Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa on this earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
A bright light within the dense darkness of chasing illusionary happiness became the cause of our ultimate good fortune. As the pure devotee representative of the compassionate Supreme Personality of Godhead, you brought hope for a better life along with a halt to our aimless wanderings, which were filled with despair and disappointment. You gave us what we unknowingly were looking for in life: the happiness of service to the Lord of all the Worlds, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Your words about the real purpose of human life carried hope for something better, something sublime, and came in the form of sacred books, spiritual discourses, and instructive lessons on the nature of the Absolute Truth and our eternal relationship with Him. It cut through our ignorance about life’s purpose, lifting our hearts up and as refreshing as a discovery of crystal-clear water is to a weary desert traveler. These words nourished our mind and gave life to our soul while cutting away the ignorance accumulated for countless births in a seemingly never ceasing cycle of birth and death.
Those who heard your words, filled with deep realizations of how to achieve the ultimate goal while simultaneously dismissing any idea for happiness and success other than devotional service to the Lord of our life, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, were most fortunate.
Contrarily were those who received your message, yet could not understand or take advantage of these immortal words. These persons are compared to children who, being immersed in play, were unable to take advantage of their loving mother who is calling them to enjoy a nourishing, tasty meal. Most unfortunate. For the doubting soul there is neither happiness in this life nor in the next.
Even more unfortunate are those who rejected your instructions, benevolent guidance, and words of transcendental knowledge and were eager to broadcast their ignorance openly. Like having come across a great treasure and seeing it as broken pieces of glass.
Yet those who continuously hear your words filled with realization of the Absolute Truth and adopt them as the guide in life and their ultimate treasure are most fortunate, for they will receive the full mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and qualify to again receive your divine association never ending.
I sincerely pray that every conditioned soul will have the opportunity to come in contact with your immortal teachings filled with love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and make their lives perfect.
With your mercy what is the use of others’? And without your mercy what is the use of others’? For your mercy enclosed in your divine words is the means to achieve life’s ultimate goal, premā-pum-artho mahān – love of God.
We are eternally indebted – eager to try to repay the unrepayable gift of eternal life, knowledge, and bliss.
Your eternally grateful disciple,
Candramauli Swami