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 our humble obeisances at your lotus feet on this holy day, the anniversary of your appearance. On this day, which is the most important day for us, we gather as a community united by your mercy to offer you our hearts filled with gratitude.
Looking at our lives, we are overcome by a profound and stirring realization: had we not had the opportunity to encounter this unique spiritual movement initiated by your unconditional grace, we would still be lost today in the utter darkness of ignorance. Without your divine intervention, we would have remained prisoners in the pursuit of fleeting pleasures, strangers to the concept of true spiritual happiness, and without any real chance of liberation from the merciless clutches of Māyā.
It was Your Divine Grace who shattered the walls of illusion in which we lived. Through your example you gave us the vision necessary to understand that we are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, transforming a purposeless existence into a life dedicated to the Absolute. Through your kindness, that which was once completely unknown to us – love of God – has now become the ideal of each of us, an ideal we strive to place at the center of our community’s life.
Thank you for not leaving us prey to the despair of this Kali-yuga. Every moment we gather for harināma, every page we read from your books, and every portion of prasādam shared within our community is a testament to your victory over the ignorance that once held us captive.
We desperately beg for your mercy and blessing that we may be able to fulfill your desire to cooperate and succeed in the only mission for which it is worth living and dying in this world: the spreading of the chanting of the holy name to every village and city. We ask for your blessings to remain forever in the shelter of your lotus feet, the only place where Māyā cannot touch us.
Your servants,
The devotees of ISKCON Timişoara