Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my prostrated daṇḍavats at your divine lotus feet.
The Lord is also known as Uttamaśloka, and as His fully surrendered devotee, you embody all the twenty-six qualities of a Vaiṣṇava. Your kindness and compassion are evident in everything you have done. You have presented about Kṛṣṇa consciousness in such a profound, clear, and intellectually compelling way that you have attracted thoughtful and sincere persons from all over the world. Just as Lord Caitanya asked questions and Rāya Rāmānanda responded to them, giving the Lord great pleasure, so Kṛṣṇa has revealed Himself through your writings. While everything ultimately happens by the will of Kṛṣṇa, when a devotee fully surrenders and becomes His instrument, the Lord works through that devotee and gives him the credit. From the extraordinary accomplishments of Your Divine Grace, it is clear that you are the senāpati devotee. Through you the Lord shows that He is approached through His pure devotees.
The world has rarely witnessed such a genuine devotee in modern times. As is true of the Lord, no amount of glorification is ever enough for His pure devotee. The world has been greatly blessed by your appearance. If many have not recognized this, it is their misfortune – like someone sitting in a closed room who cannot see the brilliance of the midday sun. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have clearly established that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that by inoffensively chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra one can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. You have also revealed that Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa and that without His mercy, it is not possible to understand or approach Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
You have shared the timeless message of eternity, love, and bliss, opening the path of divine love to all, regardless of their background or qualification. In fact, the unqualified – those who are materially destitute and akiñcana – are the most deserving of Your mercy. Your glories continue to grow even in your physical absence, which speaks to the enduring power of Your mission of propagating the message of Mahāprabhu – kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ – with complete conviction. Your followers continue to carry forward your mission with that same spirit, and through this, the Lord’s blessings continue to flow. As long as we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, remaining under the shelter of your ISKCON, there is hope for us to live with peace and joy and ultimately return back home, back to Godhead.
If one thinks it is possible to repay one’s debt to you, he is just a fool (vinoda-pātram). We are your servants, yet you have engaged us in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the secret of eternal love and bliss. As an ācārya, you did not simply teach the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you lived it fully, and your life stands as a powerful example of pure devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Just as go-sevā (go-rakṣā), sharing with others the rarest gift, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the highest form of charity a jīva can offer.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless me so that I may always remain under the shade of your lotus feet and follow your teachings. That is the only way I can cross this ocean of material existence and attain the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Aspiring to be the servant of your servants,
Śukadeva Swami