Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you!
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
In deep reverence, I bow down to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, for he has no other refuge than the lotus feet of the Lord. O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, we bow down to you in deep reverence. You have graciously preached the teachings of Lord Caitanyadeva and brought liberation to the Western countries, where impersonalism and the philosophy of emptiness have become widespread.
Please allow us to express our deep gratitude and respect on this day, which is so important for all of your followers – the day of your Vyāsa-pūjā! This is the most important day for the entire ISKCON society, including our entire yātrā, because each of us understands that if it were not for your compassion, we would not be here … we would not have this wonderful temple, our beloved Śrī Śrī Dayāl-Nitāi Gaurahari, or these beautiful devotees who are learning to serve one another together every day by your example.
We are neither many nor few, but we are learning to accept and understand the mercy that you have shown us by inviting us into your family. You are the senāpati-bhakta whom Lord Caitanya Himself sent, and for the next ten thousand years, the knowledge that you left in your books will help even more lost souls who are searching for the meaning of life.
We remember how much effort you had to put in to make our society happen and for your books to see the light of day. This could only be done by a great devotee with a pure heart and the sincerity of a disciple like you.
You left us with a profound message that can help us achieve pure love for God, and this is truly a miracle. Your disciples and the disciples of your disciples continue to carry this knowledge and guide us on this path. We are very grateful to you for them; the determination and faith in their preaching speaks only of deep love for you, and seeing this, we also want to try our best to serve you.
Our Prabhupāda House is a place where we all gather around Śrī Śrī Dayāl-Nitāi Gaurahari and learn to serve Them and you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. We are learning to develop a mood of dependence on you, knowing that without your blessings, our insignificant attempts at service are meaningless. When we enter the temple room, we feel your gaze filled with great love and compassion. As we sing and dance, we experience immense joy in our hearts and great gratitude toward you. It was only through your mercy that They could come to us and accept our clumsy attempts at service … Lord Caitanya and Śrī Nityānanda are with us … and it was only possible because of you!
To understand and feel the value of each devotee whom you send to our temple, and to take care of them, is what we strive for – to generously share the gift you left us with everyone, knowing and feeling that you are with each of us.
Over the past year, 10,795 of your transcendental books have been distributed by the devotees of our saṅkīrtana yātrā, Śrīla Prabhupāda! In addition to distributing books, every day devotees go out to perform harināma, generously sharing the holy name and prasādam with everyone! During the year, many wonderful events were held, such as mantra yoga sessions, kirtan melās, public lectures, charity events for orphanages with prasādam distribution and cultural programs.
We also consider it important to hold the Vaiṣṇava Sevā festival, which brings together all the devotees of our region. This is a great opportunity for our yātrā to serve the devotees!
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have changed our lives by showing us the true path and giving us a purpose in life. We are eternally indebted to you and, with the understanding that we can never repay this debt, we ask only for your blessing to continue serving, chanting, taking care of one another, spreading the holy name and your books. Then our lives will be successful.
With great respect and love,
The servants of your servants at ISKCON Yessentuki