Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to your Divine Grace.
Your glories are unlimited, so how can we glorify you with our tiny brains and inadequate words? We can only do this by your mercy, just as one can offer Ganges water to the Ganges!
Please accept our prostrated obeisances on this, your divine 130th Appearance Day. It has been sixty years since you established ISKCON, your transcendental body. This movement is going very strongly, with many new temples coming up, more books being distributed, and more and more devotees taking to the process of devotional service.
At the same time many of your direct disciples and stalwart devotees are leaving this material world and joining you to serve you and preach in other worlds under your guidance. In the last two months, we have seen the departure of three of your dedicated disciples, each of whom inspired many souls. We are now deprived of their association and can only cherish the sweet memories of their association and their exalted and dedicated service to your movement. This is a fact: as time progresses, we will see many, and then all, of your direct disciples gradually leaving this world. As one of your senior disciples said, “This is a decade of tears,” referring to the departure of so many senior devotees and leaders. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless us and give us the intelligence to control our minds and take this process seriously, and to do something significant for your pleasure.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you put your lotus foot on the soil of this place called Perth, which is so far from other cities. Only out of your causeless mercy did you choose to visit Perth. You stayed for ten days, thus making Perth a holy place (tīrtha). The devotees here are trying to do some insignificant service to please you and Lord Caitanya Mahaaprabhu by spreading the saṅkīrtana movement.
Our book distributors are distributing regularly by innovating new ways, such as creating street libraries, distributing to community libraries, doing street distribution, and distributing books from Govinda’s restaurant and the temple. Last year we distributed 42 sets of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 8 Caitanya-caritāmṛta sets, and 1,952 Bhagavad-gītās. This is very, very small, but please bless us so we can improve and distribute more this year. We need your mercy.
Our devotees go out on harināma-saṅkīrtana every Friday into the streets of Perth, and we also take opportunities to participate in other events and spread the holy name. Yes, we agree we need to reach out to more and more people, as the holy name is the panacea for all the problems of this world. But Śrīla Prabhupāda, when will we be able to understand this and become convinced first so we can convince others? We need your mercy.
You said when you were in Australia that we should distribute prasādam, so we are endeavoring to distribute prasādam from our Govinda’s restaurant, the temple, and we are also making home deliveries. We have a well-wisher who is very dedicated to this service. He enthusiastically collects the extra prasādam, packs it up, and delivers it to the needy in our local area. This activity is creating a good impression of your society in our local community.
Many disadvantaged people who have no shelter come to our restaurant, and we happily give them a free meal so they can start their spiritual journey by honoring kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Because of the current situation in the world, these numbers are increasing every day, and as many as 150 people are taking advantage of this service every week.
As you have kindly visited this place, and we want to offer a nice temple for the pleasure of you and Their Lordships, we are working on the new temple project, having acquired another block of land. We are trying to finalize the plans and then submit them to the council by the end of June. Hopefully, by the time of your Vyāsa-pūjā day, we will have some more news about the progress.
We are also trying to reach various groups and different political leaders so that they can appreciate your contribution to humanity and recognize your greatness. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you always remained at the back and put Kṛṣṇa in front. Now it is our duty to bring awareness of your contribution to humankind and let society know how you are saving them from all bad vices.
We are trying to reach newcomers through programs like Ratha-yātrā and other outreach programs and cultural festivals. We know there are many out there who do not know about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His teachings, so we have a lot of work to do. We need your mercy.
Through our Bhagavad-gītā Intro courses, we’re finding that people are showing interest in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. So after completing the five-week course, they join our bhakti-vṛkṣa programs. Many devotees are studying your books through various programs, like IDC, Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti Vaibhava, and other such courses.
Many of our youth are coming forward and making a serious commitment to the process of bhakti by taking shelter and initiation and surrendering to the spiritual master. Recently, many of our youth participated in a bhakti festival in the eastern states, and their performance of kirtan, drama, and dance were well appreciated by many. These youth have so many talents – we need to nurture their devotion. Please give us the intelligence to help and encourage them to serve your mission so that they can take responsibility and lead your movement in the coming years. We need your mercy.
So, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have a lot of work ahead of us as this world needs a lot of guidance and your books and teachings are the only saving grace. This we can only do if we convince ourselves first. So please give us the intelligence so we can work cooperatively by putting all our selfish motives aside.
Your servants,
The devotees at ISKCON Perth