Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on your most auspicious Vyāsa-pūjā day!
All of the New Dwaraka devotees are anxious to serve you and are making a lot of progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness! Our spiritual progress is the result of following Your Divine Grace. With great happiness we offer that progress to you on your beloved appearance day.
In your own words,
So in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is also said that spiritual master is the direct manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa comes before the devotee as spiritual master just like sun enters your room by the sunshine. Although the sun does not enter your room or your city or your country – he is so many millions and millions of miles away – still, he can enter everywhere by his potency, the sunshine. Similarly, Kṛṣṇan enters everywhere by His different potencies. And to receive this light from Kṛṣṇa, one has to hear. Hearing is so important. Therefore Govinda Dāsa says, śravaṇam. Śravaṇam means hearing. And one who has heard nicely, his next stage will be kīrtanam. Just like our boys who have heard a little nicely, now they are very eager to chant, going from street to street. This is natural sequence. It is not that you hear, but you remain stopped. No. The next stage will be kīrtanam. Either by chanting vibration or by writing or by speaking or by preaching, the kīrtana will be there. So śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, first hearing and then chanting. And hearing and chanting about whom? About Viṣṇu, not for any nonsense. (Bhaja hūre mana, purport)
Your servants at New Dwaraka are feeling the progression of this śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, the increase of desire to glorify the Lord. It can be seen in our attempt to work together to make a beautiful improvement to the face of New Dwaraka’s buildings for the world to see, through architecture and new facilities. It is there in grand festival productions, such as the awe-inspiring fiftieth anniversary Ratha-yātrā recently celebrated. Our progress can be seen in the number of devotees who are joining our ashrams, keen to learn how to engage in devotional service. Step by step, day after day, beautiful harināma parties go out on the streets and book distribution teams travel the country.
More difficult to appreciate, but equally valid, is the step-by-step progress of beloved elderly devotees who have fallen ill due to advancing age. We are making progress in learning how to offer care and support to these members of our community; they are making progress toward you in the eternal spiritual sky. Though it is very difficult to stand on the outside of their suffering and watch, there is a plenty of spiritual realization in it. That we are not the body was a fundamental principle you explained in thousands of lectures, letters, and conversations. If we love you sincerely, then we will be able to help your devotees appropriately.
You once said that this material existence is just like hard wood, and that we should learn how to carve Kṛṣṇa out of it. Truly, māyā only offers rough going, but the process of worshiping Kṛṣṇa is very soft and sublime. The chaos of māyā surrounds us, and New Dwaraka is only a small fort. But in that fort are the gorgeous Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvārakadhīśa. Therefore we try to see Kṛṣṇa is every aspect of what happens, use every bit of whatever comes our way to please Him, and dedicate our lives to your śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. In this way we will make the ultimate progress of going back home, back to Godhead.
Sincerely,
Your humble servants at New Dwaraka Dhāma