Dear 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
Please accept my most humble obeisances at the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
On this most sacred occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, in this historic year marking the sixtieth anniversary of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, I bow my head with deep gratitude and reverence. By your causeless mercy, what began as a solitary, faith-filled offering has become a worldwide spiritual family – a shelter for countless conditioned souls.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you did not simply establish an institution – you revealed a heart: a heart that cannot tolerate the suffering of others; a heart that continues to move across time, circumstance, and limitation simply so we can come to Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, again and again in your letters and conversations we see this same concern expressed so personally. You do not see your disciples as numbers or followers but as souls entrusted to your care. You guide, correct, encourage, and sometimes firmly protect, always with the intention of bringing each one closer to Kṛṣṇa. Even amid immense global responsibilities, your attention to the individual never diminishes because, for you, each soul matters.
As taught by Prahlāda Mahārāja in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.43: śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān – “I lament for those who are averse to You and are simply struggling for illusory happiness.”
This is the mood of a Vaiṣṇava – para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you embody this completely. You did not come for your own liberation but because we are suffering. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.18) instructs: pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum – “One should not become a father, mother, or spiritual master unless one can deliver one’s dependents from repeated birth and death.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you accept this responsibility fully. You did not only give us Kṛṣṇa – you created a society meant to nourish, guide, and protect those who take shelter within it.
And yet, Śrīla Prabhupāda, when I reflect upon your standard, I see how far I remain from truly embodying your mood. My attempts at care are inconsistent, my heart is still limited, and my vision is clouded by my conditioning. Still, by your causeless mercy, you engage even the unqualified in your service.
In this connection, I feel a deep and growing responsibility toward the protection of those who depend upon your movement – especially our children. If ISKCON is to function as a spiritual family, then those who are most vulnerable must experience protection not merely as policy, but as culture; not as obligation, but as affection. Without such an environment, the tender creeper of bhakti cannot properly take root and flourish.
In trying to understand how to practically express this responsibility, I am gradually coming to appreciate that care must sometimes take a structured form. Though appearing administrative, such efforts are, in truth, extensions of your compassion – attempts, however imperfect, to reflect your role as a spiritual father who never neglects his dependents. This principle extends to all members of your society.
Recently, while traveling in Australia, I met a Vaiṣṇavī who confided that she was undergoing trauma within her family and was in an abusive situation. By your mercy, I can sit with her, hear her heart, and offer whatever guidance I can. I then connected her with Kṛṣṇarūpa Devī Dāsī, the Vaiṣṇavī Minister for ISKCON Australia, who kindly took responsibility to personally follow up and support this Vaiṣṇavī further.
Later, both the Vaiṣṇavī and Kṛṣṇarūpa Devī Dāsī expressed that it feels encouraging that someone in the renounced order demonstrated personal concern for protecting women. Śrīla Prabhupāda, whatever little I can do is simply a reflection – however faint – of your own example. You show us that spiritual leadership is not passive – it is protective, attentive, and responsible.
As the Bhagavad-gītā (3.21) teaches: yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ. If we claim to be your followers, we must embody this principle of para-duḥkha-duḥkhī not only in philosophy, but in action – through how we care, how we protect, and how we respond.
As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of your disappearance, a sobering question stands before us: Will we preserve only your structure, or will we embody your heart? Will we repeat your words, or will we carry your burden?
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you envision a society where the holy name is heard in every town and village, and where every soul finds shelter in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You envision a spiritual family where devotees do not only chant together, but care for one another as genuine well-wishers. You envision a culture where the vulnerable are protected, where women are respected, where children grow in safety, and where every individual can open their heart without fear.
And yet, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we must honestly ask ourselves: How far have we come in embodying that vision?
Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless me that I may become an instrument of your compassion. Let my kirtan carry not only sound, but shelter. Let my preaching not only instruct, but uplift and heal. Let my leadership reflect not position, but protection; not authority, but responsibility; not distance, but care.
Even if I am unqualified, please engage me in this service of care, for it is your mission, not mine.
Please empower us to become true para-duḥkha-duḥkhīs, feeling the suffering of others and responding in a way that pleases you. You are the compassionate spiritual father of this movement, whose heart continues to guide, protect, and uplift us at every step.
I remain forever your insignificant and indebted servant,
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami