Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our boundless daṇḍavats at your lotus feet. All glories to you.
sakhyena saṁsthira-dhiyādhama-sāthako ’pi
seveya te parama-vismaya-bhakta-saṁgham
cikroḍa-vṛndam iva rāghava-divya-setuṁ
vande suvismaya-karaṁ prabhupāda-devam
O Śrīla Prabhupāda! Although I am a fallen sādhaka, a humble practitioner of bhakti according to the teachings of Your Divine Grace, I beg for the privilege of serving the wonderful society of devotees you have created. I pray that this service may be rendered in a spirit of friendly cooperation with other devotees and with firm intelligence. However, my small attempt to serve your mission is similar to the service that squirrels rendered to Lord Rāma in the construction of the enormous bridge over the ocean. Śrīla Prabhupāda, with profound gratitude, I offer my humble obeisances to you who performed the most wondrous deeds. (Śrīla Prabhupāda Vismayopahāra Daśakam 11)
On this glorious day, we celebrate your divine appearance in this world. We pray that your divine grace will be poured out upon the hearts and minds of all your followers.
Kali-yuga and māyā are so powerful that even almost fifty years after your physical departure, great obstacles and challenges have arisen that threaten the stability of your sacred ISKCON mission. The scriptures, the ācāryas, and even Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, as in His form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, have established that the founder-ācārya is the ultimate authority in his movement and must be followed exactly as he taught, without changes, dilution, or deviation from his commands. ISKCON’s dharma was established by you, as the empowered founder-ācārya of the ISKCON Vaiṣṇava saṅga, and no one has the right to change anything or circumvent your authority through social experiments. You established all the standards for leadership, whether at the level of GBC, sannyāsī, guru, temple president, pujārī, etc., and we must all simply follow them – no compromises, dilutions, or experiments. No one should believe they can be stricter than you or more liberal than how you taught us. Please, in your mercy, heal the evil influences of Kali-yuga and māyā in your sacred ISKCON saṅga. Please allow us to be your servants eternally, obeying you without deviation, simply following you “as it is.” May peace and harmony reign among your followers. So be it, by your divine grace.
Your servants at the Rādhā-Govinda Mandir, Saltillo