started two reading circles: a fifteen-minute reading from Sunday through Friday for your small books, and a one-hour reading Mondays through Friday reading your medium books. We need your blessings to continue these readings and to understand your teachings.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, more than forty devotees last year successfully completed their Gītā for Life course and are currently attending Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Śikṣā course every Saturday.
With your blessings, another program called Spiritual Buddy is going on where devotees help one another to grow in spiritual life by following the “Each one, teach one” motto. More than sixty devotees have graduated this year from level 1, Śraddhavān, where they chant a minimum of two rounds and read one small book. Another more than twenty-five devotees have graduated from further levels, such as Kṛṣṇa Sevak and Kṛṣṇa Sādhaka, requiring that they chant at least eight rounds and complete seven or eight small books.
Like a compassionate father, you never abandon your children. We humbly pray that you never let go of our hands but kindly keep us always engaged at your lotus feet.
In your introduction to Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, you offered your obeisances to your spiritual master, expressing how he opened your eyes with the torchlight of knowledge. Similarly, we feel that we were born in the deepest darkness of ignorance, and by your mercy, that darkness is being dissipated. Our lives, which once felt directionless and full of illusion, are now gradually finding their true purpose.
On this most auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we would like to make a humble request that we never give up reading your books, hearing your lectures, associating with devotees, chanting the holy name, or engaging in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. We pray to you for strength and guidance to remain fixed in this commitment. In the eternal spiritual realm, you are waiting to guide all fallen souls like us back to our true home. We pray that we may become worthy of your mercy and not delay that journey any further. Kindly bless us that we can become instruments in fulfilling your mission.
Your humble servants,
The family of Śrī Hari Vaikuṇṭha Dhāma in Manitoba