Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
I have the fortune to have been invited to write the Vyāsa-pūjā offering for Your Divine Grace on behalf of the Taichung yātrā in Taiwan for this year. Although, I am telling my own experience of coming in contact with Your Divine Grace, my experience is similar to others in Taiwan who have come in contact with Your Divine Grace and your teachings. How fortunate I am to have met you in this lifetime!
When my father passed away quite some years ago, I realized that at the moment of death, a person possesses nothing. This realization set me on a path of searching for the meaning of life. After years of seeking, I finally encountered Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Without you spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness to every town and village across the world, it would have been impossible to receive Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in a place as remote as Taichung, Taiwan.
Even after ten years of being in the ISKCON society, I am still like a toddler learning to walk, stumbling along the path of devotional service. For many years, your image in my heart was vague and distant, even seemingly unattainable, which deeply discouraged me. That changed in April 2020.
In April 2020, your disciple, Kṛṣṇa Baladeva Dāsa, encouraged me to begin reading Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta aloud online for fifteen minutes a day for the devotees in Taiwan. I agreed without hesitation. Within just a few days of reading your life story, my life began to change. After chanting my sixteen rounds of japa, I immersed myself in reading your biography and recording it for the devotees to listen to afterward. Often I was unable to stop reading and became filled with joy as I read of your glorious activities. I reduced my daily household duties as much as possible. This service became the center of my life. By reading and reciting every word daily, I became absorbed in your divine pastimes.
Then something subtle and wonderful happened: your form, words, conduct, and spirit – once unclear in my heart – gradually came together like the pieces of a puzzle into a complete and vivid picture. You nourished me and rekindled my enthusiasm for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and awakened in me a deeper desire to serve.
During this time, the recordings of your glorious activities were uploaded daily for the devotees of Taiwan. This received an enthusiastic response. The devotees eagerly longed to hear this nectar, and through it, they came to know you more fully and deeply.
Throughout the entire process of reading and reciting, what moved me most profoundly was your unwavering determination to follow the instructions of your spiritual master. Everything you did was solely to please him. Even encountering countless difficulties, you never retreated – something ordinary people in this world would have long given up.
I came to understand that the relationship between a spiritual master and a disciple can become unbreakable when the disciple faithfully follows the spiritual master’s instructions, even without physical association. You have said that following the instructions of the spiritual master is the eternal duty of the disciple. In the purport to Bhagavad-gītā 2.41, you explain that one should perform devotional service to Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of the spiritual master and accept his instructions as one’s life and soul. You also said that as long as a disciple follows the spiritual master’s instructions, the spiritual master is eternally present with the disciple. Today, we are able to receive your mercy, because your disciples have faithfully followed your instructions. These sincere disciples received your most precious gift – the opportunity to serve you in separation – and they have continued to spread this throughout the world, allowing it to flourish everywhere.
Ah! How fortunate we are, your granddisciples, to have met you, your disciples, your teachings, and your ISKCON society. We pray that we, in the Taichung yātrā, will continue to share your glories with others in Taiwan, thus allowing them to have the fortune of coming into contact with you, your teachings, your followers, and your ISKON Society.
Your humble servant,
Kuntī Kripa Devī Dāsī
On behalf of the Taichung yātrā