Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
You started this movement from small and humble beginnings. The residents of your own hometown did not care to support you, and very few in your home country believed in your mission of bringing Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the West. Yet despite this and all other setbacks, you persisted and fulfilled your spiritual master’s request to its fullest potential.
And now here we are, against all odds: there are millions all over the world, not just in the West, celebrating your Vyāsa-pūjā 2026 with you residing in their hearts.
Your devotees at Govinda Valley, near Sydney, Australia, are holding you close today. The majority of us have never had the chance to meet you, yet somehow, each one of us has reserved an eternal space for you in our hearts and minds. Our minds are saturated with thoughts of you. Should you enter that space, you would surely hear “Prabhupāda once said,” “Prabhupāda used to,” “Prabhupāda instructed,” “Prabhupāda this,” “Prabhupāda that.” One can never leave a conversation, no matter the topic, mundane or spiritual, long or brief, without hearing your name at least once from our mouths. Parrots we are, always uttering your name.
So, Śrīla Prabhupāda, on those nights when you were writing alone, struggling to personally fund and distribute Back to Godhead on the streets of Calcutta, were you already scheming to steal our unassuming hearts? Did you plan to inundate our minds and change the entire course of our lives? Were you already preparing to become the subject of our thoughts, the topic on our tongues, and the guiding force behind our days?
Somehow, we have happily declared ourselves your puppet boys and girls, ready to offer you love and service without a single reservation in our hearts.
And yet, in truth, it is not that you have taken anything from us, but that you have given us everything. You have given us purpose where there was once wandering, clarity where there was once confusion, and devotion where there was once emptiness.
So, on this day, we simply pray to remain instruments in your hands. To remember your instructions, to carry your mood, and to serve your mission with sincerity and steadiness. Please keep us always engaged in your service, lifetime after lifetime.
On behalf of all the devotees at Govinda Valley,
Your humble servant,
Bhaktin Christine