Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories unto your lotus feet.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you said, “We are like fish out of water. Just as a fish cannot be happy unless he is in the water, we cannot be happy apart from the spiritual world.”
At ISKCON Vancouver, devotees are immersed in spiritual activities. Every month is filled with festivals and events, where devotees are looking forward to the celebrations. The number of visitors is increasing by the day, and more of them are taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Daily classes are wonderfully facilitated by your disciples and other advanced speakers. Kirtan events are beautifully organized by devotees.
The year began on a spiritually vibrant note with the Adhivāsa festival for Lord Nityānanda’s Appearance Day – celebrated for the first time at New Gokula Dhāma. It was performed by our head priest Shanti Parayan Dāsa, who made a meaningful impact on the community as well. Brāhmaṇa-initiated devotees took part in this special ceremony, offering twenty-seven items to Lord Nitāi in honor of His divine appearance. The congregation and visiting guests were deeply moved, witnessing both this unique festival and the beautiful three-day Gaura-Pūrṇimā celebrations that followed shortly after.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam classes are conducted every Saturday without fail by dedicated Vaiṣṇavīs in Bengali, Hindi, and English, making the teachings accessible to a diverse community. Prakriti Sundarī Devī Dāsī facilitates the Bengali preaching sessions to audiences around the world. Similarly, Nāndīmukhī Devī Dāsī has been consistently facilitating preaching sessions in Hindi. The Vaiṣṇavī Ministry here continues to inspire and encourage women to read your books daily, a practice being followed with sincerity and commitment. Your biography, Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, is imparting countless valuable lessons and deepening our understanding and appreciation during our weekly reading sessions. We are also truly fortunate to receive the guidance and blessings of advanced Vaiṣṇavīs, whose presence enriches and uplifts the Vaiṣṇavī Saṅga gatherings.
Bhakti Home preaching efforts are being made by some of our core members under the guidance of the Congregational Development Ministry. Forming these small groups and inspiring their members to take small steps, we are making great progress, and devotees are taking up chanting on japa-mālā and reading all of your books, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda.
This year, on the occasion of ISKCON’s sixtieth anniversary, our yātrā is looking to conduct the groundbreaking ceremony for a new temple on our current property. With your blessings, devotees have acquired a beautiful piece of land in Metro Vancouver, which has housed our Deities for so many years. With time, the need has arisen for us to construct a new temple. Several devotees have come forward to contribute their resources for this noble cause. Please bless us so we can give better space for Their Lordships and Your Divine Grace.
Our book distribution team, headed by Rasasindhu Dāsa, is doing a tremendous job. In 2025, more than a thousand copies of the Bhagavad-gītā along with others of your books were distributed around the Greater Vancouver area. During our 2025 book marathon, devotees placed the Bhagavad-gītā, Science of Self-Realization, and Higher Taste in more than 200 Little Free Libraries as well as at the Vancouver and Lynn Valley public libraries, in senior care homes, hospices, several thrift stores, and more.
By your boundless mercy and the power of your transcendental vision, what began as a small, humble offering of flowers has, by your grace alone, blossomed into something we could never have imagined on our own. In 2026, we enter the fifth year of the Vancouver Pushpanjali Flower Farm – a small expression of your instruction to engage everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Situated on the sacred grounds of ISKCON Vancouver, we grow thousands of fresh, seasonal flowers – marigolds, cut flowers, and more – for the pleasure of Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana, and for the garlands and offerings of our beloved temple and community festivals. In the words of Murāri Charan Dāsa and Dhruva Nārāyaṇa Dāsa, who lead this project, “Each petal grown is an attempt, however imperfect, to honor your vision that devotional service can flow through the earth itself.”
We endeavor to tend this land with ecological care and consciousness, honoring the gifts of Mother Earth as Vaiṣṇavas ought to. Every year, by your grace, the farm reaches new milestones in service to the temple. Most recently, the land has been granted Farm Status in Canada – a development that now saves the temple approximately $20,000 per year. These resources may now be redirected to Kṛṣṇa’s service. Through the Federal Canada Summer Jobs Program, we have also been blessed to engage young students from UBC, offering them the opportunity to participate in this sacred sevā during the summer months. Murāri Charan Dāsa further says, “What began as seeds – both literal and spiritual – has grown into a living instrument of community, devotion, and sustainability. The farm has become a place where hands touch soil in your service, where strangers become devotees, and where the land itself participates in a higher purpose. We humbly pray that you continue to guide and bless this service, that it may remain always pure, always useful, and always for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.”
The Vancouver Food for Life team has consistently distributed prasādam in downtown Vancouver since 2022. Every Sunday, rain or shine, Bhakta Victor, along with the other team devotees, prepare and transport prasādam to downtown eastside Vancouver. People in that neighborhood are struggling with addiction and homelessness. It reminds us of how merciful you were to live in the Bowery loft that was offered to you by Harvey Cohen. Living among addicts did not deter you from serving your spiritual master’s wish that Kṛṣṇa consciousness be spread in the West. We are praying that by the mercy of prasādam these individuals can realize the importance of their human life and slowly reintegrate into society.
Members of the Friday Night Youth Kirtan team immerse themselves in the nectar of the holy names. There are at least a dozen youth that sing soulfully for the pleasure of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana, Śrī Jagannātha, Śrī Baladeva, and Lady Subhadrā, and Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi. Hari-nāma eva kevalam! Śrīla Prabhupāda, your blessings are bountiful for this group. We are consciously preparing the little souls to lead the congregation in the future.
This past year, ISKCON Vancouver has seen tremendous growth in spiritual activities for teenagers and youth. While the parents are busy serving in the temple, their children are bonding with their spiritual buddies. Teen mentorship involves spiritual goal-setting and serving in the temple while sharing their highs and lows for the week.
I read recently this remembrance by Yamunā Devī Dāsī: “It was a very crowded situation – perhaps ten to fifteen of us in one room – and the only place free was the bottom shelf in one of the walk-in closets. We had all of our paraphernalia piled up, and I was in a sleeping bag down on the bottom shelf. Śrīla Prabhupāda noticed I was missing, and I was later told that he had inquired many times where I was. Śrīla Prabhupāda had a hospital bed brought in for me and moved me into a room right next to his, with floor-to-ceiling windows, neem trees outside, and a fan. And I remember being propped up in this bed, and he came in every day to check on my progress.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are the personification of devotee care. Despite having thousands of disciples worldwide, you carried each one in your heart, personally guiding them through your tireless correspondence. Today, that same compassion flows down to us, your granddisciples, through your esteemed disciples. Inspired by this legacy, ISKCON Vancouver has made devotee well-being our highest priority. Each week, our management team begins by meditating on your instructions for leadership. We don’t just read them; we strive to breathe them into our decisions, knowing that a temple only truly flourishes when the servants of Lord Kṛṣṇa are deeply cared for.
In a letter to Tribhūvanātha dated 17 July 1971, you wrote: “I am also glad to note that a meeting of all the presidents was held just recently in order to unify the temples. That is the process. Unless we work cooperatively, how this movement will go on? So my request to you all is that you maintain that spirit of cooperation always and help me to deliver Lord Caitanya’s message all over the globe.”
Our temple leaders and managers are dedicated to channeling positive energy toward the temple’s mission. Rooted in your instructions on cooperation, we are successfully advancing Lord Caitanya’s vision of global outreach. Our strategic focus for this year is Education and Training, providing developmental opportunities for devotees and council members alike. While we remain committed to our preaching efforts, we are equally focused on maintaining the strength of our personal sādhana, and we pray for your blessings to succeed in this endeavor.
We are eternally grateful to His Holiness Bhaktimārga Swami, Indresh Gaura Dāsa, and Vrinda Devī Dāsī for guiding us as we follow your instructions in all our endeavors. While His Grace Rohita Prabhu’s dedication to tulasī service reflects your teaching and instruction, Her Grace Mother Rādhikā’s contribution to our temple’s growth is remarkable as well. Pārtha and Uttama Prabhus have taken time from their busy schedule to deliver seminars and the disciples course, which are indispensable for our spiritual growth. Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are eternally indebted to you for your mercy on millions of souls. Thank you for giving us this family called ISKCON.
On behalf of ISKCON Vancouver’s temple council and congregation,
Nitya Kishori Devī Dāsī